Organization news and notes

Pearland head coach Tony Heath got the news that he has been named as a 2005 finalists for "Coach of the Year" honors by the prestigious Touchdown Club of Houston. The award will be presented on Wednesday, December 7 at the JW Marriott Hotel at 7:00 p.m.

Heath is no stranger to the annual award as he was a finalist in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Though Heath is appreciative of the recognition that reflects his coaching staff and players, the humble coach wasn't too excited about having to sit at the head table with the other finalists.

"I went to the awards dinner last year and, for the first time in four years, I got to sit in the crowd," Heath said. "It was the best time I've had and where I would rather be sitting. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate being honored, but I am only there representing my school, community, coaching staff and players. I am there because of them."

Now Heath will be a finalists for the fifth time in four years. Insiders close to coach Heath have referred to him as the Susan Lucci of Houston area coaches. Lucci, who has been the star as Erica Kane on the soap opera All My Children for 30 years, was nominated 19 straight times for a Daytime Emmy before she finally won.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about me being nominated that many times," Heath laughingly said.

The Miracle on Oiler Drive has been a phenomenal story over the past nine years. When Pearland was once considered the doormat opponent for most of 50 years, Heath and Co. has re-written school records since he took over the helm of the football program in 1997 including six straight playoff appearances and seven straight winning seasons.

Each year, as opposing teams looked at the schedule to decide who their homecoming opponent would be, the Oilers were at the top of the list.
This was true in 1997 when head coach Tony Heath took over the helm of one of the losingest football programs in the state spanning literally decades and not just a few seasons.

Prior to Heath's arrival, the Oilers were 6-63-1 from 1990 to 1996 with three of those seasons at 0-10. Pearland had a 19-game losing streak to present to Heath and his new coaching staff.

"The realistic goal we set for our first season was to win just one game," Heath said. "No promises of district championships or making the playoffs. We had a bunch of kids who didn't know how to win and we needed to get a taste of victory."

It took Heath five games before his troops won that first game while unveiling a freshman running back by the name of Anthony Evans. Ironically, the Oilers won two games to finish 2-8, but amazingly won the right games that put them in the post-season against the Ball High Tornadoes. It tied them with the worst record for any team to make the playoffs, but that didn't faze Heath and his team. The Oilers hadn't been to the playoffs since 1986 snapping a 10-year absence. Only two other teams (1950, 1962) since 1949 had made it to the post-season, so it was quite an accomplishment for the Oilers in that first season under Heath.

Having no place to go but up - the Oilers were 5-5 in 1998 but didn't advance to the post-season. In 1999, Pearland was 8-2 but finished in a three-way tie for second place in District 24-5A with Clear Brook and Clear Lake. The Oilers beat Lake 18-17 and lost to Brook 14-7. Clear Lake (7-3) beat Clear Brook (7-3) 14-7 so Brook and Lake advanced on points while Pearland stayed home.

In 2000, the Oilers were 8-4 and made a return to the playoffs to face Deer Park in the Reliant Astrodome. Pearland beat the Deer 35-13 behind Evans and Co. to register their first playoff win in 50 years. The only other team to win a playoff game was the Class B 1950 Pearland squad who was 11-1 with Pearland's only team to post a perfect regular season mark at 10-0.

Evans was the most heralded recruit in Pearland football history as he signed with the University of Houston. The All-State speedster finished as the No. 2 all-time leading rusher in Texas 5A football history with 6,192 yards and 66 TDs to finish behind Midland Lee and Texas All-American Cedric Benson. Evans was named as the "Player of the Year" by the Houston Chronicle and District 24-5A for two straight years. He led the Houston area in rushing for two consecutive years with over 2,000 yards each season.

The foundation was laid for the Oilers who have made the playoffs for the past six straight years.

The 2001 Pearland team registered their second unblemished record at 10-0 snapping a 51-year mark. The Oilers beat Deer Park (28-21), Kingwood (28-27), and Hastings (17-7) to advance to a first-ever trip to the Class 5A Division I state semifinals where they came up short against Robert Merrill (TCU) and San Antonio Taft. The Oilers set a new standard with a 13-1 season mark. Coach Heath was named "Coach of the Year" by the Houston Chronicle. Heath is the winningest coach in PHS history with a 75-29 record over nine years.

Quarterback Noah Allen (OU/Sam Houston) and running back Brandon Roberson (Northwestern) led the Oilers to the state semifinals as Allen passed for over 2,000 yards while Roberson was beginning his career with over 1,300 yards rushing. Roberson broke Evans' single-season rushing record with 2,295 yards his junior season and broke the single-game rushing mark with 347 yards in the playoff game against Baytown Lee in 2004. Roberson concluded his player career as an All-State running back and No. 8 on the all-time Class 5A rushing list (5,235 yards - 65 touchdowns) with Evans giving the Oilers the only school in Texas football history with two running backs in the top 10.

The Oilers continued their winning ways as they were 10-3 in 2002, 10-2 in 2003, 9-2 in 2004, and 10-1 in 2005 giving them a sparkling 60-13 mark since 2000.

Needless to say, Pearland is no longer considered the ideal homecoming opponent as area teams have taken them off their list. Prior to the 2005 season, the Oilers hadn't been a homecoming opponent since 1999, but Victoria Memorial decided this season to invite Pearland to their party. The Oilers left as homecoming king 44-15.

The 2005 pre-season selection for the District 24-5A champion had Pearland at the top of the list and the prediction proved correct as the Oilers swept through their league foes with a perfect 6-0 mark while winning four non-district games for their third 10-0 season in school history. The Oilers dropped their game to North Shore in the Class 5A Division I Region III bi-district playoffs to finish 10-1 for their fourth double-digit win season in nine years.

Once again, the Oilers dominated their opponents during the regular season finishing with the No. 1 offense and defense in District 24-5A.

There aren't many teams, if any, in Texas football lore who have had such a dramatic turnaround. With 75 victories over the past nine years, the record shows that one would have to add up all the wins covering 27 years from 1970 to 1996 to total 75 victories to equal what Heath and the Oilers have accomplished.

Pearland is now considered one of the top teams in the Houston area and Heath is considered one of the top coaches in Texas. While he might want to shun any personal accolades, he is deserving of every honor that come his way, including being named as the 2005 "Coach of the Year" by his district coaching peers this season.

Pearland is proud of Tony Heath and congratulates him on this distinguished honor and for the way he humbly represents our community and school. Being named as a finalist makes Heath a winner to be honored with other winning coaches from the Houston area.

The other finalists for "Coach of the Year" include: Ron Counter (Strake Jesuit), Bryan Erwin (La Marque), Gary Joseph (Katy), Jeff Lareau (La Porte), Ed Pustejovsky (Cypress Fairbanks), Tim Teykl (Terry), Lydell Wilson (Lamar Consolidated), and Bill Wilson (Westside).

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