Oilers hunt down Deer 47-7

Monday, 21 November 2011 21:10

ALVIN — In the middle of last week, Pearland tight end Cole Staudt's dad, Jack, put his analytical skills to work on how Pearland would fare against Deer Park. Putting all the numbers together and comparing schedules, scores, etc. -- the elder Staudt came up with a 41-9 final score against a team that had a 10-1 record and were district champions.

The actual final score? 47-7! Not bad Jack!

Since the arrival of head coach Tony Heath in 1997, the Oilers have played Deer Park seven times and the Oilers have prevailed all seven times. Pearland faced the Deer in 2000 in the first round of the playoffs in the Astrodome and won 35-13 which marked the first playoff win for the Oilers in 50 years. Each time the two teams have faced one another, it was either in the post-season or in district play.

When they played one another in district on two occasions, the Deer had to beat the Oilers to make the playoffs, but that didn't happen and Deer Park had to stay at home.

The 47-7 win for Pearland was the most lopsided score that has been posted in their seven games.

The Oilers took advantage of three early turnovers to jump out to a 20-0 lead in the opening period and there never was any doubt as to the outcome.

Justin Phillips got the first turnover with an interception that set up the Oilers on the Deer 47. Six plays later, Kevin Washington swept around end and scored on an 18-yard run. Michael Winstead booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 8:52 left in the opening period.

It took only 1:31 for the Oilers to find the end zone again as Phillips picked off QB Austin Rainer again, but this time he returned it 35-yards for a Pearland touchdown and a 13-0 lead after the PAT was no good with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

Pearland pooch kicked the kick off and Deer Park fumbled at their own 25 giving the Oilers the ball again. Jackie Robinson squirted around the Deer defense for a 10-yard scoring run and a 20-0 advantage.

After Pearland forced the Deer to punt, the Oilers turned over the ball with a pass interception and Deer Park took advantage of the good field position to score on a 12-yard pass from Rainer to Clay De La Garza to cut the lead to 20-7 with 1:28 left in the first frame.

That would be all the scoring for the Deer as Pearland would score 27 unanswered points in the final three quarters to get the 47-7 victory to advance to the Class 5A Region III Division I regional semifinals.

Pearland added two more scores in the second quarter as Washington scored on a beautiful 46-yard pass from QB Jacob Garner.

With :16 seconds left before intermission, Cody Sandman got behind the Deer secondary to gather in a 16-yard scoring strike from Garner for a 33-7 halftime lead.

The Oilers put the game away in the third quarter as Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game on a 5-yard run around right end. Chase Miller closed out the scoring with a 32-yard burst through the middle of the Deer Park defense with 8:54 left in the third making the score 47-7.

Pearland's offense racked up 454 total yards while the dominating defense limited the Deer to only 159 total yards including only 67-yards passing (10-of-21) with three interceptions including one by Juan Trujillo and two by Phillips.

Garner was 7-of-13 passing for 144 yards and two scores and one INT. Garner also had five carries for 41 yards.

Robinson paced the ground attack with 126 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. The speedster now has 1,220 yards on the season. The Oilers have had at least one ball carrier that has rushed for more than 1,000 for the last 14 straight years.

Miller had 11 carries for 57 yards and a TD. Washington had two carries for 24 yards and one score.

Washington had to catches for 63 yards and one score. Chad Cobb had one grab for 30 yards. Sandman had one reception for 22 yards and a score.

Pearland (10-2) advances to the Class 5A Region III Division I semifinals against the Houston Lamar Redskins (10-2) on Saturday, November 26 at 1:00 p.m. at Galena Park ISD Stadium. Lamar beat Cy-Falls 35-34 to advance to face the Oilers.

Pearland and Lamar have three common teams they each faced during the regular season. Clear Brook, Elkins, and Madison. The Oilers beat all three of these teams while Lamar beat Clear Brook and Madison, but lost to Elkins 17-12. Pearland beat Elkins 41-0 in the opening round of the playoffs.

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