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NEDERLAND — Despite his football and baseball prowess, Landon Hiltz might not be the most expressive student-athlete at Nederland.

“In three years out here, just in the hundreds of practices he’s been in, I may have heard him say 20 words,” Nederland football head coach Monte Barrow said. “That’s just who he is. He lets his play do his talking. We want him obviously communicating back there, which he’s grown into since his sophomore year and taking charge back there.”

Hiltz, who hit better than .400 on the baseball diamond as a junior, said he has worked on open communication on the football field, and the messages the senior cornerback has sent to the entire defensive unit has worked as Nederland (5-0, 2-0) goes into Friday night’s homecoming game against Dayton (0-5, 0-2).

Communication is the answer Hiltz gave, without any suggestion, when asked how he could improve on a junior year when he intercepted seven passes.

“I’m very shy and I don’t talk much,” he said. “So, I just worked on being more vocal and being more of a leader to the younger kids.”

When the Bulldogs needed Hiltz’s actions to speak loudly last Friday at Barbers Hill, he delivered.

He forced a fumble near the Bulldogs’ end zone on a drive that would have otherwise expanded a 14-13 Barbers Hill lead, and he picked off a pass in what turned out to be a 27-21 win.

“On the strip, we were playing man-to-man,” Hiltz said. “I was on my man, I saw the quarterback pull the ball down and run, and I noticed he was running with it loose, so I just went in there and pulled it out, did what I could do.”

The interception, which came with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter, was just the first of the season for Hiltz, who believes offenses are trying to avoid throwing in his and safety Noah Lewis’ directions. Lewis, who stole eight passes last year, played for the first time this season at Barbers Hill, coming off a minor operation to clean up an injured knee.

“It was probably a lot easier when Noah was not playing and they cut the field in half, but now both of them are back there, it’ll be a lot more difficult to do that,” defensive coordinator Chris Theriot said. “We do a lot defensively, especially in the back end because of the experience we have. Those kids are pretty intelligent. We try to do a lot of things to mix it up because they don’t know where [Hiltz or Lewis] is going to be at all times.”

Add to that backfield junior Cedric Pete, who’s intercepted two passes this year, and Nederland — which totals six interceptions in 2018 — has its own version of “DBU,” an acronym for “Defensive Back University.”

But the lack of picks going into last week did not cause Hiltz to feel hard-pressed to make big plays.

“I felt like I needed to because I’m a senior and a leader, so I try to make as many big plays as I can,” he said.

 

Throw out the records

Nederland and Dayton don’t always go in completely opposite directions in win-loss marks, but Barrow cautioned Thursday that the Broncos, who are 7-17 since 2016, are no usual homecoming opponent that can be easily run over.

Dayton last Friday was engaged in a 56-41 defeat at District 12-5A Division II favorite Crosby, a week after nearly beating Barbers Hill (31-28) at home.

“We’re going to get Dayton football,” Barrow said. “We’ve known that since we started [preparing for the Broncos] on Monday. The record? Throw that out the door.”

Dayton’s defense lead 12-5A-II with seven interceptions, one more than Nederland, and the Broncos give up 332.6 yards per game. Nederland’s “DBU” will be tested by senior quarterback A.J. Nail, who has 1,261 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season — with seven picks.

“They’re getting better offensively,” said Barrow, whose defense tops 12-5A-II at 259.4 yards given up a game. “Usually, when you have a team that has that kind of record, you look at their defense and their third in our district in defense. That says a lot right there.”

Nederland quarterback Blaysin Fernandez will start again Friday after being dealt another injury, this time after a running back stepped on his foot on a handoff against Barbers Hill. Fernandez has produced, however, completing 18 of 32 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown this season, while junior backup Bryce McMorris (25 of 47 for 333 yards and two touchdowns) has been critical to the Bulldogs’ finishing out wins.

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews