Whittaker runs for 361 yards and 5 TDs
The battle plan between Pearland and Dulles was clearly defined before the two teams squared off in the first round of the Class 5A Region III Division I bi-district playoffs.

Pearland has easily established themselves with one of the most potent ground attacks in the Houston area led by senior running back Fozzy Whittaker who is the No. 2 leading rusher in the region with 1,709 yards and 14 touchdowns. Whittaker is not alone as quarterback Sam Proctor entered the game with 858 yards and has a shot at becoming the first quarterback in Pearland history to rush for more than 1,000 yards.

Dulles came into the contest with the most potent air attack in the Houston area led by senior quarterback Cotton Turner who has passed for 2,850 yards and 31 touchdowns. Turner also had two wide receivers who were over 1,000 yards each.

The Oilers received the opening kickoff and established the framework of the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a one-yard run by Whittaker with 6:47 left in the first quarter. The Oilers surprised Dulles with an off-balance setup for the two-point conversion. When the Dulles defense didn't shift, Reid Wendell took the snap and tossed the ball to a wide open Kevin Davis to make the score 8-0. The drive took 5:13 off the game clock.
But Dulles used their wide-open aerial attack to quickly find the end zone as Turner fired a 12-yard bullet to Chad Froechtenicht. Todd Clairmont added the extra point to make the score 8-7 with 3:29 left in the opening period.
The Oilers came right back with a quick drive of their own to complete a 73-yard, eight-play drive topped off by a sensational 37-yard run by Whittaker for the score. Robbie Hersh added the extra point for a 15-7 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the first frame. Whittaker had five carries for 56 yards while Proctor added two carries for 17 yards.

Once again, Dulles answered with a 61-yard scoring drive capped off with a Turner to Froechtenicht pass covering 15 yards for the score. The extra point hit the mark to cut the lead to 15-14 with 11:18 left in the second quarter.

The Oilers accepted the challenge and reeled off nine-plays with Whittaker skipping in for a two-yard score with 6:45 left before intermission. The extra point by Hersh was good giving the Oilers a 22-14 advantage.

Turner took the controls on their third possession of the first half to move from the 20 to the Pearland 10 before the Oilers' defense finally forced the Vikings to attempt a 27-yard field goal. Clairmont clanked the kick off the left upright leaving Dulles without any points.

With 3:57 left before halftime, Pearland took over on their own 20. It took only two plays as Whittaker raced 58 yards to the Dulles 22 and then Proctor weaved his way through the Vikings defense for the rest of the yards that took only 16 seconds off the clock. Hersh booted the extra point for a 29-14 lead at the 3:41 mark.

On first down following the ensuing kickoff, Pearland's Matt Sanders came up with a key interception giving the Oilers the ball at the Vikings' 40.

Whittaker didn't waste any time as he broke a couple of tackles and then raced to the one-yard line where he was forced out-of-bounds. On first-and-goal, the Pearland offense had a chance to really put the game out of reach, but the snap was mishandled and Dulles dodge a bullet with the fumble recovery leaving Pearland in front 29-14 at halftime.

The second half began the same way the game started, but this time is was Dulles who scored on the opening drive capped off by a Turner to Jonathon Thomas pass covering 19 yards. The two-point conversion was good cutting the Pearland lead to 29-22.

But that would be the end for Dulles as the Oilers put up 18 unanswered points including touchdown runs by Whittaker covering 78 and 2 yards while sophomore running back Kacey Carrier concluded the scoring barrage with a slick 15-yard touchdown run to make the final score 47-22.

Whittaker finished the game with 361 yards on 29 carries and five touchdowns. He didn't play in the fourth quarter as the rest of the offensive unit took over to secure the victory.

Leading the charge in the trenches included David Maciel, Steven Kenney, Billy Boettcher, Brian Thomas, Cory Baumann, and Kevin Davis. Add fullback James Williford to the mix and the Oilers' offense is a fine-oiled machine.
Meanwhile, the Pearland defense also has stepped up the past four weeks to take control on their side of the field as well.

While Turner did get 265 yards through the air, the Oilers held the ground game to only 54 yards on 17 carries. The Pearland secondary picked off Turner three times with Jarrad Stewart, Matt Sanders, and Lance Hayes all becoming bandits to take control of the air waves.

Whittaker now has 2,070 rushing yards this season and becomes only the third running back in Pearland history to cross over the 2,000 yard mark. Anthony Evans posted 2,065 yards his junior year and 2,066 yards his senior year while Brandon Roberson set the single-season rushing mark his junior year with 2,295 yards.

Proctor also had an outstanding game with 134 yards rushing on 13 carries and one score. Carrier finished with 79 yards on 11 totes and a touchdown.
The Oilers piled up 583 yards on the ground with 24 first downs.

The Oilers will meet North Shore in the area round at Reliant Stadium on Friday, November 24 at 1:00 p.m. North Shore barely escaped with a 34-33 double overtime win over Baytown Lee when the Ganders missed an extra point in the second overtime. The Ganders proved that the Mustangs are vulnerable this season and the Oilers will need another sellar performance on both sides of the ball to get the win and advance to the next round.