Someone ask Steve Morse where he will be this Friday. I bet he gives the same answer as Johnny Krautz. If you live in Mid County the place to be this upcoming Friday is The Reservation on the campus of Port Neches-Groves High School. It will be the 92nd time the Port Neches-Groves Indians face off against their bitter rivals, the Nederland Bulldogs. This is the second year the Port Arthur News will hand out the Bum Phillips Bowl Trophy at the end of the game. Do not forget to check out Mid County Madness: The Bum Phillips Bowl on Fox Sports SW which first airs on Monday. Monday’s telecast does not have an exact time at the moment due to the Texas Rangers possibly playing on the same day. Check your guide Monday if the Rangers win on Sunday. The show will air again at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and at 5 p.m. Friday. The show consists of countless interviews concerning the history of the game and an in-depth look into the life of Bum Phillips himself…
So who wins Mid County Madness? Readers will have to wait until Wednesday’s publication to find out which team I take in the game but I will give some early insight. The Port Neches-Groves Indians are the favorites with an explosive offense and a very scrappy defense. The Bulldogs have the most exciting player in running back Austin Krautz. Krautz can easily be the difference maker in a close game. He leads the district in rushing. The last two games between these long-time rivals have been a couple of the most thrilling contests and I expect another game that comes down to the end…
How big was Thursday’s win for the Memorial Titans? The team stormed out to a big halftime lead and then held on for the victory against Baytown Sterling. Looking at the Rangers it might not seem like much but a win is a win is a win. Kameron Martin had his second huge game in a row and the Titans defense was hitting harder than I have personally seen in over two years. La Porte is next on the schedule and if Memorial can keep the ball on the ground and get a few things to go right early, do not count the Titans out against the Bulldogs…
What a huge, job-saving victory for the Texas Longhorns and their head coach Charlie Strong. Strong was in trouble already and had the Sooners blown out the Longhorns on Saturday, the fans regents would have taken serious notice. The noise around Strong was already loud yet the 24-17 win in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday means he will be back for another year…
The Houston Astros could not have asked for anything more than a split in the American League Divisional Series against Kansas City. A win on the road was huge in Game 1, especially with Dallas Keuchel going in Game 3 today in Houston. Keuchel is 15-0 at Minute Maid Park and even during Game 2, which the Royals won, the Astros bats were on fire. Colby Rasmus is maybe the hottest batter on the planet right now and the Astros seem cool, calm and collected. If Keuchel wins on Sunday, expect the Astros to win again on Monday.
Gabriel Pruett is a sports writer at The Port Arthur. He can be reached at gabe.pruett@panews.com…
Congratulations are in order for Lamar senior running back Kade Harrington for breaking the school and Southland Conference rushing record Saturday. Harrington had 347 yards against Abilene Christian. Harrington is simply going off this year and you can expect several stories this week with him collecting more player of the week awards. There is a certain Nederland Bulldogs running back Lamar coach Ray Woodard needs to take a serious look at to replace Harrington when he leaves school.
Gabriel Pruett is a sports writer at The Port Arthur. He can be reached at gabe.pruett@panews.com.