No. 12 state-ranked Pearland blows past Sam Rayburn 70-0

Sam Rayburn knew they were in trouble after the first offensive play by Pearland when junior RB Royce Swan took the ball from senior QB Blake Smith, found a huge hole by the offensive line, and then raced 57-yards for a homecoming crowd-pleasing touchdown. Holden Macneish booted the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 9:19 remaining in the opening period.

From that time on, the Oilers racked up 535 total yards (166 passing, 369 rushing) while the Pearland defense held the Texans to only 58 total yards (34 rushing, 24 passing) to post the 70-0 final score to keep Rayburn winless (0-8) on the season.

The one-two offensive punch of Swan and senior RB Ryan Miller resulted in a combined total of seven touchdowns and 197 yards on the ground between the two running backs.

Miller had eight carries for 60 yards and four scores on runs of 1, 2, 3, and 20 yards while Swan had seven totes for 137 yards and three TDs on runs of 57, 15, and 18 yards. Their effort built a 21-0 first quarter lead and a 42-0 halftime advantage.

Head coach B.J. Gotte used this game to empty the bench and give multiple players a chance to play on both sides of the ball as he didn’t want to risk injury to key players.

Two quarterbacks, 10 ball carriers, and six receivers got playing time on the field against Sam Rayburn.

The Oilers scored four more times in the second half as they scored on a 51-yard pass from Smith to junior WR Joaquin Soraiz with 10:22 left in the third quarter to make the score 49-0.

Pearland recovered a fumble by Rayburn and Miller scored on a 20-yard run with 9:55 remaining in the third to push the lead to 56-0.

Early in the fourth quarter, senior QB Morkovsky scored on a 1-yard sneak with 10:38 left on the clock for a 63-0 lead.

The final score of the game came from senior QB Hayden Burton who found the pay station on a 2-yard keeper to post the 70-0 final score.

Smith was 6-of-10 passing for 145 yards and one TD while Morkovsky was 2-of-2 passing for 21 yards.

Soraiz had one grab for 51 yards and a TD, Michael Shawver had one catch for 45 yards, sophomore WR Lance Goree had three catches for 43 yards, and Carson Davis had one reception for 18 yards.

Pearland (8-0, 6-0) will now face their stiffest test of the season when they travel to Freedom Field in Manvel to take on the No. 9 state-ranked Shadow Creek Sharks (7-1, 5-0) in a game that will decide the District 19-6A championship on Friday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m.

By Dr David Davis