Oilers run out of time against North Shore

Some might say that North Shore beat Pearland this year, but the Oilers might say they just ran out of time to knock off the Mustangs for the second straight year.

Take away two plays for North Shore and the outcome might have been different. Eliminate a couple of turnovers by the Oilers and the outcome might have been different. But that is the nature of the game.

One thing for sure -- North Shore left the field knowing that they had been in a battle and that Pearland is no longer intimidated or afraid of the Mustangs.
The Oilers (10-2) entered the Class 5A Region III Division I area round as the defending region champion while North Shore (12-0) had not advanced past the area round since they won the 2003 Class 5A Division I state championship.

As expected, both teams have engaged in a rivalry that has resulted in an intense battle on the field for the past five years.

Pearland got the opening kickoff, but had to punt after three plays netted five yards.

The Mustangs set up their first possession on their own 37 and it took only seven-plays to score when quarterback Jeremiah McGinty hit tight end Barrett Matthews on a short screen. Matthews picked up about 10 yards down the right sideline before being hit by three Pearland defenders close to out-of-bounds. But the big receiver continue to churn his legs and broke free to complete the 35-yard scoring pass. The extra point was good giving North Shore an early 7-0 lead with 6:53 left in the opening period.

The scoring play canceled an outstanding defensive effort by junior Jourdon Brogdon who chased down McGinty on the previous play for a 15-yard sack setting up the third-and-25 play.

Both teams traded punts following the score and Pearland set up third possession of the first half at their own 43.

The Oilers tied up the game when junior running back Kacey Carrier scored on a one-yard run to cap the six-play, 57-yard scoring drive that took only 1:24 off the clock. The key play in the drive was a 41-yard run by Carrier through the middle of the Mustangs defense which was set up by the outstanding blocking of center Brian Thomas and guards Jack Andrews and Ian Musslewhite. Robbie Hersh booted the extra point to knot up the game at 7-7 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

Pearland's defense continued to limit North Shore's offense forcing the Mustangs to punt giving the Oilers the ball at their own 33.

On first down, Pearland fumbled to give the ball back to the Mustangs at their 39, but once again, the Oiler defense stepped up to force a fourth-and-one at the 30. McGinty opted to throw a long pass which was knocked down by Matt Sanders who had excellent coverage on the receiver.

The Oilers took over at their own 30 and moved to the 41, but fumbled the ball again on a pass completion which was a very questionable call by the officials as to whether the receiver actually had possession of the ball before being hit.

Nonetheless, the Mustangs moved to the Pearland 15 before settling for a 32-yard field goal with 1:53 left in the first half making the score 10-7.
The Oilers took the ball with 1:47 left in the first half, but three quick plays forced a punt. North Shore took over from their own 34 with 38 seconds left before intermission.

After moving to the Pearland 44, McGinty dropped back to throw a hail mary pass as time expired. The ball found Matthews open behind the Oilers' secondary for an easy 44-yard scoring pass with no time left on the clock. The extra point was good giving the Mustangs a 17-7 halftime lead.
Mistakes continued to cost the Oilers as the Pearland defense forced North Shore to punt on their first two possessions of the second half. The second punt was fumbled by the Oilers giving the Mustangs the ball at the Pearland 35.

But the Oilers' defense continued to stand their ground hoping the offense would finally get back in gear.

With 3:40 left in the third quarter, quarterback Sam Allen and Co. took control of the ball and moved from their own 33 to the North Shore eight-yard line. On third-and-five, Carrier once again found the end zone as the speedster outran the Mustang defense around the right side for the score. Hersh booted the extra point to close the gap to 17-14 with 39 seconds remaining in the third stanza.

The drive was sparked by Allen completing three straight passes to junior wide receiver Kevin Miller covering 3, 18, and 10 yards to the North Shore 28. Carrier dashed for 15 more yards before Allen hit a short pass to Josh Gonzales for 10 more yards to set up Carrier's scoring run.

But North Shore answered on a six-yard run by Tracy Woods to complete an 80-yard drive for a 24-14 lead with 9:26 left in the game. The big play was a 51-yard pass from McGinty to Isiah Johnson.

Pearland committed another miscue by bobbling the ball on the kickoff forcing them to fall on the ball at the 5. Three plays forced a punt giving the Mustangs outstanding field position in Oiler territory, but Pearland got the break they were looking for when North Shore's Johnson fumbled the punt. An alert Charles Landry fell on the ball for the Oilers at their own 42.

Unfortunately, the North Shore defense blitzed the Pearland offense to force a punt.

Once again, the Pearland defense continued to stand strong to force North Shore to punt.

Setting up at their own 14, Pearland took the field and found paydirt in only six-plays as Allen hit Miller on a beautiful 15-yard scoring pass. The drive took only 1:16 off the clock and was set up by a 44 yard completion from Allen to Miller to the North Shore 42. Allen also tossed a short pass to Carrier for 16 yards before hitting Miller on an 11 yard completion to the North Shore 15. The Allen to Miller combination netted four completions for 76 yards. The extra point was blocked leaving the Oilers trailing 24-20 with only 2:05 left in the game.

An onside kick was recovered by the Mustangs and they ran out the clock to get the hard-earned win.

Carrier finished the game with 112 yards on 18 carries and two TDs. Allen hit 11-of-23 passing for 129 yards and one TD. Miller grabbed six passes for 91 yards and one score. All three will return for their senior season next year.
Carrier finished with 238 carries on the season for 1,707 yards and 19 TDs. Allen closed out his junior campaign hitting 101-of-168 passing for 1,354 yards and 11 TDs. Miller had 45 catches for 604 yards and five TDs. The trio accumulated 3,061 total yards. Add junior running back Josh Gonzales to the mix with 458 rushing yards and the Oilers will have over 3,500 yards returning for the 2008 football season.