NEDERLAND, Texas — Nederland was in an unusual spot after the regular season in 2021. For only the third time since 2000, the Bulldogs were sitting home for the postseason.
Head Coach Monte Barrow thinks his team is ready to bounce back.
"This is a fun group of guys to be with. I think they love the game of football. We had some kids like this a few years back that we talked about that liked being around the game of football, which makes coaches like being around practice. The guys that come out, you don't have to force them to do things. So we've been doing that throughout the summer, just trying to get better every day."
Nederland lost quarterback Luke Broussard to graduation, so Fort Bend Christian junior transfer Adam Trosclair and sophomore Aydan Sunday will compete for the position, though Sunday has the potential to be a force at multiple spots.
"We're going into it, both of them will get reps, you know I think for us to be the best team. I've talked to them about that. Hopefully Adam wins that job because Ayden is so valuable in other places that will help our football team."
The Bulldogs new district will be tough, with Fort Bend Marshall, PNG and Texas City all ranked in the top twenty to start the season.
"We gotta make sure we're getting better every day. That's been our thing throughout the summer. We can't worry about the end result, we got to worry about getting better from today to tomorrow cause there's always something to learn. We got a lot of young kids that will be playing for us this year, which that's okay too. They'll have to grow up fast."
NEDERLAND BULLDOGS
2021 Record: 6-4, 3-4
District Finish: Tied for 5th
Playoffs: None
State Championships: (1) 1957
State Championship Appearances: (3) 1956, 1957, 1961
Playoff Appearances: 41 (Last 2020)
2022 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 26 - at West Orange-Stark
Sept. 2 - at Port Arthur Memorial
Sept. 9 - vs Silsbee
*Sept. 22 - at Fort Bend Willowridge
*Sept. 30 - vs Dayton
*Oct. 7 - at Santa Fe
*Oct. 13 - at Fort Bend Marshall
*Oct. 21 - vs Galena Park
*Oct. 28 - at Port Neches-Groves
*Nov. 4 - vs Texas City
(*) District