Beat like a dog

Texas sends Nederland Bulldogs back to the dog house

Story by Kunan Anjum, editor-in-chief

November 18, 2024

The Texas High Tigers sends the Nederland Bulldogs back to the dog house, defeating them in the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers travel to Longview, Texas on Nov. 22, 2024 to play Crandall High School in the second round of the Texas High School Football Playoffs.

The Tigers of Texas High School established themselves as the dominant team in District 7 – 5A Division II by defeating all opponents in the regular season. With a perfect regular season schedule behind them, the Tigers returned to Tiger Stadium at Grim Park for one last home game on Nov. 15, 2024. They became bi-district champions after defeating the Nederland Bulldogs in the first round of the Texas High School Football Playoffs.

Blowouts like last Friday night’s game are not new for the Tigers this season. According to MaxPreps, after the resounding victory against Nederland, Texas High is ranked number one in the 5A Division II rankings.

By setting a positive precedent for the rest of this season and maintaining their undefeated status, the Tigers continue to meet their opponents where they are in terms of physicality and strategy, ultimately leading to their superiority.

“The reality of it is just being a more physical football team and [knowing] they were going to be one of the more physical teams we’d seen all year,” head coach Gerry Stanford said. “They averaged 400 yards of offense a game, right about 40 points a game, and we felt like we had to match their physicality and keep that moving forward for four quarters.”

One of the most noticeable differences contributing to this point discrepancy continues to be the Tigers’ speed, as seen in previous matches. This forced the Bulldogs to play more cautiously and bring in players to attempt to stop the running game. This strategy ultimately left gaps in coverage for Texas High receivers and quarterback David J. Potter to exploit.

Several touchdowns made by runningback Javari Johnson and receiver Kameron Wrightner put Texas High in the lead 42-7 before halftime.

“They fought the hardest as they could,” Johnson said. “We just fought back and came off the ball hard and did what we [needed] to do . . . they couldn’t catch us.”

Finishing the match with a score of 56-14, the Tigers reign undefeated and improve their record to 11-0. The Tigers travel to Longview, Texas to play against the Crandall Pirates on Nov. 22, 2024.

About the Contributors

Kunan Anjum, editor-in-chief

Kunan Anjum is a returning member of THS Publications as the Editor-In-Chief and last hope of Tiger Times Online. When Anjum isn’t busy fighting through homework he’s most likely listening to music, playing pickleball, or reading random articles on Medium. Shockingly enough, Anjum is a junior representative of STUCO, vice president of HOSA, a member of T-High ASPIRE, technical writer for T-Bots, and a member of Quill & Scroll Honor Society and NHS; once again proving that he has no life outside of his academic endeavors. Anjum is thrilled to have the opportunity to build the school newspaper back to its former glory, brick by brick while being understaffed and overworked. If all goes well, Anjum plans to attend UT Austin with a major in biochemistry where he will continue to battle his life-threatening caffeine addiction.

Anna Haley, assignments editor

Anna Haley is a third-year staff photographer, serving as Tiger Times Assignments Editor. Anna enjoys fishing and hunting, but if she isn't doing that, she’s reading at her desk, getting some piercing or playing Guns N’ Roses through the speakers in Room 50A. Anna is involved in National Honor Society & Mu Alpha Theta and is a 2-year member of the Texas Imagemaker Team (Top 10 Photographers in the state of Texas), as well as an ILPC All-State Journalist & hopes to be a recurring member of both. Anna is a die-hard Aggie fan, but she will miss her beloved sidekick, EIC, Oviya Justin, when she ventures to the dreaded University of Texas. She is excited for her last year in publications!