Manvel ends Nederland’s season in NRG

Published 9:14 pm Friday, November 24, 2017

By Daucy Crizer

Special to The News

HOUSTON – Nederland seniors Devon Simmons and Kevon Latulas both turned in outstanding performances, but the end result was not what they were looking for as Manvel pulled away from the Bulldogs, 51-26, in Friday’s Class 5A Division I area round playoff game at NRG Stadium.

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“I told the entire senior class, from last January they had a chance to use excuses, that they weren’t supposed to be here, all that stuff,” said Nederland head coach Monte Barrow. “They took us on a journey that this coaching staff couldn’t be happier to have been on with them. It set an example for our younger guys and they’ll have to live up to that going forward.”

Nederland was held to just 77 yards rushing but was able to find success through the air with 303 passing yards for 380 yards of total offense. Manvel had a more balanced attack, rushing for 251 yards and passing for 231 yards for 482 yards of total offense.

 Trailing 23-6 to start the third quarter, Nederland struck first with the help of a trick play. Fernandez completed a pass to Latulas, who then flipped the ball to Simmons on the hook and ladder play, which went for 44 yards to the Manvel 26. Nicholas Kingston rushed for 21 yards on the next play to set up first-and-goal at the 5.

Simmons closed out the drive with a 5-yard TD run to make the score 23-13 with 8:01 left in the third quarter. The drive was set up by Randy Wistner’s strip and fumble recovery on Maverick wide receiver Jalen Preston to give the Bulldogs the ball at their own 30.

The Bulldogs defense forced a quick three and out Manvel’s next possession. However, Nederland’s offense followed with a three and out of its own and was forced to punt. Preston returned the punt 65 yards for a touchdown to push Manvel’s lead to 30-13.

Nederland (8-3) responded with a lengthy scoring drive to end the third quarter. The Bulldogs were aided by a defensive holding penalty against the Mavericks on third down to keep the drive alive. Fernandez hit Carsen Arline for 24 yards to the Manvel 32. A 10-yard completion to Blayne Burnett put the ball at the 16.

On fourth-and-six from the 12, the Mavericks were called for pass interference that gave the Bulldogs first-and-goal at the 1. Simmons scored his third touchdown of the game with a 1-yard plunge to cap the 11-play, 73-yard drive. That pulled the Bulldogs back to with 10, 30-20, and was the last play of the third quarter.

Manvel (11-0) took less than a minute to start the fourth quarter scoring. Quarterback Kason Martin hit Preston on a 28-yard scoring strike to push the lead to 37-20 with 11:09 left in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs kept pace with a scoring drive of their own. Fernandez and Latulas connected on a 52 yard completion that gave Nederland a first-and-goal at the Manvel 1. Fernandez called his own number for a 2-yard TD run two plays later. The extra point was no good to make the score 37-26 with 9:08 remaining in the game.

Manvel added a pair of touchdowns to close out the scoring. Garrison Johnson scored on a 4-yard run with 8:20 left. Deneric Prince followed with a 53-yard scamper with 5:48 remaining to make the score 51-26.

“We told the kids at halftime, any time you have a negative play in a drive against a defense like that, it’s going to be hard. You’re going to end up punting,” said Barrow. “It’s the same way with our defense, any time we had them in a negative play it ended up being a stop. We tried to play a little smarter in the second half, as far as how we were getting behind the chains. That gave us some opportunities to score some points.”

Simmons finished 52 yards rushing on 27 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 112 yards and a TD. Latulas caught nine passes for 123 yards. Junior quarterback Blaysin Fernandez completed 18 of 36 passes for 272 yards and one TD. He also added a rushing touchdown.

Manvel wasted little time in getting the scoring started. The Mavericks took the opening kickoff and needed just six plays to cover 63 yards. Johnson opened the drive with runs of 10, 12, 9 and 5 yards. Martin hit Preston for a 33-yard scoring strike to put Manvel up 7-0 with 10:34 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs responded with a good drive of their own. Fernandez hit Latulus for a 36-yard completion to put the ball at the Manvel 34. Nederland worked the ball all the way down to the Manvel 13 before the drive stalled. Payne Barrow came on for a 38-yard field goal attempt, but the holder fumbled the snap.

The Mavericks took advantage of the Nederland miscue and put together a 70-yard scoring drive that needed just five plays. Ladarius Owens had a 33-yard run to the Nederland 17. Martin hit Warren Laster one play later for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Mavericks up 14-0 with 5:31 remaining in the first.

After forcing a quick three-and-out by the Bulldogs, Manvel put together its third straight scoring drive of the opening quarter. Prince started the drive with a 13-yard run. Martin connected with Terrence Norman, Jr. for an 18-yard completion to the 14. Martin hit Kam Scott on the next play for a 14-yard strike to push the lead to 21-0 with 2:06 left in the first quarter.

Nederland finally put together a scoring drive early in the second quarter. Fernandez hit Latulas for a 15-yard completion to put the ball at Bulldog 45 and those two connected again for a 13-yard completion that pull the ball at the Maverick 38.

Nicholas Kingston had a 21-yard catch and run that put the ball at the Manvel 22. Facing fourth-and-16 from the 28, Fernandez hit Simmons in the right corner of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown. The extra point snap was low and Manvel’s Brian Johnson scooped up the ball and raced the other way for a defensive PAT and two points for the Mavericks. That left the score 23-6 with 10:03 remaining in the second quarter.

“You can emulate that speed all you want in practice, but it’s not the same,” said Barrow of the slow start. “We’ve had a few games like that this year. You figure it out as you go along. They (Manvel) were pumped and give them credit for making the plays.

“I was real proud of our defense. I told them at halftime that after giving up 21 points in the first quarter and putting up a zero after that, it gave us a chance coming out after halftime.”

Martin completed 11 of 18 passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns. Preston caught five passes for 127 yards and 2 TDs. Prince led the rushing attack with 84 yards on six carries and Johnson added 63 yards on 11 carries.