Rivalries are made for this: Bulldogs take back Bum Bowl trophy
Published 10:47 pm Friday, November 10, 2017
Video of the Bulldogs’ postgame celebration: Click here
NEDERLAND — The sight has become pretty familiar: The Nederland Bulldogs hoist the Bum Phillips Bowl trophy.
For the third time in the trophy’s four-year history, the Bulldogs claimed the traveling trophy after beating the previously unbeaten Port Neches-Groves Indians 36-35 before a packed Bulldog Stadium crowd Friday night. The win solidified the Bulldogs’ berth into the Class 5A playoffs, which begin next week.
U.S. Rep. Randy Weber of Texas, whose wife graduated from Nederland in 1974, presented the trophy to the Bulldogs amid a pandemonium of players, coaches, spirit squad members and fans on the grass field. The trophy has been presented by a different person each year.
Nederland won for the 38th time in the series all-time, which dates back to 1925. PNG won it 49 times, and there have been seven ties.
This rivalry game was not without drama.
Senior wide receiver Kevon Latulas caught a 14-yard touchdown pass on an inside route with 13 seconds to go to pull Nederland (7-2, 6-2 in 22-5A) within 35-34. The Bulldogs then called their last timeout and set up for the two-point conversion try.
Colton Beeson, a senior tight end and defensive back, made good on the winning try. Senior quarterback Blaysin Fernandez patiently waited for an open man inside the pocket and found Beeson flaring to Fernandez’s left for the completion.
The play further erupted a home crowd that was all but silent after PNG (8-1, 7-1) had taken a 35-28 lead on junior quarterback Roschon Johnson’s fifth touchdown rush of the game, this one from 10 yards out. Johnson, a University of Texas commit, rushed 34 times for 284 yards and completed 13 of 24 passes for 99 yards with two interceptions, both in the first half.
Johnson has scored five or more touchdowns in every game this season.
But this was the Bulldogs’ night.
Senior running back Devon Simmons had 24 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Latulas caught six passes — three of them for touchdowns — for 113 yards.
Nederland senior quarterback Blaysin Fernandez completed 9 of 21 passes for 146 yards.
The Indians tried multiple laterals on the final kickoff return to try and find an opening for a touchdown, but they were pushed further back and stopped as time ran out.
PNG was going for its first outright district title and first unbeaten regular season since 2009, the first season Brandon Faircloth served as the Indians’ head coach. Instead, the Indians share the district crown with Port Arthur Memorial (7-1, 7-1) for the second year in a row. Memorial beat Vidor — which was a tri-champion last year — 40-14 on Friday.
The late-game drama continued to unfold despite a disturbance from the PNG student section. A flare launched from that seating area all the way to a row of lawn chairs on the Nederland side of the track as the Indians were making their go-ahead drive. No one appeared to be injured, and policemen raced from the Nederland side to the PNG section to arrest the person who made the launch.
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More game coverage in Sports, page B1.
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I.C. Murrell: 549-8541. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews