PN-G bamatex

Worst weather I’ve ever sat through in the stands. Was drenched to my core. Shocked my iPhone made a comeback. But a very entertaining game to watch.

Not whenever there’s a Barnett on the team.

go bulldogs

At the risk of sounding unreasonably optimistic or contrarian, sometimes a flat game with lots of mistakes is exactly what a coaching staff needs to light a fire under the players' arses, restore the focus and bring back some motivation. I'm hoping that's what the Willowridge game will turn out to be for the Indians.

Those armadillo eggs are worth it, man.

And if you get hungry, T-Bone Tom’s in Kemah is a personal favorite.

Nick Saban’s 24 hour rule should be in effect in Port Neches and Groves right now. Celebrate the win over FBM today, get focused on Texas City tomorrow. We’re in the lead in the district race right now, but Texas City and Dayton are coming for us.

Educate me, Izzy! How'd did the United game go? They're prepared now, right?

Hey man, is Beaumont United prepared yet? I hear they played North Shore tonight. That game should be tons of preparation for 6A. How'd it go?

I am going to be very curious to see the state rankings for 5ADII this week.

Did that just happen? A shutout over Fort Bend Marshall? Indians win 7-0? Is this the Twilight Zone? Scalp ‘em!

My stomach hurt just watching that last night. 😂

Called it.

Hang in there, Soulja. The talent’s there. Just have to find the coaching.

Well, I think we can all agree on one thing. United needs more preparation for 6A.

This will be a much better game than last year. I’m taking my Indians, but by no more than a touchdown.

You remember last year, when PN-G took the worst season opener loss in school history to Memorial, 50-15 in Port Neches, and then turned around and beat United 49-0 at BISD’s [insert name here] Stadium the very next week? Apparently nobody in 6A does.

I actually got to attend this game. I have some thoughts. Let’s start with the bad. Our offense had issues tonight. Shea needs some more time with his receiver corps. Passes were close, but imprecise. I heard the announcer say the words “nearly intercepted” too many times. Ball security was an issue. Now, I don’t think that’s a reflection of Shea’s potential. I think that’s the result of a combination of early season jitters and a very tall, speedy, talented Memorial secondary. Likewise, Nguyen had an uncharacteristically rough night. Here again, early season jitters and a pretty stout Memorial defensive line. We know what Adams and Nguyen are capable of. We saw it last year. The good news here is, everything I’m listing off can be fixed in practice, and we’ve got a coach with a proven track record of fixing these issues in practice. None of this is a talent issue. Take away two fumbles and a bad snap and tonight would have seen a different ball game. Now let’s talk about the good. The Indian defense is a force to be reckoned with. They kept us in this game for three and a half quarters despite the offensive miscues and mistakes. They only started to yield to fatigue for about the last six minutes of play, and it was because they were spending too much time on the field. Our lines are big on both sides of the ball. I watched our offensive line open up some huge holes for Shea, and our defensive line found ways to get into the backfield all night. Richard is a ball player. I’m looking forward to watching this Sabanesque 3-4 defense mature at PN-G. I also want to note that this was mostly a clean game. Not a lot of penalties, what few were had mostly came toward the end of the game, and most importantly, no injuries. Despite the result, I really enjoyed this up until the end. The PN-G fan base was the most amped up I’ve seen it for a pre-district game in a long, long time. I’m glad to see the state title run have some staying power in terms of community support. The band, Indianettes, twirlers and cheerleaders all looked fantastic. Once we get everything firing on all cylinders (I think sooner rather than later), this will be a fun season to be a part of. I’m going to throw some props to Memorial. They have a talented, physical, well coached team. I was really pleased to see their fan support. After playing so many games last year where opposing teams brought so few fans, it’s nice to play another team that can fill the stands. I enjoyed their band - worlds of improvement over what I recall when I last attended a Memorial game six years ago. This is the first time I’ve seen the new field and scoreboard. They looked crisp. All in all, this was one of the more enjoyable atmospheres I’ve seen at a PN-G away game. The Titans have a good season ahead. Lastly, I really like seeing PN-G play talented teams like Memorial early in the season. They do a great job of exposing our weaknesses and telling us what we need to work on. I hope that continues into future seasons. In particular, I’d like to see us keep the series with Memorial alive. Lots of history between PN-G and Port Arthur. Given time, I believe this series will develop into a rivalry. (Revivalry?) Mid-County Madness would be complemented by a recurring South County Showdown.

Was the final score 24-21 PN-G or 24-14 PN-G? I'm hearing both.

So they’re saying it’s a literal *hot seat* that caused the fire in West Orange’s stadium? 😂 [patiently waits to get banned from commenting on WO-CCISD Facebook posts]

Preface: I live a stone's throw from Liberty Hill these days and spend a lot of time there. The day PN-G and Liberty Hill played last season, I threw on my PN-G gear and stopped at the Liberty Hill Dairy Queen for lunch before hitting the road to Katy. I respect everything the Panther program has accomplished. By no means should this post be construed as me downplaying their success. It's asinine to reduce PN-G to "a good story" and suggest the Indians haven't shown longevity comparable to Liberty Hill's when, over the last ten seasons, the Indians have won 71% of their games, finished four seasons with ten or more wins and finished the season in the third round of the playoffs or higher five times. Keep in mind that one of those ten win seasons occurred despite a game cancellation caused by Hurricane Harvey. Granted, Liberty Hill sports a better playoff record and a higher win percentage (79%) over the same time period. Liberty Hill was also 4ADI for seven of those ten seasons; didn't contend with three hurricanes, record-shattering rainfall from a fourth tropical cyclone, undue humiliation wrought by undeserved national media hysteria and a major industrial explosion during that period; and plays in a generally weaker region than PN-G. Liberty Hill is also a fast-growing and much more affluent community than anywhere in Southeast Texas, and has been showering its school district with extravagant resources for well over a decade. A recent former Liberty Hill school board member told me last year that roughly half of LHISD students today have out-of-state birth certificates. If we're going to bring longevity into the argument, let's account for the wildly disparate levels of adversity. There's more to this game than the surface-level numbers. Put the two teams on the same football field and I'll take the purple and white over the purple and gold any damn day of the week.

This will be the best Week 1 game in Texas. Both teams are very talented. Both are quickly gaining (or perhaps better put, regaining) statewide prominence. Expect a thriller. One thing I’ll say about the low number of returning starters at PN-G: Coach Joseph likes to make a lot of substitutions, and that seemed to become more commonplace the further PN-G went in the playoffs. Just because we have a new starter this season, doesn’t mean that kid doesn’t have a similar level of experience to the returning starter suiting up next to him.

I wouldn't make any assumptions just yet.

That's not exactly how it went down, but the school board and administration deserve full credit for making the right decision when they were presented with the option.

It's the Legislature's prerogative. Speaking from experience, I wouldn't suggest telling them that.