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NEDERLAND — The Nederland Bulldogs wrapped up their final scrimmage Wednesday against West Brook.

Both teams elected to go a day early to try to avoid Thursday’s downpour.

Nederland Head Coach Monte Barrow wanted to see improvements in a couple of areas from the first to the second scrimmage.

“I thought we saw progress,” he said. “We had a lot of first-time guys in that atmosphere in the first scrimmage,” Barrow said. “They had to adjust to the difference in speed and physicality of varsity football. We still have a long way to go, but knowing we got better gives you confidence that you can continue to do that on a weekly basis.”

Barrow said he and his coaches focused on controlling non-football situations, such as talking to opposing players between plays and poor body language.

“I think they took that to heart and I was proud of the way we responded in the same situations,” he said. “We responded better than we did in the first scrimmage.”

The Bulldogs, who will start as many as six sophomores on defense, got a taste of 6A competition with West Brook.

Nederland Defensive Coordinator Chris Theriot said his unit played well against a higher classification opponent.

“I think we showed some fight,” Theriot said of his unit. “There 1s came out early and got after us a little bit. I think the younger guys calmed down a little bit and realized it is still football and it is still 11 on 11. I think as the game went on, we showed a lot of fight. They could’ve easily backed down after a couple of series. I was proud of their fight.”

The Bulldogs open their season against West Orange-Stark on Aug. 26. Barrow said the team has to lock in on the small details before Week 1.

“We have to be right before snap,” he said. “If we are not right before the snap, then it is going to be hard to have a successful play. On offense we have to see how we are lined up, how many splits we have and making sure we have the right snap count. On defense we have to see how the offense is lined up. We want to be in the right area before the ball is snapped to have a chance. That is what we will harp on this week.”