Bulldogs' football fate in hands of young pup

[KFDM COOP]

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18783858&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=583964&rfi=6

Bulldogs' football fate in hands of young pup

Today, he's running the most popular show in town.

Still shy of his 16th birthday, Bellow doesn't have a driver's license. Before long, he might actually need to shave once a week. And in his grand debut last week as the Bulldogs' quarterback, in the fourth quarter of a neck-and-neck game inside Reliant Stadium, he completed 0 of 3 passes for no yards.

This is the youngster Larry Neumann trusts to take over the Nederland offense? Well, yes, actually.

"He's a cool guy," Neumann said. "His demeanor is one that a coach would like his quarterback to have. If his stomach's turning on the inside, he's doing a good job of hiding it."

In less than a week, Bellow, a sophomore, has gone from being a virtual unknown to having a virtual bull's-eye on his chest.

The 6-foot, 170-pound left-hander was thrown into duty under circumstances that could have frayed anyone's nerves.

It was only the season opener, only in an NFL stadium, only against Brenham, which reached the Class 4A state quarterfinals last winter.

How much had he played until then?

"I started playing quarterback since they put me on varsity," Bellow said. "I mean, I was the back-up quarterback."

And in fall two-a-days, how many repetitions had he gotten?

"Reps? I don't know. Like, 4-to-1. Four for Ryan (Sampere), one for me."

Of course. Sampere was the senior, the starter. That was the way it should have been.

But late in the third quarter, Sampere took off on a shotgun draw and sprinted to the 6-yard line, putting the Bulldogs in position to score what would have been a game-clinching touchdown.

At the end of the play, near the right sideline, Sampere's right leg got twisted up underneath two Brenham defenders.

He lay on the field for six minutes as trainers looked him over; eventually, the trainers helped Sampere off the field, keeping his right leg off the ground.

It was a heartbreaking moment for anyone wearing Nederland colors. To that point, Sampere had been the star of the game, torching the Cubs' secondary on a series of deep throws. He completed 13 of 26 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

What Nederland discovered later is Sampere suffered fractures in the tibia and fibia, two bones in the lower part of the leg.

"Of course, initially, I was preoccupied with the game. Hopefully, we'll get (Sampere) back," Neumann said. "But it will be a number of weeks. It's safe to say a minimum of four weeks."

The Bulldogs held on for a 29-28 upset of Brenham. But at 7:30 p.m. Friday, when they play on the road at Forest Brook, they'll start a quarterback who hasn't completed a pass.

Bellow might have leapt from ninth-grade wideout to varsity back-up quarterback. But by last week, he was such a superstar that his name didn't appear anywhere in the game program.

For the moment, Neumann has faith in his new starter because of what he didn't do last Friday against Brenham.

Most importantly, he didn't blow it.

Often, the telltale sign of a young, nervous quarterback is a dwindling play clock - if it's below 10 seconds and the team hasn't even broken the huddle, that usually means the quarterback is in over his head.

Bellow went in the other direction. He entered the huddle, took stock of the situation and tried to put it in fast-forward, practically breaking the huddle before the players gathered together.

Sometime during that first series, the older players told him to relax.

"I just remember worrying too much, not thinking about what I should be doing," Bellow said. "I wasn't reading the defense. The first play I was in there, I was trying to rush things because I was so anxious. It all happened so fast."

The good news: Now he has all week to figure it out.

[Guest Nederland Bulldogs]

Good article.

[24 over par]

good luck to the young pup. i have a feeling he wasnt just put in this spot he had shown the bulldog staff something and he will show everybody else starting friday

[cubfan12]

Best of luck to the new QB, and here's hoping Ryan recovers quickly. If he is anything like my son, I know he was really looking forward to his senior year, and it would be great to see him back before the end of the year. If it's not in the cards for that to happen, best of luck in baseball season.

[DP#1FAN]

BIG Congrats to the Bulldogs on a huge win. The coaching staff will have the QB settled down and ready to go.

[cards_mom]

Good luck, Kirby.....................from a fellow baseball (Gladiators) family in Bridge City!  We will be rooting for ya! 

[77]

Good luck to the young man. Neumann will have him ready .

[NedDog]

I am not so much worried about the outcome of the next two games as I will be when district rolls around.  Of course wins would be nice, but IMO, they are not nearly as important as seeing to it that Kirby gets comfortable and effective, as the starter. 

I have faith that he will do well (just as I know the O-Line & running game will improve), as his team mates & the city rally around him. 

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

All he has to do is manage the game and get the ball to his playmakers, i think he'll be fine, but i also hope the original starter comes back healthy soon.