Organization news and notes

It came as no surprise that Pearland head coach Tony Heath would be named "Coach of the Year" by his district peers after the Oilers swept through the season with a perfect 10-0 mark while winning the District 24-5A crown with a 6-0 record.

The Oilers entered the season as the pre-season pick to win the district title and when the regular season came to an end, Pearland was sitting in the throne room wearing the crown.

Heath is the winningest coach in PHS history with a 75-29 record and has been at the helm of Pearland's football fortunes for nine years which is also longer than any previous coach in school history.

The humble and modest Heath, who always directs the credit of the Pearland success to his coaches and players, has seen one of the greatest turnarounds of any football program in Texas football history.

Prior to Heath's arrival, Pearland was considered won of the losingest football programs in Texas spanning almost 50 years. The Oilers recorded their first undefeated season at 10-0 in 1950 when they were competing in Class B. That team won their first playoff game in school history and finished with a school-record 11-1 mark.

The Oilers didn't make the playoffs again until 1962 when they finished 9-2 losing in the opening round. It would take 24 years for Pearland to reach the post-season again in 1986 where they lost in the first round to finish 6-5.
Heath's first team made the playoffs in 1997 with a 2-8 which tied them for the worst record by a playoff team in Texas history. But it was the start of an unbelievable turnaround that has put Pearland football on the map in the Houston area.

The Oilers improved to 5-5 in 1998 and 8-2 in 1999 missing the playoffs that year after finishing in a three-way tie for second place in 24-5A with Clear Brook and Clear Lake. Brook and Lake advanced on points leaving the Oilers at home. Ball High won the league title that season.

But the Oilers continued to improve and 2000 marked a year that the Oilers would advance to the playoffs and end a 50 year drought with a 35-13 win over Deer Park in the Reliant Astrodome. Pearland lost in the second round to Eisenhower.

The 2001 team continued the incredible turnaround by finishing 10-0 for the District 24-5A crown while erasing 51 years since the Oilers had their last undefeated team. Pearland beat Deer Park (28-21), Kingwood (28-27), and Hastings (17-7) to win their first-ever Class 5A Division I Region III championship. The Oilers posted a school-record 13-1 mark after falling to San Antonio Taft in the 5A state semifinals.

The 2002 team was 10-3 advancing to the region semifinals after beating Ball High and Baytown Lee in the first two games of the playoffs. The 2003 squad was 10-2 beating Brazoswood in the opening round before falling to Port Arthur Memorial and Jamaal Charles (UT). The 2004 team was 9-2 and lost to North Shore in the first round.

The 2005 Pearland team became only the third team in school history to finish with an unblemished mark, but lost for the second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs to North Shore for a 10-1 record.

Despite the loss, the Oilers have advanced to the playoffs for another school-record six consecutive years and have a combined 68-15 record from 1999 to 2005 making them one of the winningest teams in the Houston area.
The Oilers placed 11 offensive and defensive players on the All-District 24-5A first-team.

Junior running back Foswhitt (Fozzy) Whittaker (5-9, 180) was named the league's "Player of the Year" after finishing as the top ball carrier for District 24-5A and the second leading rusher in the Houston area. The speedster had 210 carries for 1,705 yards and 18 touchdowns. Whittaker also caught five passes for 56 yards. Whittaker picked up 1,238 yards and nine touchdowns his sophomore year giving him a two-year total of 2,943 yards and 27 touchdowns. There is no doubt that Whittaker, who also is an honor student in the classroom, will be one of the top recruits next season.

Quarterback Michael Speciale was selected as the district "Offensive MVP" for guiding the Oilers' offensive machine as the No. 1 offense in the league. Speciale had 107 carries for 778 yards and 11 touchdowns while hitting 45-of-90 passing for 660 yards and six scores with only four interceptions.

Speciale has been a valuable asset to the Pearland football program for the past three years and has epitomized the term "team player." Speciale played fullback and quarterback his sophomore year and then did double time as a fullback and linebacker during his junior season.

When coach Heath was looking for a quarterback to replace All-District signal-caller Brandon Buckner from last year's team, it didn't take long for him to put Speciale back in the driver's seat of the Pearland offensive machine.
"Michael is a special athlete for us at Pearland," Heath said. "He is a total team player and has always been willing to play wherever we asked and he has given it 100 percent which has served as an inspiration to all of our players."

Speciale is one of those rare all-purpose athletes that has a drive to win and his teammates feed off his competitive spirit which is one of the reasons why the Oilers completed the 2005 football campaign at 10-0 and only the third team in Pearland football history to finish the regular season without a blemish.

"We saw a winner in Michael when he was playing in the seventh and eighth grade and knew he was going to be some kind of athlete," Heath said.
The Pearland offensive line proved to be one of the best that Heath has ever assembled which is the reason that four players were named to the All-District first-team.

Senior tight end Landon Davis (6-1, 200), Sr. tackle Alan Pelc (6-6, 315), Sr. guard David Webster (6-4, 285), and Jr. center Steven Kenney (6-0, 250) were honored for their strong play in the trenches. The quartet were responsible for opening up huge holes for Whittaker and Speciale who combined for 2,483 rushing yards.

Pelc, who has committed to the University of Houston, was competing on the varsity for the first time, but proved that he could dominate his defensive opponents. Webster is a three-year starter on the offensive line and will have an opportunity to also play at the next level as he is weighing several different options. Davis played on both ends of the line of scrimmage and provided several key blocks that sent Whittaker and Speciale on their way to long distance touchdowns or huge gains. Kenney was a first-team pick last season as a sophomore and will return to anchor the offensive line next year.
The defense was also well represented as the Oilers were the No. 1 defensive unit in the district allowing only 190 yards per contest.

Headlining the first-defense was Sr. inside linebacker Texavier Henry (5-10, 190) who was a unanimous selection as the leading tackler for the Oilers this season. Henry was one of the fastest linebackers in the league and made huge hits all year. Senior outside linebacker Joel Mapps (6-0, 190) was one of the most improved players on the team and the second-leading tackler that wasn't afraid to hit people. Senior free safety Justan Vaughn (6-0, 185) was also a unanimous pick and was a pre-season All-Greater Houston selection. Senior defensive tackle Tony Barrows (5-9, 220) was also named to the elite first-team. Though he wasn't the biggest player on the field, Barrows played with a big heart and was responsible for strong play on the line that helped Pearland's linebackers stop the ground attack of most of the teams they played.

One of the major concerns at the beginning of the season was finding a placekicker to fill the shoes of Jake Moylan who was an All-District pick last season. A few days before the season began, All-District soccer standout Alex Bolan (5-9, 145) reported for duty and came through with a league leading 50 points scored by kicking including 38 extra points and four field goals. Bolan was named as the first-team All-District kicker.

The Oilers also had several players named to the All-District second-team.
On offense, Sr. running back Marcus Bradley, Sr. wide receiver Ernest Buch, and Sr. guard Eric Kutch were recognized for their outstanding play.
On defense, Sr. defensive end Torry Peterson, Sr. outside linebacker Brandon Shaw, and Sr. defensive back Jamaal Driver were honored for their strong performance during the year.

There were several players who were named as All-District honorable mention including wide receivers Sr. Jeremiah Lesser, Jr. Roosevelt Weeks, and Sr. Mihn Tran; tight end Matt Duke; offensive line Sr. Malcolm Brown and Sr. Chad Garner; defensive ends Sr. Brandon Drenon and Sr. Kent Schumacher; defensive line Jr.. Andrew Hernandez; Jr. Lance Hayes; and return specialist Jr. Karlton Johnson.

Pearland was also had the most players on the All-District Academic team with 18 players. A player must be a starter and have at least a 3.2 grade point average. Making this elite team included: Andrew Hernandez, Alan Pelc, Anthony Barrows, Brandon Drenon, Chad Garner, Fozzy Whittaker, Justan Vaughn, Jeremiah Lesser, Joel Mapps, Kent Schumacher, Lance Hayes, Landon Davis, Malcolm Brown, Michael Speciale, Roosevelt Weeks, Steven Kenney, Texavier Henry, and Torry Peterson.

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