Oilers fall in final minute to Clear Springs

PEARLAND — For the second consecutive time, the Pearland Oilers have been victim to another loss with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Two weeks ago, it was a loss to Memorial 17-14 with 55 seconds left in the game. This past Friday, it was to Clear Springs 31-24 with 26 seconds remaining in regulation. Both teams were victims to the Oilers last season in the same manner.

Pearland is now 2-2 on the season and the loss to Clear Springs leaves them 0-1 to begin district play.

The last time that Pearland lost at The Rig was on September 29, 2006 when Clear Lake beat the Oilers 40-20. Pearland lost the next week at Brazoswood in overtime to begin district action 0-2 and then reeled off nine straight wins to win the Class 5A Region III Division I championship before falling to Austin Westlake 35-32 in the 5A Division I state semifinals.

Pearland has only lost four times at home since The Rig opened in 2001. Two of those times were to North Shore during a regular season game and a playoff game. The Oilers are 52-4 at home.

The loss this past Friday snapped a 25-game win streak at home for the Oilers which was the longest current win streak in the Houston area.

"I said at the beginning of the year that it isn't fair to compare this year's team to last year's team," head coach Tony Heath said. "This team is a work in progress and we are going to deal with our mistakes head on and try to get better."

There is no doubt that every team that Pearland will face in district will bring their top game so they can claim a win over the defending state champions.

Pearland came out strong in their opening possession as junior Adam Saunders found a huge hole by the offensive line to break free for a 43-yard scoring dash through the middle of the Clear Springs defense. Mike Winstead added the extra point for a quick 7-0 lead with 9:26 left in the opening period.

Clear Springs drove down the field following the ensuing kickoff but their drive stalled at the Pearland 15-yard line and the Chargers settled for a 32-yard field goal by Eric Ferrufino to cut the lead to 7-3 at the 7:13 mark of the first quarter.

After the two teams traded punts, Pearland scored again on another long-range run as Jackie Robinson squirted through a hole and turned on his jets to burn the Chargers on a 56-yard scoring run with :05 seconds left in the first frame. The PAT was good and Pearland had a 14-3 advantage.

It took the Chargers less than three minutes to find the Pearland end zone as Clear Springs backup quarterback Jake Blackledge hit Chaz Edgerson for a 33-yard scoring strike to cut the lead to 14-10 with 9:10 left before intermission.

Neither team could score again until Pearland got a 20-yard field goal by Winstead as time expired for a 17-10 halftime lead.

Clear Springs scored the only points in the third quarter as Blackledge hit Marcus Johnson on a 2-yard pass with 5:39 left in the period to tie up the game 17-17.

With 6:03 left in the game, Pearland completed a nice scoring drive as Saunders got loose once again on a 21-yard scoring sprint. Winstead hit the PAT and the Oilers were back on top 24-17 and it appeared that the momentum had shifted to Pearland.

That momentum lasted all of 13 seconds as Aaron Henderson broke a couple of tackles and then found an open seam in Pearland's kickoff coverage on his way to a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The PAT was good and the game was tied at 24-24 with 5:50 left.

It appeared that Pearland would drive down the field to get a shot at a game-winning field goal, but the Springs defense sacked QB Jake Garner twice to force the Oilers to punt.

The Oilers couldn't have asked for a better punt as the ball was downed at the Chargers' 1-yard line with 3:10 to go in the game.

Big passing plays ate up huge chunks of yardage as Clear Springs made their way down the field.

The big play was a pass from Blackledge to Edgerson on a 31-yard pass, and then Pearland was called for a 15-yard personal foul penalty that set up a 1-yard run by Rian Thompson with :26 seconds left in the contest making the score 31-24.

Statistically, it would appear that Pearland won the game, but statistics don't always win games.

Pearland outgained the Chargers 425 to 385. The Oilers lost one fumble and Springs lost two. Pearland had five penalties for 50 yards while the Chargers had five flags for 45 yards. The personal foul at the end of the game helped contribute to the last second touchdown.

Pearland QB Jake Garner was 12-of-16 for 125 yards while Blackledge was 20-of-30 for 273 yards and two TDs and one INT.

Saunders led all rushers with 24 carries for 200 yards and two scores. Robinson had 95 yards on nine carries and one score. Garner had 13 totes for 18 yards.

Cody Sandman (1-20), Saunders (1-17), John Gibberman (3-33), Chad Cobb (3-23), DyQuan Roberts (1-15), Kevin Washington (2-14), Tyler Basso (1-13), and Cole Staudt (1-8) all had pass receptions in the game.

SCORING JAUNT - Pearland running back Adam Saunders (4) found a huge hole that allowed him to score on a 43-yard run to give Pearland a 7-0 lead against Clear Springs in the first quarter at The Rig. Saunders finished the game with 200 rushing yards on 24 carries and two scores. In a see-saw battle, the Charges scored with :26 seconds remaining in the game to pull out a 31-24 win in the district opener for both teams. The loss snapped the longest home win streak in the Houston area at 25 games. The last loss at home for the Oilers was on September 29, 2006 against Clear Lake. (Photo by Manny G)