VIDOR — VIDOR – Seldom do things in sports go the way they are expected.



Take this week’s Port Arthur News Game of the Week as Nederland travels to Vidor. Before the season, everyone could look at the schedule and assume that might be one of the best games in District 20-4A all season. Two of the district’s top teams facing off coming out of a bye? Too good to be true, right?



It’s a credit to both Nederland and Vidor that they have been able to sustain their play enough to maintain this as the marquee matchup of this early season schedule. One thing is sure, though. These two teams know each other pretty well.



They met in a similar game last season, which Nederland won 22-19 at Bulldog Stadium, kickstarting its undefeated run through 20-4A.



“I don’t consider it an advantage at all, but it is unique,” Nederland head coach Larry Neumann said. “They’ve got guys on both sides of the ball that can make plays. We’ve got a feel for them, but I’m sure their players have a feel for our guys who are coming back. I guess it balances all out, but we are more familiar with them. First-hand knowledge from the year before is important, but it’s probably a wash.”



Vidor head coach Jeff Mathews knows what the expectations are around this game, but disagrees with people who call this the game to decide the district championship.



“It was a great game last year and I would expect nothing less this time around,” Mathews said. “Everybody keeps saying this is for the district championship. Well, it’s far from it. Both of us have six grueling games ahead of us after this one. Our district is competitive across the board.



“Whichever team wins or falls Friday night will still have plenty of season left ahead of them. You can’t base anything on just one game and we’re stressing that to the kids.”



The Slot-T offense Vidor runs will also be a unique experience for Nederland, as no other team in the district runs it currently. The Pirates will come into the game with most of their offense intact, but a big piece will be missing. The News has learned that fullback Justin Moore has been suspended for three games, including this week’s matchup with Nederland.



Moore was the second-leading rusher in 20-4A heading into this week, gaining 401 yards on 41 carries this season.



Moore’s loss will be felt, but they do have quarterback Montana Quirante returning. Neumann called Quirante a “great player,” and the senior leads 20-4A with 420 rushing yards and eight TDs. Quirante has also thrown for 121 yards, completing 6 of 7 passes this season.



With all the misdirection that Vidor employs, Nederland’s defenders have to be very disciplined and stay on their assignments to avoid big plays.



“We don’t see anything like it in district,” Neumann said. “(Having the extra week) has to help us. We didn’t have a typical week last week, but we worked out three days. They have a good awareness and some physical training on what Vidor does on both sides of the ball, which gives us a little bit of a head start.



“It’s a very deceptive offense by strategy. They’re deceptive by alignment, by motion, by ball-faking. All that helps them with the deception. We just have to be very disciplined. You can watch them on film, it’s not how much they throw, it’s when they throw.

“You have to condition yourself to no get into a bad position, because the one or two times you don’t carry out you assignment is bad news. You have to be 100 percent.”



One of the strengths to Vidor’s offense is stubbornness. Essentially a big-play offense trapped in a 1950’s run-heavy attack, the Slot T gives the Pirates plenty of chances to break big gains on virtually any play. It may not work once, but eventually, a defender gets out of position and Vidor ends up in the end zone.



“They have a resolve to how they run their offense,” Neumann said. “If they get two or three negative plays in a row, I don’t see players getting discouraged. I think they’re well coached and committed to the redundancy of what they run. If you run it enough, someone will break an assignment and they’re off and running. That’s a testament to their football team.”



On the other side of the coin is Nederland’s defensive line. Mathews was very impressed with the group that has terrorized opposing offensive lines all season long.



“Nederland has one of the best and biggest defensive lines I’ve ever seen in high school football,” Mathews said. “They’re not only huge, they have speed and strength to go with that. They’ll line up those 280 and 285-pound guys and we have a couple on our offensive line that go about 170 and 185. That’s why we run the offense that we do because we like to break out with some quick-hitting plays.”



Nederland will be dealing with a few injuries on its offensive line. Offensive tackle Justin Byrd will start in place of left tackle Jorge Del Fierro while De Shawn Washington will move over to right tackle in place of Dannis Latiolais. Washington practiced there and played there for one of the scrimmages. He will also start on defense, where he has 21 tackles and six sacks this season.