Pearland hangs on for a 37-26 win over Memorial

    Pearland and the Memorial Mustangs have been longtime rivals over the last two and a half decades. The Oilers hold a 16-3 lead in their series but most of the time each game has been a real battle, and the 2025 version was no different.
    With only :49 seconds gone in the first quarter, Pearland scored on a 62-yard run by senior RB Ja’Maurey Champion to give the Oilers a quick 7-0 lead following the PAT by junior kicker Holden Macneish.
    As it would turn out, Champion turned in an MVP performance as he rushed for 269 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns to lead Pearland to a 37-26 win over the Mustangs.
    Memorial would answer on their first drive as they went 75-yards in 7-plays to score on a 1-yard plunge by senior Isaac Richardson. The PAT was blocked by the Oilers to make the score 7-6 with 9:14 left in the first period.
    The Mustangs had two key plays as they gained 29 yards on a third-and-12 from their own 23 and then completed a 32-yard pass from their own 35 to the Pearland two-yard line to set up the scoring run.
    After the teams traded out a pair of punts each, Pearland got on the scoreboard again when senior QB Jake Westmoreland hit sophomore WR Braxton Jones on a 41-yard catch and run for the score to make the score 14-6 following the PAT with 11:17 left in the second quarter.
    On Memorial’s next possession, they faced third-and-24 from their own 48 but they got a big pass completion for 48 yards to the Pearland 9.
    Brett Gulledge would score on a 9-yard run up the middle to close the gap to 14-13 with 8:27 left in the first half.
    With 1:58 left in the second quarter, Pearland completed a 9-play, 57-yard scoring drive when Champion scored on a 1-yard dive. The PAT was good, and the Oilers took a 21-13 lead into the dressing room at intermission.
    “The biggest area of improvement from last week against Fulshear was more consistency from our O-Line,” said Pearland head coach B.J. Gotte. “Our offensive line showed the most improvement from week one to week two.”
    The third quarter opened with an explosion as Memorial took their first play of the second half the distance as junior RB Conrad Bennett went on a 75-yard scoring jaunt in only 11 seconds to narrow the margin to 21-20 with 11:49 left in the third.
    Pearland got the ensuing kickoff to start at their own 30 and on the Oilers’ first play, Champion burst through a huge hole and went on a 70-yard scoring dash for his third touchdown of the game to push Pearland to a 27-20 lead following a blocked PAT at the 11:22 mark.
    The Oilers scored later in the quarter on a Westmoreland to senior WR Jordan (Jet) Hernandez scoring strike covering 38-yards with 10:18 left in the final period to make the score 34-20.
    Memorial would score their final touchdown on a 5-yard run with 5:32 left in the game. The two-point conversion was no good and the score was 34-26.
    The Oilers used 7-play drive from their own 37 to the Memorial 33 to set up a 40-yard field goal by Macneish to put the dagger in the Mustangs 37-26 with 1:48 remaining in the game which would end up being the final score.
    “We have to stay on schedule offensively (no busted assignments early in drives that put us behind the chains),” said coach Gotte. “We also need to align and fit more consistently on defense and our special teams need to be more consistent in our execution.”
    Westmore was 6-of-11 passing for 111 yards and two scores while Hernandez was the top receiver with three catches for 61 yards and one TD.
    Champion had 24 carries for 269 yards and three scores on runs of 62, 1, and 70 yards. Sophomore Royce  Swan finished with 9 carries for 58 yards with most of that on the final drive of the game to set up the 40-yard field goal that iced the game.

  The Oilers will celebrate Homecoming at The Rig vs Sam Rayburn on Friday, September 12 at 7:00 p.m.