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NEDERLAND – Quarterback Brent Holdren and the Barbers Hill offense were too much for Nederland as the Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 66-28 in District 12-5A action Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

Holdren completed 20 of 34 attempts for 374 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 35 yards on eight carries. Garret Hagler added 100 yards on 12 carries and two TDs. Trevaun Dixon caught six passes for 192 yards. BH amassed 632 yards of total offense for the game.

Luke Broussard completed 12 of 23 passes for 223 yards and three TDs. Kyndon Fuselier had seven catches for 122 yards and one TD. He also added a rushing TD. Reeve Barrow had TD catches of 34 and 42 yards.

“We knew what kind of football team they had coming into the game,” said Nederland coach Monte Barrow. “The first half started out like it was going to be a track meet, a little back and forth. We started out down 14 at their place last year.

“We came back a little bit, but they kept making plays. I was proud of the way our kids stayed it in for four quarters. These things our going to happen. I just want to see how they respond and bounce back going into our next game.”

Trailing 38-14, Nederland received the kickoff to start the second half. That initial drive ended when Kaden Newman intercepted Luke Broussard. The Eagles used that turnover to extend its lead on Hayden Pfitzner’s 6-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 45-14.

It was more of the same for the Eagles the rest of the second half. Nederland did get a 42-yard TD catch and run from Reeve Barrow in the third quarter. Josiah Herndon had a 36-yard TD catch for the Eagles, as well.

Fuselier had the only touchdown of the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs, a 2-yard run. Hayden Pfitzner had a 5-yard TD run for BH and Manny Shaw closed out the scoring with an 18-yard TD run for the Eagles to provide the final margin.

BH (4-4, 3-2) received the opening kickoff and needed just two plays to put the game’s first points on the board. Holdren hit Trevaun Dixon for 70 yards to the Nederland 5. Hagler scored on the next snap on a 5-yard TD run. Holdren ran in the two-point conversion to put the Eagles up 8-0 with 11:29 to go in the first quarter.

After forcing a three-and-out by the Bulldogs, Hagler scored on a 50-yard run on the drive’s first play. A failed two-point conversion left the score BH 14, Nederland 0 with 10:28 left in the first quarter. BH scored two touchdowns on three plays from scrimmage to start the game.

Nederland (6-2, 3-2) answered back on its second possession. Broussard hit Kyndon Fuselier for a 57-yard completion. Broussard and Fuselier connected on an 8-yard scoring strike to make the score 14-7 with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles put together an 11-play scoring drive on their next possession. After driving all the way to the Bulldogs 8, BH had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Justin Neail to make the score 17-7.

The Bulldogs responded with their second scoring drive of the game. Broussard had back-to-back completions to Noah Kendrick and Fuselier for 15 and 13 yards, respectively. Broussard hit a wide open Reeve Barrow on the flea flicker for a 34-yard touchdown. That made the score 17-14 with :52 left in the opening quarter.

Once again, BH answered the Bulldogs score. Holdren hit Josiah Herndon for 12 yards and Dixon for 48 yards. Hagler capped the drive with a 2-yard TD run to push the lead to 24-14 with 9:26 to go in the second quarter.

Will Buntin intercepted Broussard to set up the Eagles with field position at the Nederland 33. It took just four plays for BH to find the end zone. A 20-yard completion from Holdren to Brady Thompson put the ball at the 5. Hayden Pfitzner scored on a 5-yard TD run to push the lead to 31-14 with 7:10 left in the second quarter.

The Eagles defense forced a punt on Nederland’s next possession. BH blocked the punt, giving the Eagles the ball at the Bulldogs 36. Holdren connected with Herndon on fourth-and-10 for a 13-yard scoring strike to close out the first half scoring and put the Eagles up 38-14 with 2:13 remaining in the second quarter.

The Game Ball Goes To…

BH quarterback Brent Holdren who passed for 374 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 35 yards on eight carries.

The Play of The Game Was…

The game was back and forth through much of the first half. Nederland cut the lead to 17-14 and BH responded with a score to push the lead back to 24-14. On the ensuing Bulldogs possession, Will Buntin intercepted Luke Broussard, which led to Hayden Pfitzner’s 5-yard TD to extend the BH lead to 31-14.

Up Next…

Nederland hits the road with a game at Kingwood Park next Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Turner Stadium. Barbers Hill returns home for a 7:30 p.m. against Dayton next Friday.

— By Daucy Crizer, Special to the News