Organization news and notes

Oilers get ready to meet North Shore in playoffs
The 2005 Pearland Oilers are only the third team in school history to finish the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. The 1950 Class B Pearland squad finished 10-0, won their first playoff game and then fell in the second round to finish 11-1 which was the best record that Pearland ever had until 2001.

That's when the 2001 Pearland team finished 10-0 to win the District 24-5A championship and then went on to defeat Deer Park (28-21), Kingwood (28-27), and Hastings (17-7) for a first-ever Class 5A Division I Region III crown. The Oilers advanced to the 5A state semifinals where they came up short against San Antonio Taft to finish with a new school record 13-1 mark. The 2000 Pearland team beat Deer Park 35-13 in the first round of the playoffs to win their first game in the post-season in 50 years.

In 2001, Pearland traveled to Alvin and returned home with a 31-7 victory. That same year, Alvin had to beat the Oilers to make the playoffs. The same was true in 2005 when the Oilers faced the Yellowjackets at Memorial Stadium. Once again, Pearland shattered the playoff hopes of the Jackets with a solid 44-7 win to close out the regular season at 10-0.

Alvin head coach Mike Bass has done an excellent job with the football program and has been in the playoff hunt five of his eight years. Three times Alvin had to beat Pearland to make the playoffs, but came up short.

However, this season, the Jackets still had a chance to make the post-season had Brazoswood defeated reguvinated Clear Creek, but the Wildcats took care of business with a 53-29 pounding over the Buccaneers to advance with a 3-7 overall mark and 3-3 in district. Clear Brook and Alvin also finished tied for third place at 3-3, but Creek had the tie-breaker to extend their season under new head coach Darrell Warden.

As for the Oilers, they must face former district foe North Shore (10-0) in the first round in a repeat of last year's showdown. The Mustangs barely escaped The Rig with a 35-30 win.

"This is a much different team than we have ever had in my nine years," head coach Tony Heath said. "These kids are more focused and they aren't afraid. They have played each game, one at a time, and took care of business without looking ahead."

Pearland also had to overcome Hurricane Rita that saw the Oilers play three games in eight days.

"That was a real character builder for us as a team," Heath said. "We played against three good teams and came out on top. The players did everything we asked them to do under adverse conditions and we got three wins in a very short period of time."

One of the things that stands out about this Pearland team is the coaches and players made the decision at the beginning of the season to not put names on the back of their jerseys in order to make a statement about team coming before any individual effort. And it has been a positive on the field.
The Oilers took the field against Alvin and it was evident from the very beginning that they had their sights set on a 10-0 mark.

Alvin got the kickoff and three plays later found themselves staring at the Pearland offensive machine when Texavier Henry tipped a pass by JB Brown that fell in the hands of Brandon Drenon.

It took only three plays from the Alvin 29 for Pearland to score as Fozzy Whittaker took a pitch around left end for a seven-yard scoring scamper. Alex Bolan added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 9:54 left in the opening quarter.

Alvin was forced to punt after getting a couple of first downs. Pearland took over on their own 16 and quarterback Michael Speciale tossed a short pass to Whittaker who sprinted down the left sideline for 39 yards to the Jackets' 45. Six plays later, Whittaker once again scored on a seven-yard run breaking off a great block by tight end Landon Davis. Bolan added the extra point for a 14-0 lead with 3:32 still remaining in the first period.

Both teams traded punts and then Alvin got a break when Pearland had to punt from their on 7 to the Alvin 21. Pearland was penalized twice moving the ball to the 12 setting up a short flair pass from Brown to Ryan Nolan for a touchdown. Jimmy Juarez booted the extra point to cut the lead to 14-7 with 10:58 remaining in the second quarter.

That would be as close as the Jackets would get as Pearland scored on their next three possessions as Whittaker scored on a one-yard plunge, Jeremiah Lesser found paydirt on a 14-yard pass from Speciale, and Speciale rushed through the Alvin defense with 1:15 remaining before intermission for a 39-yard scoring jaunt to make the score 34-7 at halftime.

The Oilers added a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter and Kory Levi got loose on a 39-yard scoring run up the middle of the Alvin defense with 2:37 left in the game to post the 44-7 final score.

Heath opted to rest his starters as Whittaker, who had 14 carries for 108 yards and three touchdowns and Speciale had six carries for 101 yards and one score, never saw any action in the second half. Speciale hit 6-of-10 passing for 104 yards and a touchdown.

While the offense piled up 21 first downs to go with 316 yards on the ground and 105 yard in the air for 421 total yards, the Pearland defense continued to play together as one unit allowing Alvin only 10 first downs and 103 total yards with 38 yards rushing and 65 yards passing.

Despite the lopsided win, Heath emerged excited, not only about his present team, but for the future.

"Did you see our two freshman players?" Heath asked.

Heath was referring to freshman running back Kacey Carrier and freshman linebacker Jarrod Stewart who both got in a lot of playing time. Both made their mark in the game and brought cheers from the crowd as Carrier returned the second half kickoff and almost broke it for a score. Steward also made some noise on the defensive side of the ball when he put a bone-jarring hit on the Alvin quarterback that forced him to leave the game though not seriously hurt.

Pearland gathered on the field following the win and coach Heath praised the effort of every player citing once again it was team victory.

"Now it is time to get ready for North Shore," Heath shouted. "They have no idea who is coming to see them! What is better than finishing 10-0?"
And the team shouted, "11-0! Yes we can! Yes we will!"

The Oilers face North Shore on Friday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m. at Galena Park ISD Stadium. The Mustangs have won 50 straight games during the regular season and have never lost at home since they moved into their new stadium. The Pearland Oilers are primed and ready, as one unit, to end that streak. Thousands of Pearland fans need to support the Oilers at the game. Get there early and make a lot of noise!

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