The Pearland Oilers open the 2007 football season against the Fort Bend Kempner Cougars at The Rig on Friday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. Head coach Tony Heath begins his 11th year at the helm of the one of the greatest football turnarounds in the history of Texas football. He and his chargers will be looking for their seventh straight season opening victory.

Heath and Co. got a preview of what the upcoming season will look like at the scrimmage against Deer Park this past Friday night.

"We graduated the core of our offense from last season," Heath said. "When you lose your center, quarterback, and running back -- that is the core of your offensive unit."
But that doesn't mean that Heath is too concerned after watching his chargers take control on offense and defense against a Deer Park team that is supposed to be greatly improved from last season.

While scrimmages give the coaches a chance to see various players in the course of battle, the nucleus of talent still rises to the top during the pre-season.

Though the Oilers lost All-State running back Fozzy Whittaker to the Texas Longhorns, junior Kacey Carrier immediately dazzled the Pearland crowd with a 60-yard run on his first carry that put a broad smile on the faces of the coaches and players. Though it was just one carry, it was a statement that Pearland has another top flight running back that will continue to lift up the torch of greatness.

"We already knew that Kasey was waiting in the wing from last season," Heath said. "But he will be just one of several offensive weapons that we will have available this year."
The biggest question was at the quarterback position with the graduation of Sam Proctor who is now at the University of Oklahoma.

It looks like Samuel Allen has the nod going into the season to take control of the offense. The brother of former signal-caller, Noah Allen, is the first underclassmen to start under center in the past four years.

"Sam is young and has a lot to learn," Heath said, "But he is smart and works hard to make good decisions. And he will give us two years instead of just one as we have had in the past."

With Carrier and Allen filling two of the three holes, Heath moved Brian Thomas, who has committed to Texas A&M, at center. At 6-6, 270, Thomas has the size, speed, and experience to anchor the offensive line that should continue to move the ball as in past years.

Allen brings to the table the ability to pass the ball to sure-handed wide receiver junior Kevin Miller. It was the All-District first-team Miller who made a game-saving catch last year in the Region III championship game against Cy-Fair when the Oilers rallied with a final two minute drive to pull out an incredible 16-15 victory to advance to the state semifinals.

Defensively, the Oilers will be ahead of the offense with seven returning starters led by Bernard Obi, Jarrad Stewart, Mario Turner, Jourdan Brogdan, Dantrayal Smith, Gary Robertson, Nick Saenz, and Matt Sanders.

Pearland controlled both sides of the ball against Deer Park and there will be some new players that will step their effort to rise to the top to keep the Oilers as one of the upper echelon teams in the Houston area.