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NEDERLAND — A share of the District 12-5A Division II title and a No. 1 seed will be on the line when the Nederland Bulldogs take on the Crosby Cougars on Friday.

At the same time, a receiving title will also hang in the balance.

When Bulldog junior Kyndon Fuselier lines up at receiver Friday, he will have a shot at becoming the district’s receiving leader. He is currently in second place with 923 yards and only trails first place by 22 yards.

However, Fuselier will have a unique opportunity to assure he gets the No. 1 spot. He will line up on defense against Crosby’s Jaylen Herman, who currently has 945 yards.

Nederland head coach Monte Barrow said Fuselier would not likely shadow Herman in coverage, but will definitely see some snaps against him when lining up at cornerback on defense.

“Knowing Kyndon, he’ll find that out and he will take it personally,” Barrow said of the matchup. “When he sets his mind to something, that is good for our team. They are both great players. Kyndon going both ways is something special. He doesn’t come off the field. He doesn’t miss a snap unless we tell him he has to come out. He’s not going to pull himself out.

“I don’t think he will follow him all over the field. That is not the game plan. There will be a matchup there at times. That kid [Herman] is a dead sprinter. There are probably a lot of college guys he can probably run by. Kyndon is always up for a challenge, as are the rest of out DBs.”

While Herman has outgained Fuselier on the season, Herman has played one more game than the Bulldogs after Nederland had to cancel its first game of the season following a coronavirus outbreak.

Even with one fewer game, Fuselier leads the district with 12 TD catches and an average of 155.4 yards per game and a whopping 25 yards per reception, making him one of the more dangerous receivers in the district.

Fuselier said he look forwards to the challenge this Friday.

“I want to make sure I shut [Herman] down so I can take that crown, for sure,” he said. “I don’t like losing at all. I’m very competitive. I take that very personally.”

And the Bulldogs have plenty of faith in him.

Facing a fourth-and-22, backed up on their own 16-yard line and down eight points to Barbers Hill in the game’s final minutes, quarterback Rene Cunningham found Fuselier for an 84-yard TD strike.

“He called one of our deep routes and I saw that the safety was in the middle of the field,” Fuselier said. “I gave him eyes toward the middle of the field and Rene gave me a perfect pass and I just did my thing.”

Fuselier almost did his thing for a second time this past Friday against Kingwood Park. On the Bulldogs’ second play from scrimmage, Cunningham connected with Fuselier for a 60-yard TD to start a 35-0 run for Nederland. The two almost connected for a second touchdown after a punt pinned them on their own 1-yard line.

Barrow dialed up a deep shot to the senior, who caught the ball but slipped in the rain, limiting the would-be 99-yard touchdown to a gain of 38.

“Yeah. I was pretty mad,” Fuselier said. “It was raining, though. It happens. I was just focused on catching the ball.”

Both talented players will line up when Crosby takes on Nederland in Cougar Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

District 12-5A

Division II standings

Team                                       Dist.   Over.

Crosby                                   6-0       7-2

Nederland                              5-1       6-2

Barbers Hill                             4-2       4-3

Port Neches-Groves           3-3       4-5

Texas City                              3-3       3-5

Kingwood Park                        2-4       3-6

Santa Fe                                 1-5       2-7

Dayton                                    0-6       0-9

 

Friday

Dayton at Kingwood Park

Santa Fe at PNG

Texas City at Barbers Hill

Nederland at Crosby