By Van Wade, Sports Editor
In a battle of state-ranked titans it was the West Orange-Stark Mustangs that played with cooler heads Friday night at Mustang Stadium.
The seventh-ranked Mustangs, using a touchdown from their special teams, one from the offense and one from the defense, planted a 21-10 loss on the fifth-ranked Nederland Bulldogs as WO-S grabbed sole possession of first-place in District 20-4A.
The win also marks the second week in a row that the Mustangs (8-0, 3-0) downed a ranked opponent after toppling then No. 8 ranked Lincoln 31-15 last week.
Mustang head coach Dan Hooks was extremely elated after the pulsating victory.
"I love this group of kids and we've been through a lot of fires this year," said Hooks. "You can't say our schedule hasn't helped us. You look at wins against Ozen, Bay City, Central, PN-G, Lincoln and Nederland and that's saying something. Nederland's got a great football team and hats off to them. But our seniors pulled us through tonight and those are some guys that have played all their lives. These kids just seem to respond week after week against some very tough customers."
Nederland (7-1, 2-1) had a shot at a game-winning drive but WO-S defensive end Paul Thomas saved the day for the Mustangs.
Nederland took over at its own 48 trailing 14-10 with 3:06 remaining. Bulldog quarterback Kevin Barbay, who struggled through a 5-for-20 passing night, picked up 23 yards on two carries and completed an 8-yard pass to receiver Sean Yoder that set the Bulldogs up at the WO-S 17 with 1:01 remaining.
On the play of the game Barbay threw the ball to fullback Joe Ramoin behind the line of scrimmage making it a lateral, Ramoin bobbled the ball and as the pigskin hit the ground Thomas came up with the perfect reaction, scooping it up and running 83 yards untouched the opposite direction to put the game away for the Mustangs.
It wasn't the only 80-yard plus play the Mustangs had as kick returner Jeff Thibodeaux broke loose for an 89-yard kickoff return for a score with 2:59 left in the second quarter.
"When the officials didn't blow the whistle I knew Nederland was in trouble because all of their kids were standing around looking at each other," said Hooks. "Paul did the smart thing by picking up the ball and going with it. We were like, "Yes, let's go down there and kick the extra point and go to the Waffle House!'"
Trailing 7-3 at the half the Bulldogs unleashed Ramoin late in the third. The burly senior fullback, who rumbled for 105 yards on 17 carries, bobbed and muscled his way for a 62-yard touchdown gallop down the Bulldog sideline to give Nederland a 10-7 lead with 4:07 left in the third.
"Holding Nederland to 5-of-20 passing was excellent because Barbay is a super quarterback," said Hooks. "We played great defensively except for that big Ramoin play."
The Mustang offense, which struggled throughout the game with 108 total yards, retaliated with a five-play, 50-yard scoring march midway through the fourth. Backup quarterback Kenton James, who led WO-S with 40 yards on eight carries after replacing starter Jonathan Feathers, gave the team a lift with two carries for 23 yards on the march. The Bulldogs, who got hammered with 11 penalty flags for 90 yards, were penalized 20 yards on the Mustangs' go-ahead drive. On first-and-10 from the Bulldog 14 James took a quarterback keeper to the Bulldog 4 and short-yardage fullback Thomas did the rest, scoring on a 4-yard sweep around right end with 5:32 remaining.
"We put Kenton in their to change things up a little bit," said Hooks. "He's a little more mobile. It's kinda like baseball, if you're not getting anybody out you go to the bullpen. It's nothing against Jonathan because he's played big for us this year and he'll start against TJ next week."
The first half was all defense and yellow hankies. Nederland limited the Mustangs to just three yards in the first 24 minutes while the Bulldogs mustered just 56. Nederland totaled 209 yards for the game. The two teams combined for 11 penalties for 105 yards in the first half.
Nederland lost a golden opportunity early in the first half after recovering a fumble by Mustang starting quarterback Jonathan Feathers at the WO-S 24 with 11:04 left in the half. In field goal range already, Barbay got picked off by Thibodeaux at the Nederland 1 as Barbay was looking for receiver Jake Askew.
The Bulldogs, however, got a reprieve when Nederland defensive back Ben McPherson picked off a Feathers pass three plays later at the Mustang 29. The stingy Mustang defense held and the Bulldogs settled for a 37-yard field goal by Michael Mitchell with 3:23 left in the half.
Thibodeaux quickly answered again. The speedy Mustangs' jack-of-all trades took the ensuing kickoff and tore through the Bulldog special teamers for an electrifying 89-yard kickoff return that woke up the Mustang faithful and lifted his teammates. Thibodeaux almost got tripped up at the Bulldog 31 but maintained his balance to sprint to the end zone. It was Thibodeaux's second kickoff return for a touchdown as he went 85 yards in the Mustangs' 31-0 win over Lamar COnsolidated in nondistrict action.
The Mustangs will get another stern test Friday when they pay a visit to Thomas Jefferson (6-2, 2-1). The Yellow Jackets downed LC-M 37-7 to set up the showdown.
"We haven't been in nothing but wars since our first scrimmage with Lumberton and you can count on TJ bringing it," said Hooks. "They have some excellent skill people and our playing with a lot of confidence this year."
Disputed play helps WO-S muzzle Dogs
By TOM HALLIBURTON
Port Arthur News Sports Writer
WEST ORANGE - Nederland took a serious beating in more ways than one, as West Orange-Stark took a gigantic step toward a District 20-4A football championship.
The vaunted Mustangs' ''Chain Gang'' defense relied on many happy returns and pounded Bulldogs' quarterback Kevin Barbay all night.
But when it came time to settle the score in this 21-10 rock-em, sock-em affair Friday night at Mustang Stadium, a highly questionable officials' ruling turned this verdict for Paul Thomas and the Mustangs in a battle of two Top 10 Class 4A teams.
Nederland's Kevin Barbay was transported to Beaumont's St. Elizabeth Hospital an hour after this game after reportedly having an irregular heartbeat. Barbay felt a tingling in his extremities as medical personnel saw him outside Nederland's dressing area after the game.
Barbay was involved in the game's telltale play when he tossed a pass for tailback Joe Ramoin toward the WO-S sideline. Nederland trailed 14-10 but had first down at the Mustangs' 17 with 1:31 to play. After Barbay's toss fell to the ground, the alert senior defensive end Thomas took the ball and ran 83 yards for a touchdown.
TV replays witnessed by Port Arthur News sports editor Bob West on The Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience indicated the play should have been called an incomplete pass. But the San Antonio-based officiating crew ruled the play as a lateral and considered the circumstance to be a live ball.
"I can't say," Thomas said, when asked to rehash the play. "It just happened. All I can remember is getting it and going."
"Fortunately we don't have replays in high school football, so it's 21-10," a relieved WO-S head coach Dan Hooks said after his team improved to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in District 20-4A. "Those things happen. The Bible said "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the Lord.
"It came down to the end. We got a break maybe. When they didn't blow the whistle (on Thomas' 83-yard return), I knew Nederland was in serious trouble."
Thomas' runback gave WO-S sufficient breathing room for the first time all night with 1:01 to play.
Nederland (7-1 and 2-1) led all the major statistical breakdowns - 28:19 to 19:41 in possession time, 13-11 in first downs, 63-55 in offensive snaps and 208-110 in total yards. But the seventh-ranked 'Stangs had two huge returns - the 83-yarder by Thomas at the end, and the 89-yard late second-quarter kickoff return for a touchdown by Jeff Thibodeaux.
Nederland would snap the ball inside the WO-S 25-yard line on 11 times in the first half, yet would only have Michael Mitchell's 37-yard field goal to show for it.
NHS mentor Larry Neumann had very little to say at all after this tough loss, especially on the controversial play or the officiating in general.
"Anybody who saw the game can comment on the administration of the game as a whole," Neumann said. "It's not good for me or for this team to embellish on it right now."
One undeniable aspect of this one that Hooks and Neumann would agree upon would be the significant contribution of junior quarterback Kenton James, who gave the Mustangs' meager offense a spark with his mobility.
A junior varsity player last year, James had played a small amount of second-half action in two previous games against Bay City and Beaumont Ozen. He never had any idea that he would be playing a major role in this collision of two 20-4A titans.
"When you're not getting them out, you go to the bullpen," Hooks said, explaining his decision to insert James for WO-S starter Jonathan Feathers.
James entered for one incomplete pass in the first half and returned to the game under the Mustangs' most adverse of circumstances. Nederland tailback Joe Ramoin (17 for 104) had just given the Dogs a 10-7 lead with 4:07 left in the third quarter. To make matters more favorable for the visitors, Mustangs' return man Thomas slipped on the ensuing kickoff at his own 5. Enter the inexperienced and shocked James to run the offense.
"It was pretty scary," he said. "I was real shocked. I never thought I would come in during a big game like this."
James made the pivotal plays in the Mustangs' go-ahead 50-yard touchdown drive midway in the fourth quarter. His quarterback sweep gained 13 to Nederland's 28. A face-mask penalty at the end of the play advanced the ball to the NHS 14. James rolled to his left side for 10 more on the next snap to Nederland's 4.
Feathers returned to quarterback on the next play and pitched out to Thomas who dashed untouched around his right side with 5:32 left in the game. That gave WO-S a 14-10 lead but Nederland came back with a drive from its 48 to the 17. That set up the play that will be the source of many conversations in Mid-County for awhile.
Even if the highly focused Neumann wished Nederland could forget that play, it figured to be difficult to do so.
Nederland will entertain Lincoln next Friday night while WO-S will travel to
Thomas Jefferson.
ORANGE -- Paul Thomas scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on both sides of the ball to rally the state's seventh-ranked West Orange-Stark Mustangs to a 21-10 victory over the fifth-ranked Nederland Bulldogs in a District 20-4A battle of Class 4A powerhouses Friday night at Mustang Stadium.
Thomas scored on a four-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to give the area's third-ranked Mustangs a 14-10 lead.
Nederland, top-ranked in the area, was driving for the go-ahead score when Thomas scooped up a Bulldog fumble and raced 83 yards to clinch the victory.
Joe Ramoin paced previously unbeaten Nederland with 104 yards on 17 carries, including a 61-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.
West Orange-Stark could only muster 110 yards total offense, but the area's top-ranked defense in 4A held the Bulldogs to 208 yards.
-- Reported by Tom Halliburton
| Nederland | WO-Stark | |
| First downs | 13 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-161 | 33-60 |
| Comp-Att-Int. | 5-20-1 | 3-16-1 |
| Passing yards | 47 | 50 |
| Punts-avg. | 6-40 | 6-40 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-2 | 3-2 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-89 | 7-84 |
| Nederland (7-1, 2-1) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | -- | 10 | |
| WO-Stark (8-0, 3-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | -- | 21 |
N--Michael Mitchell FG 37, 3:23, 1st
WO --Jeff Thibeaux 89 kickoff return (Frank Shuman kick) 2:59, 2nd
N --Joe Ramoin 62 run (Mitchell kick) 4:07, 3rd
WO--Paul Thomas 4 run (Shuman kick) 5:32, 4th
WO--Thomas 83 fumble recovery (Shuman kick) 1:01 4th
Leading rushers N--Joe Ramoin 17-104, 1 TD. WO --Kenton James 8-40.
Leading passers N--Kevin Barbay 5-20-1, 47 yards. WO--Kenton James 2-8-0, 24 yards.
Leading receivers N--Michael Boyd 1-18. WO--Jermaine Hope 2-24.
