Somebody got overlooked!

[James Mosley]

How can a preseason team be picked without one offensive or defensive lineman from Nederland getting a mention. The entire offensive line except one is back from a playoff team.

[WOS92]

From the looks of this story, there are some questions there.

By RUSH WOOD

NEDERLAND - Colby Miller is the best strong side offensive tackle in the Nederland football camp.

Still, Nederland coach Larry Neumann went into Saturday night's scrimmage against Silsbee hoping that either Stefan Huber or Josh Miller might show enough mettle to perhaps merit earning a spot on the No. 1 offense.

That's because Colby Miller, no relation to Josh, is a returning mainstay at strong side tackle on the Bulldog defense, and Neumann would prefer to hold the number of two-way starters to a minimum, especially in the hot-weather early weeks of the season.

Neither Huber nor Josh Miller came through with any spectacular plays in their first full-fledged test of the 2006 season, but the entire Nederland offense also had a less-than-impressive performance as Silsbee outscored the Bulldogs 1-0 in touchdowns.

"I watched them (Huber and Josh Miller) as closely as I could, and my observation is that neither did anything to show that he may have won the position," said Neumann. "Neither did anything that caught my eye, but at the same time, neither made any glaring mistakes.

"I think the competition between them is one that will go on at least through the next two weeks and maybe on into the early part of the season. I'm still hopeful that one will step forward so that we'll be able to save Colby mainly for defense but maybe spot him a little offensively in certain situations."

Josh Miller started the scrimmage at the strong side tackle and helped provide protection for quarterback Alex Moshier on a 5-yard pass to Micah Mosley to gain Nederland's first down. Huber then replaced Miller and took down his man on an 8-yard run to the opposite side of the field, but the Bulldogs fumbled on their next play.

The Bulldogs' No. 1 offense made but two first downs on its opening 12-play possession. When the first-teamers returned to the field later in the 94-play scrimmage, Moshier turned in a 17-yard run and a 10-yard completion to Darren Washington, but the drive soon stalled.

Mosley, who wound up with 58 yards on eight carries, ripped off a 19-yard run on the final play of the No. 1's second possession, but the Bulldogs never seriously threatened against the Tigers, who came up with one fumble recovery and held the 'Dogs to 3-for-11 in the passing department.

"We didn't show a lot of offensive polish by any stretch of the imagination," said Neumann. "We were out of sync for some good reasons, but those reasons won't work next week (when the Bulldogs scrimmage Jasper) or two weeks from now (when they open the regular season against La Marque in Houston's Reliant Stadium).

"We're not even close to satisfied, but we're not disappointed to the point that we won't get a lot better. We weren't expecting to be hitting on all cylinders. We're confident we can get to where we want to be."

Meanwhile, both Josh Miller and Huber expressed confidence in their abilities to contribute to the offense.

"The coaches are going to play the best player, and I would like to be that player, but if I'm not, I'm all for what is best for the team," said Josh Miller, a 6-0, 210-pound senior who has earned two letters as a backup linebacker. "I need to fire out hard off the ball and make some strong blocks.

"I'm still learning the position, and it helps to have some experienced guys up there like Matt Molina and Phillip Biehle, who have been helping me."

At 6-4 and 220, Huber is the larger of the two, but he's a sophomore with only freshman team experience.

"I would love to earn a spot on the first team, but if Josh is the one who steps up, I will say, 'Go Josh,'" said Huber. "I need to step up my blocking and get a little more quickness.

"I'm feeling a little pressure from not having varsity experience, but playing on Friday night is what it's all about, and I'm hoping I can experience that."

Jordell Elam scored the scrimmage's only touchdown when he broke free at the line of scrimmage and sprinted 70-yards on the first play by Silsbee's No. 2 offense. He was the Tigers' leading rusher with 85 yards on three carries.

"This is the first time in a long, long time that we have held our first scrimmage opponent without a touchdown," said Bobby McGallion, Silsbee's head coach. "That's a big bright spot, and it certainly gives us something to build on, although we have a lot of work ahead of us if we're going to get to where we want to go."