by Dr. David Davis E-mail: drdd@swbell.net

Not since Pearland beat Cy-Fair on the final play of the Class 5A Region III finals last year for a 16-15 win to advance to the 5A state semifinals have Pearland fans been exposed to a similar hold-your-breath kind of ending of a football game.

This time, it was the Oilers on the other side of the ball while Ball High was trying to pull out the final play-of-the-game victory.

Last season, the Oilers had two minutes to score from 80 yards away against Cy-Fair. Down 15-10, the Oilers hit several pass plays to move the ball to the Cy-Fair 14 with 22 second left in the game. Quarterback Sam Proctor hit wide receiver Reid Wendell with a pass at the three-yard line as the clock was ticking down with no timeouts left. Wendell fought his way to the 1-yard line before a host of Pearland players hit the pile to push Wendell across the goal line for the winning score.

Ball High got the ball at their own 20 with 2:36 left in the game and trailing 16-13. After moving the ball to the Pearland 23 with 20 seconds left and no time outs, quarterback Andre Patino hit Kevin Matthews at the Oilers' 2-yard line as the clock continued to run. With nine seconds to go in the game, Patino attempted a quarterback sneak, but was stacked up at the line of scrimmage. That would be the last play as the clock ticked down to zero to the relief of the Oilers and their fans.

In retrospect - Ball High had an opportunity to spike the ball to get more time to run one last play, but confusion prevailed.

“They had one last play, and I’m just glad they didn’t spike the ball,” said Heath, whose Oilers clinched at least a share of the District 24-5A title. “I would have given the ball to Patino, too (after spiking the ball). He carried them for most of the game.”

Pearland took the opening kickoff from their own 37 to the Ball 13 before fumbling the ball to the Tors.

It took only two plays as Patino opened the scoring with a 72-yard run down the right sideline to give the Tors a quick 7-0 lead with 8:29 left in the first period.

On the second series, Patino reinjured the ankle that kept him sidelined for the previous two weeks. Noticeably limping the rest of the game, he never left and finished with 135 rushing yards and 113 passing yards. He completed 6-of-13 passes, but made all the big ones count. He completed two on the last drive — a 28-yarder to Danny Swan on 4th-and-12, and the 25-yarder to Matthews on the following play.

The Oilers finally knotted up the game on a 66-yard, six-play drive capped off by a nine-yard run by Kasey Carrier. Robbie Hersh booted the extra point to make the score 7-7 with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

Ball High got the second half kickoff at their own 27. After moving to the 39, Charles Landry picked off a Patino pass at the 38, but the Oilers couldn't take advantage of the miscue.

After three plays and out, Pearland took over at their own 36 and completed the 64-yard march to paydirt in 11-plays as Carrier scored on a two-yard run. The touchdown was set up by a 32-yard run by Carrier to the Ball High 2-yard line. The extra point by Hersh hit the mark for a 14-7 lead with 10:52 left in the fourth quarter. The junior speedster had eight carries for 57 yards in the scoring drive.

The Tors began their drive at the 49 and quickly moved down the field to the Pearland 11. On second down and 11, Dennis Walls got through the defense on a blitz and sacked Patino for a 9-yard loss. An incomplete pass left the Tors facing a fourth-and-20 from the Oilers' 20.

Patino dropped back and fired a dart into the arms of Matthews who was in between two Pearland defenders for the touchdown.

The Tors lined up for the extra point, but Pearland linebacker Gary Robertson, who blocked three straight extra points against Brazoswood, found an opening and blocked the kick. The ball bounced off his chest, took one bounce off the turf, and found his waiting arms as he raced 83-yards for the two-point conversion to give the Oilers a 16-13 lead with 6:37 left to play in the game.

Pearland was unable to score and was forced to punt back to the Tors with 2:39 left in the game which led to the final tense moments before the Oilers' defense stopped the Tors at the goal line to deny them a last second victory.

Carrier finished the game with 127 yards on 20 carries and two TDs. The junior speedster now has 1,208 yards on the season. Quarterback Sam Allen struggled a little against the Tors defense, but still managed to hit 8-of-16 passing for 114 yards to give him 952 yards on the season.

Junior Kevin Miller continues to lead the Oilers in receiving with five catches for 54 yards. Munda Olford had one catch for 14 yards, Josh Gonzales had one grab for 15 yards and Nick Saenz had one catch for 31 yards.

The win gives the Oilers a guaranteed share of the district championship with Clear Brook invading The Rig on Friday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. to complete the regular season. The Wolverines are in a three-way tie for fourth place and battling to stay in the playoff hunt. A loss would eliminate Clear Brook from the post-season.

by Dr. David Davis E-mail: drdd@swbell.net