PORT ARTHUR — NEDERLAND – Competitive football kicks off Friday for many area teams, as schools who did not participate in spring practice can hold their first scrimmage of the fall. For Nederland, that means welcoming back a familiar opponent in West Orange-Stark.



The two schools won’t meet in the regular season for the next two seasons, but they will be raising money for a good cause this week. Donations will be taken at the gate during Friday’s scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium toward the Texas High School Coaches Association’s benevolence fund.



The fund was established by the THSCA Board of Directors to assist athletes and coaches with special needs or hardships. According to the press release, over 740 schools have participated, raising over $195,000 for the cause.



WO-S and Nederland will have the JVs and freshman teams scrimmage first at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity team taking the field at 7 p.m. The varsity will play the scrimmage like a game, with four 12-minute quarters. The only change is there will not be a live kicking game.



“The physicality by which we play will always be important,” Nederland head coach Larry Neumann said. “That’s the great thing about West Orange-Stark. They’ve had their success through the years, great players and coaches and all that stuff. They will flat hit you.

“They play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. That’s why I always like playing them early, to set a tone on how we wanted our teams to play like. Hopefully we’ll have a physical game and come out clean injury-wise.”



The two teams played each other at Lamar’s Provost-Umphrey Stadium last year in Week Zero, with Nederland pulling out a 21-20 victory with a 2-point conversion on the game’s final play.



Nederland ranked



The Bulldogs got a nice surprise with the release of the Associated Press’ first high school football poll of the season. Nederland was ranked just outside the top 10 at No. 12, garnering 15 votes and finishing one vote behind No. 11 Brenham.



The top-ranked team in Class 4A is Denton Guyer, who received 13 first place votes. Pearland Dawson, which eliminated Nederland from the playoffs last season, is ranked No. 4 while Nederland’s Week 2 opponent Angleton is ranked No. 9.



Practice going well



With an off-day Thursday from practice, Neumann is “guardedly optimistic” about his team through the first nine practices of the fall. That includes five padded practices, where he’s seen his team developing good habits as well as some areas it needs to work on.



A couple of the areas Neumann and his coaching staff will be watching during the scrimmage will be how the offensive line blocks, how the defense tackles and trying to limit big plays in the passing game.



“Based on what I’ve seen in practice, what I’d like to see Friday is clean exchanges from center to quarterback and that we fit up on our blocks well offensively,” Neumann said. “I’m not talking about finishing a block, but just showing that you know who to block in different situations. Defensively, the No. 1 thing will be preventing the long ball pass. We’ve worked a lot on that the last few days of practice. If you’re practicing bad technique, it’s going to show up when you play better players.”



Injury updates



Though the contact level has been ratcheted up because of the return to full pads, Nederland hasn’t suffered from many injuries so far in camp. Cole Brown, the junior offensive lineman, has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms for the past week, but the Nederland training staff has been on top of it and Brown has been cleared to play Friday.



Another couple of the offensive linemen have been dealing with nagging injuries, as center Chris Henry got his foot stepped on during drills and Dannis Latiolais has had some back issues. None of the injuries appear to be lingering and all three players should see time Friday.



“I expect everyone healthy for our scrimmage,” Neumann said. “They’re all good to go, so I think we’re going to get some good evaluation on them.“



Position battles



The two biggest areas that need some settling down for Nederland are the offensive line and the cornerback spot. With three of the five linemen dealing with injuries, it’s given a chance for players to step up and show the coaching staff what they are capable of.



That’s been especially true for center Logan Albritton, who has gained his coaches’ confidence with his play this camp.



“Whenever you have (injuries) happen, it gives opportunity and shows a different way for you to put things together,” Neumann said. “Logan has looked pretty good at center. Because of circumstances and him getting that opportunity, we may not have known that. I told our coaches, I feel pretty good if Logan has to go Friday night at center. From what we’ve seen in practice, I think we’d be okay.”



At the cornerback spot, Neumann said the Bulldogs will likely rotate through four players. Zach Taylor, who will be a three-year starter, is going to start on one side while Seth Barrow and Michael Shaw will likely split time on the other side with Robert Wiltz working in as well.