Football, football, football is on the minds of many Mid- and South Jefferson County residents. As in the past, the hot topic game of the season is Mid-County Madness between the Nederland Bulldogs and Port Neches-Groves Indians. The game is scheduled as the last game of the regular season and will be played at PNG Stadium, also known as “The Reservation.” This year will mark the 93^rd meeting between the two teams.

Mid-County Madness continues to be the crème de la crème each year, and even more so since the creation of the Port Arthur News Bum Phillips Bowl trophy in 2014. The winning team is presented the Bum Phillips Bowl Trophy to display on campus throughout the following school year. The Nederland Bulldogs have won the last two years, creating a beautiful case to display the Bum trophy for all to see when entering Nederland High School. Will this year be PNG’s year? We will see.

Bum Phillips, the iconic head NFL Football coach, cut his coaching teeth right here in Jefferson County with both teams. Ironically it was during the 90^th meeting between the two teams in 2013 when Coach Bum Phillips passed away at the age of 90. Soon after, the trophy was developed. It was the brainchild of Neches Federal Credit Union employee Dawn Forniet, and the determination of former Port Arthur News Sports Editor Bob West that brought it to fruition. They are the reason the trophy has become a beloved part of our community’s football traditions.

It only seemed fitting that the trophy be shared with the residents of both Nederland and PNG each year for their enjoyment. Starting August 1 and then each Monday leading up to the Big Game, the trophy will move to a new location, followed by a picture in the Tuesday edition of The News showing readers the location for the week.

The first stop on its yearly tour will be at the new International Safety Training Council (ISTC) facility on Highway 69. Locations to keep a close watch of in the coming weeks are Neches Federal Credit Unions, Market Baskets, Pizza Inn, Lamar PA, DuGood Credit Union, Mobiloil Federal Credit Union and 5 Point Federal Credit Union and both high schools.

We’re certain Coach would have wanted to share this trophy with his beloved community, and we’re thrilled to watch as the community embraces the memory of Coach and the trophy. For two years, readers have enjoyed taking their photos with the trophy and posting those photos on social media. We hope you’ll continue to do that, tagging with #patxnews. We’ll share those with other readers, and who knows, you just might end up in The Port Arthur News.

Rich Macke is publisher of the Port Arthur News. Contact him at rich.macke@panews.com