PORT NECHES — This just was not the Nederland Bulldogs’ year.

It started right at the beginning of August when two players were cast off the team because of discipline issues and then another moved to Louisiana.

Then came the injuries, in bunches.

Starting quarterback Marshall Lange hurt his ankle, back up Blaysin Fernandez dealt with several of his own and running back Devon Simmons also got hurt.

Then came the forfeit of the Bulldogs’ win against Livingston that put Nederland behind the eight-ball when it came time to racking up wins for the playoffs.

Coach Larry Neumann mentioned this past week his players had done what they were supposed to do this year and all he ever asked of them. He considered his team a playoff team this year that was trying to “clinch the playoffs for a second time Friday.”

It just was not meant to be for the Bulldogs in 2016.

Nederland ran into Port Neches-Groves sophomore Roschon Johnson Friday in the 93rd meeting of Mid-County Madness. Johnson would not be denied as he had 245 yards on the ground and six rushing touchdowns.

Lange was off to one of his best games of the year until PNG defensive back Austin Bost made two great plays for two key interceptions.  This came after Simmons missed a vast majority of the second half. It was not reported if Simmons was injured or not.

The Bulldogs’ season was still not over for another 45 minutes after the loss. If Ozen could defeat Livingston, the Bulldogs were playoff-bound.

Ozen was holding a 41-40 lead with under a minute left in the game and a group of Bulldogs’ fans had not left The Reservation. Then, one last check of the score between the Lions and Panthers online showed the final piece of bad news for Nederland.

Livingston won 41-40. Nederland missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Once again, it just was not meant to be.

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Gabriel Pruett: 721-2436. Twitter: @PaNewsGabe