BEAUMONT — A win is a win.

The Nederland Bulldogs needed a victory, and that is what they got Saturday at the Thomas Center against the Ozen Panthers.

Nederland stayed in the District 22-5A hunt with a 28-8 victory over Ozen. It was not pretty, but coach Larry Neumann will take it.

“I told the team the wins can be ugly, but that can’t be bad,” Neumann said after his team improved to 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the District 22-5A standings. “We are proud of the results. Like any coach does, you look for the things you need to improve on and there were plenty of things in this performance we need to correct. At this point in time, you just have to keep winning and we did that today.”

The Bulldogs got the victory thanks in large part to the success in the ground game.

Junior running back Devon Simmons had 220 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown behind a dominating performance from the Nederland offensive line.

“The line did a great job today,” Simmons said. “You never wake up thinking you are going to have 200 yards in a game. I am just happy to help out my teammates.”

Simmons and his teammates needed this win as the Bulldogs keep fighting to make the playoffs for the ninth straight time. Nederland heads into its bye week in fifth in the district standings, right behind Livingston who is 3-2 in 22-5A play. Livingston faces district-leading Port Arthur Memorial this week at home.

The Bulldogs can use the break with several players including Simmons who are either currently dealing with injuries or just coming off an injury.

“Everyone deals with injuries,” Neumann said. “Our week off comes at an inopportune time for us. Hopefully we can get some guys back next week and then have another week before we face Lumberton.”

The Bulldogs face the Raiders on Oct. 28.

Simmons was the offensive explosion Saturday for Nederland, and Ty Sheppard manned a stout Bulldogs’ defense. Sheppard had interceptions on back-to-back Ozen quarterback Dominique Morris throws.

The Panthers were limited to 91 offensive yards and finished with 24 yards on 26 carries. Morris finished 7 of 18 passing with 67 yards and two interceptions.

He scored the lone Ozen touchdown, coming with 26 seconds left in the third on a four-yard run.

Three different players took snaps under center for Nederland. The Bulldogs only completed 5 of 14 pass attempts.

•

Gabriel Pruett: 721-2436. Twitter: @PaNewsGabe