Published: October 29, 2009 03:53 pm      

Vidor can clinch spot with win over Bulldogs

NEDERLAND — The Nederland Bulldogs are on their fourth quarterback so far in 2009.

Kirby Bellow went into the season for Nederland as the starter yet was hurt after 17 pass attempts in the season opener against West Orange-Stark.

So Vidor should have nothing to worry about since a total of six different players have thrown passes for Nederland this season, right?

Vidor coach Jeff Mathews knows better as the Pirates (6-2, 3-2) head into Nederland (3-5, 2-3) with a chance to lock up a playoff spot in District 20-4A. Nederland leads the all-time series 47-9-1. Vidor last beat Nederland in 2006, 28-24.

Dionte Forney is the latest Bulldog to take snaps under center and he did quite well. Forney has thrown for 333 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Mathews credits Nederland coach Larry Neumann and his staff for the success the Bulldogs have had after Bellow’s injury.

“I said even after the Bellow injury Nederland would still be in the thick of things and here they are,” Mathews said. “Coach Neumann and his staff are one of the best in the area for a reason. They find ways to win and their kids believe in them.”

The Pirates can clinch a playoff spot tonight with a win against Nederland so Mathews has had no problem getting his troops focused.

It was almost the exact same scenario last year when Nederland went to Vidor except the roles were reversed. Nederland clinched a playoff spot with a 35-23 win over the Pirates. The loss knocked Vidor out of the playoff race.

“It is going to be an exciting game,” Mathews said. “It is a must win for those guys and we can clinch with a win. It is going to have a playoff atmosphere. We don’t have a natural rival here in Vidor. LC-M has West Orange-Stark. PN-G has Nederland and Central has Beaumont Ozen. Our kids for some reason get up to play Nederland.”

Vidor is coming off a 49-15 win over LC-M. The Pirates rushed for 450 yards against the Bears with Shayne Pitman leading the way with 246 yards and two touchdowns.

Pitman continues to be the leading rusher for the Pirates with 1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns while Kevin Tate has 683 yards and 11 trips to the endzone.

Mathews is hoping for the same kind of output, especially if the rains come Friday night like expected.

“Right now we are as healthy as we have been all year except for (Jacob) Peevey,” Mathews said. “We did a great job moving the football last week and we kept the LC-M offense off the field. That is our goal every game but I am sure (Nederland defensive coordinator Delbert) Spell will try to throw a wrinkle in our plans. The good thing is our offense is an offense weather will not restrict so let it rain, rain, rain.”

Vidor’s offense is the leading offense in District 20-4A with an average of 396.3 yards a game while Nederland’s defense ranks next to last giving up 330.5 yards a contest.

Vidor has the league’s second best defense after allowing 263.3 yards a game and Nederland’s offense is next to last with 229.4 put up a contest.