PN-G Slugs Past Nederland to Reclaim Bum Phillips Trophy
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Updated: November 5, 2016
Port Neches Indian Stadium- In the pantheon of Texas high school football most areas and regions claim huge rivalries and big back yard brawls. Teams that border each other have a certain dislike and disregard over values for one night a year. Then they live with the bragging rights for 365 days…
In bEast Texas they just may have the granddaddy of them all. The Port Neches-Groves Indians and the Nederland Bulldogs played a game on Friday night that exemplified what is 100% correct with Texas high school football.
The Mid-County Madness or MDM was once again a chaotic celebration of Texas high school football. From the two absolutely rabid fan bases - an estimated 13, 000 of them on the reservation tonight to the presenting of the Bum Phillips Trophy, this was a night for the ages. The series has seen 93 years of games played and Nederland came into the game winners of the last six matchups. As if that wasn't enough, playoff implications abounded with other teams winning and losing around them. These fans arrived two hours before the game and the barbecuing, smack-talking and game-planning kicked off the evening.
AND THE GAME LIVED UP TO ITS BILLING!!! With a celebration that could have only been better with seven (it was six!!) years of bad luck gone in a wink. Superstitions be damned!!!
The Port Neches-Groves fans may still be out on the field with their heroes. In a game that was much closer than the final score, the Indians ran away from the Bulldogs in the end, 41-21.
Indian sophomore QB Roschon Johnson was scintillating from the start. He ran all kinds of ways for 245 yards and 6 touchdowns. 30 carries shouldered once star junior tailback Preston Hughes was sidelined early in the second quarter.
Nederland needed the win to make the playoffs. With talk in the press box that Livingston was falling to Beaumont Ozen, the Bulldogs could back in to the playoffs with the 4th spot. No such luck with Livingston pulling out the win 41-40. No playoffs this year for Nederland
And another stunner happened in Vidor. The Pirates upset Port Arthur Memorial 31-21 for a 3 way tie for district champions!!!
All this set up one of the best settings in the state. The reservation was rocking!!! PN-G came out on fire. A 10 play 63 yard drive almost solely ran by Roschon Johnson. He capped it off with a 12 yard TD run, pat missed, 6-0, Indians.
Nederland struck right back on a 7 play 59 yard drive culminating a 7 yard Devon Simmons run. 7-6 Bulldogs. The Indians wouldn’t regain the lead until late in the 3rd.
Roschon Johnson and Devon Simmons traded stunning plays throughout the first half.
The Bulldogs went into the half with a 14-13 lead.
Sean Nguyen got the Bulldogs going in the the 3rd with a 25 yard flea flicker from QB Marshall Lange. It was his first reception of the season, 21-13.
Roschon Johnson was not going to let them get away. He answered right back on the Indians first play on offense with a 70 yard gallop, 21-20.
Then the momentum really turned for the Indians. Jacob Vaughn’s 53 yard punt return to the 3 yard line seemingly was coming all the way back for an apparent block in the back. But the flag was actually a face mask on the Bulldogs and the big return stood!!! 2 plays and 2 penalties later and Johnson was in the end zone again, 27-21.
The Indian defense and Austin Bost stepped up in the 4th. They held the Bulldogs scoreless in that quarter and Bost had 2 huge interceptions. Logan LeJeune was his usual hoss self. Multiple sacks and TFLs is always his calling card for PN-G. Johnson added 2 more touchdowns and Coach Brandon Faircloth got his second win of Mid-County Madness (2009) games
Next week the Indians will face Barbers Hill. They are now 9-1 on the year
By Glenn McCarthy
@GlennMcCarthy44
Players of the Game
Offense- QB Roschon Johnson
Defense- LB Logan LeJeune & S Austin Bost
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
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PN-G 6 7 14 14 41
Nederland 7 7 7 0 21
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