NEDERLAND, Texas — Each outstanding athletic performance in Southeast Texas should receive the spotlight it deserves.
The Nederland Bulldogs marched into week one of the 2024 season with their new Head Coach Scott Rich in hopes of beginning to turn the Bulldog football program back into a contender.
When a program has a returning talent like Hubert Thomas III, it makes for an easy transition.
The Bulldogs opened the season at home against the Lumberton Raiders who also brought in a new head coach into their program in Chase McDonald, but the Raiders did not expect for Thomas to be as explosive as he was.
When the final buzzer went off towards the end of the ballgame, Nederland closed things out with a dominant 37-0 victory.
Thomas left his mark on the game going for 16 carries rushing for 249 yards and tacked on four touchdowns in the win.
"I got to give the shoutout to the O-Lineman, they wanted it," Thomas said reacting to his performance.
When asked about what it takes to come out firing in week one the way the Bulldogs did, Thomas said, "we've been just trying to prove what we've been doing and {show} how much work we've been putting in over the Summer."
Head Coach Scott Rich praised his running back in an interview with 12News when he said, "he's played a lot of snaps and ultimately that's what separates him from a lot of people. He's got some explosive talent, obviously, but he's a very smart football player."
Nederland heads off to West Orange-Stark to face the Mustangs on September 6 at 7 pm in the 409Sports Blitz Game of the Week.