Constant rainfall fell over Orange on Friday night as the Nederland Bulldogs went into town to take on the West Orange-Stark Mustangs.
It is a new era for Nederland football, as Scott Rich comes over from Katy to take over a Bulldogs program that has not had a winning season since 2021. That new era got off to a great start in week one, as Nederland shutout Lumberton 37-0.
West Orange-Stark is also looking for its first winning season since 2021, when it made the regional final but lost to eventual state champion China Spring. That journey began with an absolutely dominant performance over 3A power Newton, 38-8.
Nederland at West Orange-Stark Game Recap
The scoring started on West Orange-Stark’s first possession of the game. Following a Nederland punt to open the game, the Mustangs went on a nine-play drive, with the help of a 34-yard run by Khelvy Jefferson, eventually finding the endzone on a 16-yard pass from Marcus Turner Jr to Ja’mikael Davis to put West Orange-Stark up 7-0.
After yet another Nederland punt, West Orange-Stark had the ball at their own 18, but on the first play of the drive, Marcus Turner Jr was stripped by Nederland’s James Ladner, setting up the Bulldogs at the Mustang 16-yard line. Unfortunately for Nederland, it would not lead to points, as the 32-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
West Orange-Stark had a couple more opportunities to get points in the first half with some promising drives. The Mustangs had an 11-play drive that eventually resulted in a turnover on downs at the Nederland 26-yard line. Right before the half, they drove all the way down to the Bulldogs 10-yard line. On fourth down, Marcus Turner Jr. forced a ball near the goal line, which was intercepted by Jaedon Ned. West Orange-Stark would lead 7-0 at the half.
Second Half
The Mustangs came out of the half quick. In the first play, Khelvy Jefferson took the ball left for a 55-yard run, setting up West Orange-Stark in great field position. Three plays later, Marcus Turner Jr. kept the ball on the speed option and took it in for a 10-yard touchdown. The score stood at 13-0 after a blocked PAT.
Nederland finally got on the board on their next possession. They used a methodical 13-play drive, capped off with Ayden Sunday scrambling to the left and keeping it himself for a three-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs some life.
The following two possessions resulted in a West Orange-Stark strip sack and a Nederland punt, giving the Mustangs the ball with 10:29 remaining. Two third-down conversions helped kill off over six minutes of the clock, but an unsportsmanlike penalty eventually ended the drive, forcing a punt. The punt was downed at the Nederland three-yard line, so the Bulldogs had to go 97 yards with 4:20 left in the game.
After a near safety on the first play of the drive almost put the game to bed, Nederland would eventually run into a 4th down play at their own 20-yard line. Ayden Sunday stepped back, rolled right, and found KJ Tezeno down the right sideline for a 24-yard gain and the first down to keep the game alive. Three plays later, a 27-yard run down the right side by Hubert Thomas, followed by a 13-yard gain on a pass from Sunday to Tezeno again, set up Nederland at the Mustang 18-yard line with 25 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Bulldogs would once again go to Thomas, as he stormed through the middle of the line for a 17-yard gain. Nederland ran up and spiked the ball at the one-yard line with three seconds remaining.
Only one problem: the clock appears never to have stopped after the first down. After about a 10-minute delay as the officials discussed what to do in this situation, they decided to keep things as is, giving Nederland just one opportunity to score. Ayden Sunday would take the snap, play action to Thomas, roll right, and find Jabneel Serrano in the back of the endzone for a touchdown as time expired. The PAT was good, and the Nederland Bulldogs pulled off the comeback victory on the road 14-13.
Nederland Stats
QB Ayden Sunday (SR): 12/20, 155 yds, TD, 2 carries, 3 yds, TD
RB Hubert Thomas (SR): 23 carries, 99 yds, 1 catch, 23 yds
WR KJ Tezeno (SR): 5 catches, 68 yds
TE Jabneel Serrano (SR): 1 catch, 1 yd, TD
LB Albert Simon (SR) (North Texas Commit): 3 TFLs, Deflection
LB James Ladner (SR): TFL, FF, FR
LB Colt Sheppard (SO): Sack, FF
DB Jaedon Ned (SO): Int, Deflection
West Orange-Stark Stats
QB Marcus Turner Jr. (SR): 9/16, 132 yds, TD, Int, 7 carries, 20 yds, TD, 2 fumbles
RB Khelvy Jefferson (SO): 13 carries, 121 yds
FB Alexander Thomas (SO): 4 carries, 23 yds, 2 catches, 18 yds
WR Ja’mikael Davis (SR): 4 catches, 84 yds, TD
WR/DB Raymond Mallet Jr. (SR): 2 carries, 9 yds, 1 catch, 10 yds, Deflection
DB Amyrian Scott (SR): 2 Sacks
DE William Pitre (SR): 2 Sacks
DT William Prewitt (SR): 2 TFLs
Next Week
Nederland will host 2-0 Silsbee as they try to avenge their 49-0 week three loss from last season and attempt to have their first 3-0 start since 2021. West Orange-Stark will look to bounce back into the win column as they travel to take on a 1-1 Waco La Vega team.
