PORT NECHES -- Those 31 Port Neches-Groves senior football players just thought they wore purple on The Reservation for the last time against Beaumont Central.

  A couple of coin flips later, the Indians have another reservation for The Reservation on Friday night, Nov. 16 in the 4A Division 1 (big school) bidistrict playoffs against Galena Park High School at 7:30 p.m.

  Call the Indians a bit lucky. Or quite a bit. That's cool. They don't mind. PN-G won two coin flips on Monday afternoon in Winnie when PNGISD officials Matt Burnett and Pat Briggs met with Galena Park representatives.

  Burnett gladly deferred the coin-flip decisions to his school's student activities director after the Indians' coach watched his team be eliminated from the 2005 playoffs due to coin flips. Briggs accurately called two coin tosses on Monday.

  It's a situation that is very rare indeed in the Indians' storied football lore. Never in Burnett's playing or coaching days has PN-G had a playoff game in Indian Stadium. The Tribe's officials were so giddy about their news that they were thinking it to be a first-ever occasion. 

  Well, it's not, but it's been a long while since it's happened.

  The Indians won the AAA state championship in 1953 on The Reservation when they beat Big Spring, 24-13. Former Port Arthur News sportswriter John DeVillier wrote up that event, but that's probably the last time that the Indians would host a playoff game in Indian Stadium.

  "It's just great for our fans, players and coaches that we don't have to travel," Burnett said on Monday night. "I'm not a kid and sometimes I don't realize how much it means to them to get to play at home.

  "I asked the kids this morning during the athletic period that if 'we had an opportunity, would they want me to try to flip for home field' and the answer was an overwhelming 'yes'."

  Here's what Burnett and Galena Park head coach Ray Zepeda had to hash out on Monday.

  First, a coin flip determined whether or not the Indians-Yellowjackets game would be played at either team's home field or at a neutral site. That flip landed in favor of the game being played at either team's home field.

  Second, another coin flip landed with the purple side shining brightly and PN-G had itself a post-season home game.

  Student activities director and assistant principal Briggs -- the accurate coin-flip guesser -- indicated the ticket sales would begin Monday and Tuesday for season-ticket holders only from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those season-ticket holders would be permitted to secure their exact number of season-ticket seats during those days.

  The rest of the reserve and general admission tickets will go on sale from 8 to 4 on Wednesday and Thursday and from 8 to noon on Friday at the PNGISD administration office. Ticket prices will be $4 for students and $6 for adults. All tickets at the stadium gates on Friday night will cost $7.

  A thorough installation of prescription turf, a three-story press box, a renovation of stands on the home side and new concession areas will require a massive construction project to begin in late December or early January at Indian Stadium. That major project adds to the special significance for PN-G to get yet one more home game.

  "It's really neat with the historical significance of our field being gone by next year," Burnett explained.

  The Indians (7-2 and 6-0) have clinched the Division 1 spot from 22-4A plus at least a share of the league championship. They face a tall order Friday night in Dayton against a Dayton team (6-3 and 5-1) that mauled Nederland 63-0 last Friday at Bulldog Stadium. Galena Park (7-1 and 5-1) shares the 21-4A district lead with Crosby and Houston Smiley and completes its season Friday night at Barbers Hill.

  PN-G and Dayton have clinched two of 22-4A's three playoff spots. Either Lumberton (8-1 and 5-1) or Nederland (7-2 and 4-2) will seize the final spot. The outcomes of the PN-G/Dayton and Lumberton/Nederland games will affect that playoff verdict.

  Nederland would return to the playoffs with a combination of a Nederland win and a Dayton win. However if PN-G beats Dayton, Nederland needs to win by more than 10 points.

  Lumberton would eliminate any point discussions if it can win, because Nederland then would have three losses. But if both Mid-County teams win on Friday, the Raiders still would advance if they would lose to Nederland by less than 10 points.

  Port Arthur Memorial needs even more help from outside sources to claim one of four state playoff spots from District 21-5A. The 5A state bids already are secured by Beaumont West Brook and Humble. Memorial plays at Humble on Saturday night. The Titans need either Atascocita to knock off Baytown Lee or Baytown Sterling to knock off Kingwood. Memorial could be knocked out of the playoff picture after Friday night if both Lee and Kingwood would be victorious in their final regular-season games.