Pearland running back Fozzy Whittaker was named Offensive "Player of the Year" by the Touchdown Club of Houston. The 27th annual awards dinner was held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel with almost 1,000 in attendance.

Pearland head coach Tony Heath was also a finalist for the "Coach of the Year" honors for the sixth time in the past seven years. While Heath tries to shun the honors directed his way, he openly stated that he felt Whittaker deserved the honor this year.
"Fozzy is one of those rare student-athletes that doesn't come around that often," Heath said. "We have been blessed at Pearland High School that we have had several players of his caliber. He was among a lot of deserving players, but we certainly are proud to have this young man bring this honor to Pearland."

Whittaker used the second half of the season to set new single-game and single-season rushing marks at Pearland High School. He rushed for 415 yards against Clear Creek to set the new PHS and Houston area single-game rushing record. The speedster is also an honor student in the classroom and has his priorities in order in being identified as a true student-athlete.

Against Cy-Fair in the Region III finals, Whittaker rushed for 177 yards adding to his new PHS single-season rushing mark with 2,588 yards. All-State running back Brandon Roberson previously held both marks with 347 yards and 2,295 yards.
Whittaker and Cy-Fair running back Sam McDuffie faced one another on Saturday, December 9 at Rice Stadium. The Oilers rallied in the final two minutes with a breath-taking 16-15 victory to capture the 5A Region III Division I crown to advance to the 5A Division I state semifinals. Whittaker finished with 177 yards while McDuffie, who set the new Houston area single-season rushing record closed out his junior season with 111 yards.

The UT pledge also moved up as the No. 8 Class 5A All-Time leading rusher with 5,531 yards and counting. He moved ahead of Roberson (5,235), who dropped to No. 9, while Anthony Evans is at the No. 3 slot with 6,192 yards.

"It was an exciting feeling," Whittaker said after hearing his name called out while the Pearland supporters of coaches and family cheered loudly. "I owe everything to God. He blessed me with a talent. This is hard working paying off over the year and I couldn't have done it without my coaches and teammates."

The winner of the "Coach of the Year" award went to Lamar Consolidated head coach Lyndell Wilson. Lamar posted an 0-10 mark the year before Wilson took over the Lamar program three years ago. The last two years, Lamar was 10-0 during the regular season. The Mustangs entered in the 4A Division I state semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio against San Antonio Alamo Heights with a 13-0 mark, but fell to Alamo Heights 42-14 to close out their best season in school history.

While Heath has been a finalist for the award in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006, the humble coach stated prior to the awards dinner that he thought Wilson deserved this year's award.

"Coach Wilson has done an incredible job in turning Lamar around from a perennial loser to a state powerhouse," Heath said. "They are on the verge of playing for a state championship which is incredible when you consider where they were three years ago."

Prior to the arrival of Wilson, Lamar only had 30 players out for football. Now, they have over 150 players competing on the girdiron for the Mustangs.

The Defensive "Player of the Year" award was presented to Justin Adams of Fort Bend Marshall. Adams had 65 solo tackles, 41 assisted stops, 20 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He is also an honor student.