Bears seeking first win against Nederland

[KFDM COOP]

Bears seeking first win against Nederland

Gabe Pruett

The Orange Leader

LITTLE CYPRESS — No breaks in District 20-4A, nope none at all.

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears are certainly well aware of that notion after opening the district race last week against both Port Neches-Groves and Beaumont Central.

Now tonight the Battlin’ Bears must deal with the Nederland Bulldogs invading Battlin’ Bear Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

The Bears (0-3, 0-2) first had to deal with PN-G who won 34-7 after putting up 412 yards. Then the Jaguars came to town and won 53-6 with 474 yards of offense, 438 on the ground.

Enter Nederland and the 2-0 District 20-4A record they hold at this time with wins over Beaumont Ozen and PN-G. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 20-5, with the Bears’ last win coming in 1995. The first game between the two teams was in 1978, 14-0 Bulldogs’ victory.

“There is tough competition every week,†Moody said. “Nederland is the exact opposite of what we had to deal with a week ago. Nederland can throw the ball around with (Kirby) Bellow or they have a big back (Wareall Grogan) that can run it. They have threats all over the field.â€

The Nederland offense is averaging 342.3 yards a contest. Grogan has rushed for 403 yards a game with five scores while Bellow has 598 yards passing with six touchdowns to just one interception.

Asa Cardenas continues to shine for the Bulldogs with 12 receptions and 228 yards with three scores. Jude Vidrine has 10 cathes for 205 yards and another three scores.

So saying the Bulldogs have threats all over the field might be an understatement.

“Grogan is a tough guy to tackle,†Moody said. “With him in the backfield, you can’t just play the pass.â€

LC-M is giving up 417 yards and 45 points a game so far in 2008.

The Bears offense has found 2008 a tough go so far with just 146.7 yards a game.

Blake Perry is the leading LC-M rusher with 85 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown.

Sophomore quarterback Hunter Gonzales has rushed for 68 yards and passed for 145.

Zack Sonnier is the leading receiver with six catches for 49 yards. Samuel Burton has five receptions for 58 yards.

“The No. 1 thing I ask the kids to do is to continue to get better,†Moody said. “I ask them to line up and do what they have been coached to do. It has been a relief this week to be back on normal schedule. We were happy to have a routine. Some of the kids have said it is the first regular week we have had all year and it is Oct. 9. We are a very young team that starts eight sophomores and one freshman so I have been very pleased with the way they have responded.â€

[KFDM COOP]

NEDERLAND AT LC-M - KICKOFF BOX

The Port Arthur News

• When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

• Where: Bear Stadium, Little Cypress

• Records: Nederland 2-1, 2-0; LC-M 0-3, 0-2

• Series: Nederland leads 15-6

• Last year: Nederland, 35-7

• Radio: KLVI-AM (560)

• Internet: www.klvi.com

• Bulldogs capsule: Steady improvement from game to game is the main idea so far at Nederland as head coach Larry Neumann brings a 20-4A co-leader to Orange County with a newly found offense . . . Tackle leaders so far have been Adrian Pina (10 and 3), Anthony Maddox (10 and 2) and Jimmy Swain (9 and 5), but NHS ranks next-to-last in 20-4A total defense, allowing 397.5 yards a game.... QB Kirby Bellow is superb, leading 20-4A passers with 598 yards and an excellent TD-INT ratio (6:1).... RB Wareall Grogan (57 carries for 403 yards) has moved to fourth among 20-4A rushers.... Add Jude Vidrine to Neumann's list of star receivers after a brilliant performance against PN-G with back-to-back important touchdown catches.

• Bears capsule: Coach Todd Moody's fourth season has contained much adversity because the ultra-young LC-M club has started eight sophomores and a freshman.... Moody likes the future for soph QB Hunter Gonzales but the LC-M passer has thrown three interceptions in three games while LC-M's defense has non picks against three high-quality foes to date -- WO-S, PN-G and Central... Soph RB Blake Perry dashed 12 times for 58 yards against Central last week while freshman Preston Armstrong hauled in two passes for 54 yards.... LC-M also has to guard against falling lower than its current minus 3 turnover ratio.

• Neumann says: "If I had more games under our belt, I would feel more secure about the way we're progressing as a team... I think we got a little better at tackling by the PN-G game and I think we did a better job on offense and defense of taking advantage of our opportunities. We weren't 100 percent but we were a lot better. It's more important for us to continue to improve in a consistent manner... LC-M has been mismatched in some of their games and they have a lot of inexperienced players. They look pretty good at times on offense but they have so many sophomores and you can't substitute experience or time. Their defense has not been real consistent."

• Moody says: "Nederland is the exact opposite of what we had to deal with a week ago. Nederland can throw the ball around with (Kirby) Bellow or they have a big back (Wareall Grogan) that can run it. They have threats all over the field... Grogan is a tough guy to tackle. With him in the backfield, you canít just play the pass.... The No. 1 thing I ask the kids to do is to continue to get better... I ask them to line up and do what they have been coached to do. It has been a relief this week to be back on normal schedule. We were happy to have a routine. Some of the kids have said it is the first regular week we have had all year and it is Oct. 9. We are a very young team that starts eight sophomores and one freshman so I have been very pleased with the way they have responded.â€

NEDERLAND OFFENSE

WR -- Ryan Brady (7)

IR -- Brent Salenga (4)

LT -- Ben Jones (62)

The Port Arthur News

LG -- Khoby Moore (60)

C -- Trey Terracina (56)

RG -- Nick Smith (53)

RT -- Stefan Huber (54)

IR -- Jude Vidrine (5)

WR -- Asa Cardenas (21)

QB -- Kirby Bellow (3)

RB -- Wareall Grogan (2)

LC-M DEFENSE

LE -- Gregg Gravett (88)

LT -- Clay Dunn (62)

RT -- Nathan Sonnenberg (55)

or Chad Humphrey (30)

RE -- Aubrey Dunlap (61)

SLB -- Preston Armstrong (80)

[fruitcitysmiley]

If the dawgs spot them 40 points I think they'll have a chance.

[nissanindian]

hmmmmm they better pick another team to seek there first win from maybe like a pee wee team

[Guest LCM Volleyball]

I wish for once the BOJO magic would work.

[24 over par]

good luck bears

[DP#1FAN]

Play hard all 4 quarters Bears and keep your heads up.

[hornets85]

If they will play other players instead of the same 11 guys they might have a chance