Mid-County rivals prepare for season in preseason scrimmages

BEAUMONT, Texas — Mid-County rivals opened their one week of scrimmage play before the start of the 2025 season. 

Port Neches-Groves traveled to Orange to face head coach Eric Peevey and the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears, while the Nederland Bulldogs hit the road to Beaumont to take on head coach Chuck Langston and the West Brook Bruins.

The scrimmage at LCM was moved up to a 4 p.m. start in anticipation of potential storms.

However, no storm clouds rolled in, and the only shadow cast across the field was the pigskin soaring through the air from the Indians’ offense.

Third-year starter and senior quarterback Connor Bailey will lead the charge again this season as the purple and white set their sights on another deep playoff run. 

The Indians received the opportunity to start their season at The Reservation on August 29 against the Klein Oak Panthers who went 6-5 last year. 

“Hopefully that adds a little bit of motivation, getting to play in your own place for the first game of the year, should be a pretty good atmosphere,” said head coach Jeff Joseph. “But it’s going to have to be us getting right Monday through Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.”  

Mid-County went the way of the Bulldogs in 2024. 

That being said, Nederland enters 2025 with question marks after graduating a large senior class. 

In his second year, head coach Scott Rich will lean on a roster filled with multi-sport athletes, which he believes will translate well to the football field.

“These kids have worked hard all Summer,” said coach Rich. “Every one of the kids that are quarterbacks on the varsity played deep in the playoffs last year in baseball so we had a ton of reps in the Summer on a day-to-day basis and they worked hard to get themselves ready to go.” 

The Bulldogs will open the season on the road Aug. 29 against the Lumberton Raiders as they aim for another successful campaign under Rich.