To say that the game between Pearland and La Marque was a defensive struggle is an understament. The Oilers finished the game with a season low 182 total yards while the Cougars weren't too much better with 226 yards.

Pearland's total is considering that they only ran four offensive plays in the third quarter.

If someone had told Pearland head coach Tony Heath that his team wouldn't score a touchdown, he would have thought they were nuts.

But the final 6-3 score proved everyone wrong as neither team crossed the goal line.

The last time that Pearland played a game where they didn't score a touchdown was against the Hastings Bears on November 30, 2002 in the Astrodome in the Class 5A Division I Region III finals.

The Bears won the game 17-6 as the Oilers had to settle for two field goals by Jacob Cotton covering 45 and 29 yards. The win by the Bears avenged a 17-7 loss they suffered to Pearland in 2001 when the Oilers advanced to the 5A Division I state semifinals.

La Marque's Denroy Van Horn kicked a 28-yard field goal with 6:17 left in the second quarter and Robbie Hersh tied up the game 3-3 for Pearland with a 22-yarder with 1:47 remaining before intermission.

Hersh missed a 39-yard attempt on Pearland first possession of the game. The Oilers reached the Cougars' 17, but quarterback Sam Allen was sacked on second down and an incomplete pass on third down forced the field goal effort, but a high snap led to the field goal coming up short of the uprights.
But the third quarter belonged to the Cougars as they took 8:40 off the game clock on their first possession of the second half. Pearland ran three plays and punted in 1:40.

La Marque set up at their own 49 and drove to the Pearland eight-yard line with a first-and-goal. But the Pearland defense stepped up to halt the Cougars' momentum at the three-yard line setting up a 21-yard field goal by Van Horn with 19 seconds left in the third for a 6-3 lead.

The Oilers moved from their own 12 to the La Marque 43 before having to punt with 8:02 remaining in the game.

With 4:47 showing on the clock, Pearland defensive back Nick Saenz made a sensational interception at the 49 giving the Oilers new life and an opportunity to move the ball and come away with at the very least -- a game-tying field goal.

The Oilers opened up the series with a pass from Allen to Carlos Lebron-Thachar for six yards. La Marque was called for pass interference so the Oilers set up at the Cougars' 44 with an automatic first down.

Kasey Carrier picked up nine-yards on first down. Carrier was tackled for a five yard loss on second down, but the Oilers got the five-yards back on the next play when the Cougars were penalized five yards for illegal substitution.
Facing fourth-and-one at the 36 -- most thought that Carrier, who had 105 yards in the first half, would get the ball behind the offensive line to keep the drive alie, but the call surprised everyone but the La Marque defense. Allen raised up and threw a quick slant pass to Kevin Miller.

However, defensive end Ian Jackson put up his hand and batted down the ball and the Oilers' last hope at the 3:37 mark. La Marque ran out the game clock to preserve the shocking 6-3 win to avenge their only loss in 2006 when the Oilers beat the Cougars 24-14. La Marque went on to win the 4A Division II state championship to finish with a 15-1 record.

Carrier entered the game as the second-leading 5A rusher in the Houston area. The speedster finished with 133 yards on 28 carries. Allen was 5-of-11 passing for 34 yards.
Pearland will travel to District Stadium in League City to face the Clear Lake Falcons on Thursday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised on live on ABC PLUS Digital Channel 13.2 or Comcast Cable Channel 314. The game can also be heard on the radio at 920 AM.

Clear Lake enters the game as the No. 9 area-ranked team with a 4-0 mark while Pearland is at No. 10 with a 3-1 record. It is the District 24-5A opener for both teams and it might be the game that decides the league championship despite it being the first district contest.