5A DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT: Nederland scores twice in fourth to beat Willowridge

Published 1:33 am Saturday, November 17, 2018

By Daucy Crizer
Special to The News

NEDERLAND – Senior Blaysin Fernandez scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left in the game to give Nederland a come-from-behind 22-16 win over Fort Bend Willowridge in the Class 5A Division II Bi-District round of the playoffs Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

With the win, Nederland will face Marshall (northeast Texas) Friday at 4 p.m. at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Bryce McMorris completed 19 of 31 passes for 226 yards for the Bulldogs. Fernandez was supposed to start the game for the Bulldogs, but the cool weather activated a previous hip condition and limited his mobility, so McMorris had to step in at quarterback.

Armani Douglas rushed for 108 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown. Blayne Burnett caught five passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Brycen Grusecki added four catches for 35 yards and Adam Roccaforte added 46 yards on three catches.

“I’m going to have to watch the video because it was a blur to me,” said Nederland coach Monte Barrow of the Bulldogs two fourth-quarter drives to win the game. “We had different kids stepping up and making big plays. That’s what it’s all about.

“Bryce [McMorris] did a good job of spreading the ball around the field on those last two drives. I’m real proud of our offensive line, doing what they have done all year in taking over in the fourth quarter.”

Needing at least a field goal to take its first lead of the game, Nederland started the game-winning drive with 3:31 left on the clock from its own 21-yard line. That drive resulted after both the Bulldogs and Eagles turned the ball over on downs. The Bulldogs had an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1 from the Willowridge 19 and the Eagles on fourth-and-16 from the Bulldogs 25 when quarterback Vaughnte Frederick was stopped after a 4-yard gain.

McMorris hit Roccaforte for 28 yards on the drive’s first play. Douglas followed with a 34-yard run to the Willowridge 17. McMorris hit Grusecki for 13 yards to the 4. Fernandez scored two plays later on a 3-yard TD run. McMorris hit Roccaforte for the two-point conversion to make the score 22-16.

The Bulldogs defense game up big in the final minute of the game to keep the Eagles from scoring. Frederick scrambled for 25 yards on third-and-3 and broke an 11-yard run.

Frederick hit Lidarian Carter for 5 yards to give the Eagles a first down at the 18. Nederland forced four straight incomplete passes to preserve the win. The last incompletion came on the game’s final play as Frederick’s pass was caught by Latrell Neville, but he was clearly out of the back of the end zone when he made the catch.

“It was good to have our defense on the field to end the game,” said Barrow. “You have to have a bend don’t break mentality at the start and the closer they get you have to start tightening up. They have some big guys and when their quarterback lets go of it and you see one of those jump balls, you just hold your breath. Our guys were getting after the quarterback and made him throw the ball away twice, which limited their chances at scoring.”

The Eagles scored the only points of the third quarter on a 30-yard field goal from Gustavo Medrano with 38 seconds left. That scoring drive was aided by three Nederland personal foul penalties and a defensive pass interference.

Nederland (10-1) responded with a scoring drive of its own to start the fourth quarter. This time, it was the Bulldogs who were the beneficiary of a pass interference penalty on third-and-17 to give Nederland a first down.

McMorris hit Grusecki for 11 yards on third-and-eight. McMorris hit Arline for 24 yards to the Eagles 4. Douglas scored on a 4-yard TD run to make the score 16-14.

“He’s a senior that does the dirty work, so I’m really happy for him,” said Barrow of Douglas’ performance. “We kind of include him in with our lineman since he’s a fullback that leads the way for our running backs. We thought he could be a big factor tonight because they’re (Willowridge) not the type of defense you want to run sideways against and he’s not that kind of runner. He’s straight ahead and I’m really proud of the way he ran the ball tonight.”

Nederland won the coin toss but deferred until the second half. Willowridge proceeded to march right down the field on the game’s opening drive. Frederick went 4-of-4 on the drive for 34 yards. He also rushed five times for 33 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run to cap the 12-play, 70-yard drive that gave the Eagles a quick 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs looked to be driving in for a score of their own on the ensuing possession. McMorris hit Kyndon Fuselier on an 18-yard screen pass on the drive’s first play. A 10-yard completion to Adam Roccaforte put the ball at the Willowridge 28. Brycen Grusecki dropped a pass in the end zone on third-and-eight, and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs as McMorris was sacked for a 10-yard loss on the next play.

The Eagles put together another scoring drive on its next possession. The Bulldog defense stopped Lidarian Carter for a 5-yard loss on first down and sacked Frederick for a 6-yard loss on second down.

Frederick completed a 46-yard pass to Latrell Neville on third-and-21 to put the ball at the Nederland 27. The drive stalled at the 20 and Gustavo Medrano booted a 37-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 with :35 seconds left in the first quarter.

Nederland responded with another good drive. After McMorris hit Armani Douglas for a 5-yard gain on third-and-six, McMorris raced to the line of scrimmage and rushed for 32 yards on fourth-and-one to the Willowridge 28. The drive stalled at the Eagles 17 and Payne Barrow missed on a 34-yard field goal attempt, losing his footing on the attempt.

The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out Willowridge’s ensuing possession. Following a 17-yard punt, Nederland took over at the Eagles 37. Consecutive runs of 9 and 12 yards by Douglas put the ball at the 16. Douglas carried about for six more yards, but fumbled on the play, which was recovered by the Eagles.

Willowridge (7-4) put together another long scoring drive. Carter had receptions of 3, 11 and 16 yards on the drive. A 16-yard completion to Rufus Scott put ball at the Nederland 22. The Eagles had to settle for a Medrano 35-yard field goal to make the score 13-0 with 2:45 left in the game.

Nederland finally answered with a scoring drive of its own. McMorris hit Douglas for 22-yards on the drive’s first play. Douglas rushed for 30 yards two plays later to put the ball at the Eagles 13. McMorris hit Burnett for a 13-yard scoring strike to make the score 13-7 with 1:24 left in the first half.

Frederick completed 16 of 29 passes for 169 yards. He also led the team in rushing with 75 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Neville rushed for 17 yards and caught two passes for 43 yards. Carter caught 11 passes for 89 yards.

 

Bulldogs 22, Eagles 16
Willowridge       10           3              3              0              –              16
Nederland         0              7              0              15           –              22
First quarter
Willowridge – Vaughnte Frederick 3 run (Gustavo Medrano kick), 8:14
Willowridge – Gustavo Medrano 37 FG, 0:35
Second quarter
Willowridge – Medrano 35 FG, 2:45
Nederland – Blayne Burnett 13 pass from Bryce McMorris (Payne Barrow kick), 1:24
Third quarter
Willowridge – Medrano 30 FG, 0:38
Fourth quarter
Nederland – Armani Douglas 4 run (Barrow kick), 8:33
Nederland – Blaysin Fernandez 3 run (McMorris pass to Adam Roccaforte), 1:42

NED       WIL
First downs        19           15
Rushes-yards     30-147   29-105
Passing yards     217         169
Total yards          364         274
Comp-Att-Int     20-32-0 16-29-0
Fumbles-lost     1-1          0-0
Penalties-yards 8-90       6-45
Punts-Avg.          1-29.0    3-31.0

Individual statistics
RUSHING — Nederland: Armani Douglas 10-108, Kyndon Fuselier 5-19; Willowridge: Vaughnte Frederick 19-75, Ja’Vion Chatman 6-13, Latrell Neville 4-17.
PASSING — Nederland: Bryce McMorris 19-31-0—226, Blaysin Fernandez 1-1-0—(-9); Willowridge: Vaughnte Frederick 16-29-0—169.
RECEIVING — Nederland: Blayne Burnett 5-51, Brycen Grusecki 2-38, Adam Roccaforte 3-46, Armani Douglas 2-27, Carsen Arline 2-37; Willowridge: Lidarian Carter 11-89, Latrell Neville 2-43, Mar’quise Garrett 2-15.