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By Chris Moore

Special to The News

Scott Rich, the first-year head coach for Nederland, got his first taste of the friendly rivalry that is known as Mid-County Madness.

“Not to call out any fans, but we went to a band concert at PNG. My wife and I were walking up and a couple from the side goes ‘Boo!’,” Rich said laughing. “I told them thank you. They weren’t being mean. You get the feel for it.”

Rich will get his real first taste as the stands fill up on Friday night his Nederland Bulldogs take on Port Neches-Groves Indians for the 101^st time in the last 99 years.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Port Neches-Groves High School.

Both teams enter the game with high stakes with PNG looking to continue prolong their 22-game win streak, while Nederland is vying for top spot in the district. Both teams are the only remaining unbeaten in District 8-5A Division II.

PNG currently leads the series 54-39-7 and has won the last two.

Although it is nearly 100 years strong, the anticipation has not dissipated. Earlier this month, Sports Illustrated ranked the rivalry as one of the best high school football rivalries in the country. The site left it up for the fans to decide and regardless of what anyone thinks about the rivalry and where it ranks, the fans’ dedication is unmatched, and it showed up in the polling. Despite their being 25 rivalries to choose from, the Bum Phillips Bowl received 73% of the vote (9,315 votes) with second place only garnering 26% (3,287 votes).

The fans’ dedication was on display again earlier this week as tickets for the contest sold out in six minutes, according to officials at PNG.

The Indians enter the game 7-0 on the season and coming off a 37-0 win over West Fork on Friday. Over the last two games PNG has outscored its opponents a combined 94-14.

Nederland enters the contest with an impressive 43-35 win over Lake Creek. The Bulldogs are 6-1 on the season with their only loss coming to Silsbee in non-district play.

PNG enters the game as the favorites, coming off a 5A state championship. However, previous-year success does not determine the following year’s Bum Phillips Bowl outcome. In fact, PNG is 1-2 against Nederland coming off a state championship. Nederland is 0-1 against PNG following a state championship.

The game also tends to have at least somewhat of an impact on a the coaches’ employment. No one is claiming it is the deciding factor in whether a coach is brought back next year, but it is worth noting that between the two schools the last six head coaching changes came after the previous coach lost the rivalry game. The last coach to go out on a win in contest was PNG’s Danny Malone in 1990 with a 27-0 win over Nederland.

Joseph, who is 2-0 in the Bum Phillips Bowl since taking over the program in 2022, said the game is a bit different from playoff atmosphere.

“This game is different just because of the familiarity and local aspect of everything,” he said. “There is still going to be chaos no matter what. It is going to be highly competitive like it always is with kids on both sides doing everything they can to not lose this game.”

The Indians could struggle to slow down the Bulldogs rushing attack. Running back Hubert Thomas has been on a tear this season and the PNG defense has struggled to stop the run in some of their closer games. Thomas averages about 11 yards per carry. Joseph said the way Nederland uses their feature back also plays a large role in his success, citing the use of different formations designed to get the athlete to the edge for those big-break plays.

“It’s hard. It is easier to say than it is to do,” Joseph said of slowing down Thomas and the Bulldogs’ rushing game. “He is such a good running back. They do a good job of getting him creases and getting him in space. He is very hard to bring down one-on-one. He is going to break some tackles, so we have to do a good job of getting multiple people to the football.”

While this will be the first time to two coaches meet as the leaders of their respective squads, Scott Rich and Joseph are familiar with each other. Rich spent the previous eight years on the staff of Katy High School, which is where Joseph’s father coaches.

“The thing that stands out about them winning games is how they have created turnovers,” Joseph said of Nederland. “They are also taking care of the football. They are plus-11 on the turnover ratio on the season. That is something that makes a difference in winning and losing, especially in close games.”

The first-year head coach for Nederland said preparation is key.

“You have to treat each day the same,” Rich said. “You have totrain the kids and train the coaches and yourself to treat it the same as far as preparation goes. If you don’t do that you get sidetracked from the real issue and that is trying to find a way to stop them from running the football and scoring points.”

For Rich, who will be coaching in the game for the first time, his defense will be tasked with trying to slow one of the state’s higher-powered offenses. The Indians enter Friday’s game averaging 44.7 points per game and winning games by an average of 22 points.

Rich said he sees some similarities between the two teams and added that the brand of football played in Port Neches is what his Bulldogs are striving towards.

“They are very efficient,” he said. “They don’t make a lot of mistakes. I haven’t seen a lot of turnovers. In our district, they are No. 1 as far as turnover margin, and we are No. 2. That makes a big difference when playing complimentary football. Ultimately, what they are doing is what we are trying to do here. They know what to do and how to win. That is the biggest challenge.”

Both coaches said that the game could likely come down to which group of kids can recover the best when the inevitable swing of momentum and emotions happen.

“You train them from the beginning that every play is important and not to get caught up in the ebbs and flows of the game,” Rich said. “It is a play. It is not the game. If you don’t win that play, you try to win the next. You reset. You don’t want to get beat two plays in a row. You have to break it down into smaller games within the game. But it is just a theory, and kids are kids.”