By Christopher Dabe Published 11:25 am, Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Chase Bertrand didn’t intend to close in on a long-standing school record.
But by the end of the season, he became only the second Port Neches-Groves running back to top 2,000 yards in a single season.
His 2,013 yards last season left him 137 yards shy of the school record set in 1955 by Gordon LeBoeuf (2,150), according to fan site PNGIndians.com.
“I didn’t have the goal to get those rushing yards,” said Bertrand, a senior this season. “Mostly I just tried to help the team and the yards came along with it.”
Tradition-rich PN-G is filled with players who grew up admiring the varsity players before them. Before Bertrand was Caleb Harmon. Before Harmon was Jake Hemmings.
The trail covers many generations, all the way back to LeBoeuf, a three-time all-state running back considered the best in school history.
Some other greats listed at PNGIndians.com include Bobby LaBorde (1953-55), Jeff Bergeron (1970-72), Mark Buchanan (1973-75), Justin Eicher (1977) and James Shipley (1975-77).
Those rushers led PN-G in its glory years, when it won state titles in 1953, ’55 and ’75 and when it reached two other state championship games during those decades.
Bertrand and Harmon neared LeBoeuf’s record in both of coach Brandon Faircloth’s first two seasons at the school. Before Bertrand, Harmon rushed for 1,832 yards in 2009.
Combined, Bertrand and Harmon rushed for two of the school’s top three single-season totals.
“That just goes a lot to show how the team is coached,” said Harmon, now a redshirt freshman running back at Lamar University.
“The coaches did a good job. Coach (Kyle) Segura, he was my running backs coach. He coached Chase too. It shows the job the offensive line coach and the job they did.”
The PN-G offense plays at a fast pace, frequently running plays without getting into a huddle.
“We caught teams off guard,” Harmon said. “We were in such great shape. At the end of games, the other defensive line would be bent over and we’d keep going. We got stronger as the game went on.”
That conditioning should carry the Indians through this season.
“We don’t make apologies for running the football,” Faircloth said.
“We want to run the football. We’ve had some great offensive lines that have really helped us. Caleb was a great running back. And Chase, he did exactly what we thought he could do.
“The thing about him is he works extremely hard and he’s extremely smart. He knows how to play the game of football.”
Bertrand showed most improvement by learning to be a better blocker and pass-catcher.
Those are the skills that keep him on the field for nearly all plays.
His goal is to keep playing for as long as he can. A deep playoff run should give him enough games behind a solid offensive line to gain enough yards to challenge LeBoeuf’s record.
“I feel a lot of pride because there are some big names on there,” Bertrand said of the school’s rushing leaders list. “There are some great running backs. It makes me work harder to be a part of those great running backs in history.”
