NEDERLAND — The Nederland Bulldogs used a huge second quarter to beat the Crosby Cougars 45-22 at Bulldog Stadium on Friday.

The Bulldogs (9-0, 6-0 in District 12-5A Division II) scored 28 points in the second quarter to pull away from the Cougars (6-3, 3-3 in 12-5A-II) to remain unbeaten on the season.

Crosby got on the board first after running back Zachary Simon broke free on a 73-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage to make the score 7-0 with 11:20 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs responded with a big play of their own when quarterback Blaysin Fernandez found Brycen Grusecki for 65 yards to even up the score with 10:08 left in the first quarter.

 

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The two sides would not score again until the second quarter. A pair of Fernandez runs gave the Cougars a 21-7 lead with 6:52 left in the first half.

Crosby closed the gap after quarterback Kobe Coker found Simon unguarded for a 10-yard pass to make the score 21-14 in favor of the Bulldogs with 3:42 remaining. After both teams punted, the Bulldogs received the ball with fewer than two minutes to play. Fernandez found Adam Roccaforte for a 13-yard score to extend the Bulldogs lead to 28-14 with 0:16 left in the half.

The game changed when…

On the ensuing kickoff, Crosby tried to pull off a reverse that fell to the turf after a missed pitch. The Bulldogs recovered the ball on Crosby 13 with 0:09 left in the first half. Just like déjà vu, Fernandez found Roccaforte for a 13-yard score with 0:04 remaining in the half to make the score 35-14 at halftime.

Fernandez finished the game 12 of 19 for 164 yards and four touchdowns. Fernandez also added 54 yards on the ground. He didn’t play in the second half.

Bryce McMorris finished the game at quarterback, going 5 for 6 for 63 yards.

The Bulldogs added another touchdown late to seal the game when freshman running back Kyndon Fuselier punched the ball in from 8 yards out with 1:52 left in the game. The back saw more playing time than expected when Kade Scott went down early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. Fuselier finished the game with 65 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown.

In the final moments of the game, Bulldog defensive back Rene Cunningham ended a potential scoring drive by the Cougars by picking off a pass at the goal line allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock.

The game ball goes to…

The Nederland coaching staff for keeping the Bulldogs prepared going into Mid-County Madness. The Bulldogs took advantage of a Crosby mistakes and created big plays on all three phases of the game.

Next up… 

The Bulldogs take on Port Neches-Groves Indians in the Bum Phillips Bowl.

The Cougars will host Baytown Lee at Cougar Stadium for their season finale.

Both games are set to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

 

Bulldogs 45, Cougars 22

Crosby 7 7 0 8 — 22

Nederland 7 28 0 10 — 45

 

First quarter

Crosby — Zachary Simon 73 run (Trevor Helburg kick), 11:20

Nederland — Brycen Grusecki 65 pass from Blaysin Fernandez (Payne Barrow kick), 10:08

 

Second quarter

Nederland — Fernandez 1 run (Barrow kick), 9:05

Nederland — Fernandez 15 run (Barrow kick), 6:52

Crosby — Simon 10 pass from Kobe Coker (Helburg kick), 3:42

Nederland — Adam Roccaforte 13 pass from Fernandez (Barrow kick), :16

Nederland — Adam Roccaforte 13 pass from Fernandez (Barrow kick), :04

  

Fourth quarter

Nederland — Barrow 27 field goal, 8:41

Crosby — Simon 1 run (two-point conversion), 5:09

Nederland — Kyndon Fuselier 8 run (Barrow kick), 1:52

 

Cro   Ned

Rushes-yards 29-195 38-165

Passing yards 79 227

Total yards 274 392

Comp-Art-Int 10-16-1 17-25-0

Fumbles-lost 4-3 0-0

Penalties-yards 5-45 10-70

 

Individual leaders

RUSHING — Nederland: Fuselier 13-65, Fernandez 9-54, Armani Douglas 9-23, Josh Mazyck 3-15, Brycen Grusecki 1-5, Landon Hiltz 1-3, Roccaforte 1-2, Bryce McMorris 1-(-2). Crosby: Simon 17-159, Noel Wright III 11-46, Coker 1- (-10).

PASSING — Nederland: Fernandez 12-19-0, 164; McMorris 5-6-0, 63. Crosby: Coker 10-16-1, 79.

RECEIVING —Nederland: Grusecki 3-96, Carsen Arline 4-52, Blayne Burnett 4-29, Roccaforte 3-24, Douglas 1-16, Hiltz 1-13, Kade Scott 1-(-3). Crosby: Toryn Henshaw 3-30, Marquise Doucette 3-29, Deniquez Dunn 1-10, Simon 2-9, Wright III 1-1.