No. 6 Pearland blows past Travis 59-27 in opening round

The No. 6 state-ranked Pearland Oilers (11-0) remained undefeated this season as they advanced in the playoffs for the 26th consecutive year and they did so with a convincing 59-27 win over the Fort Bend Travis Tigers (8-3).

Travis was no stranger to Pearland as the Oilers blanked the Tigers 38-0 last season in the Class 6A Region III Div I bi-district round.

The Oilers advance to the 6A Region III Div I area round to face the No. 4 state-ranked Dickinson Gators, winners over the Atascocita Eagles 51-47. Pearland and Dickinson will be on Friday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Challenger Columbia Stadium in League City.

Pearland will be looking to move past the second round since 2013 when the Oilers met the Allen Eagles at AT&T Stadium in the Class 5A state title game won by Allen.

Meanwhile, the Oilers made a convincing opening round statement with the dominating win over FB Travis.

Pearland’s opening possession following the ensuing kickoff laid the groundwork as it took only three plays to find paydirt on a 5-yard run by RB Ja’Maurey Champion with 10:31 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead following the PAT by Holden Macneish.

Champion set up the score with a 75-yard run on the second play of the game.

The two teams traded punts and then the Pearland defense got an interception by Ed Smith at the Travis 25, and he weaved his way through the Tigers offense-turned-defenders for a 25-yard touchdown with 3:30 left in the opening quarter for a 14-0 advantage.

Travis got on the board as QB Trace Baker scored on a 16-yard keeper to make the score 14-7.

Pearland answered as QB Jake Westmoreland was especially sharp as he tossed a 16-yard scoring strike to TE Karon Johnson for a 21-0 lead and then used his arm to set up an 8-yard scoring run by Champion with pass completions to WR Jordan “Jet” Hernandez and WR Michael Shawver to complete a 75-yard, 8-play scoring drive for a 28-7 lead with 5:38 left in the second period.

Travis scored again as QB Eian Baker found a wide open WR Ethan Williams for a 56-yard scoring bomb to make the score 28-14.

The Oilers took the ensuing kickoff from their own 35 to the end zone on a 13-play, 65-yard drive with :11 seconds left before halftime making the score 35-14 at intermission.

“Our kids work very hard every week to be as clean in both the run and the pass game as possible,” said head coach B.J. Gotte. “Our run/pass decisions are largely based on in game situations and defensive alignment, so I was proud of how our guys and how they responded against a talented secondary.”

Travis quickly cut the Oilers lead to 35-20 to begin the second half with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 11:44 left in the third quarter. They missed the PAT.

The Oilers took command of the game as they answered with a 9-play 75-yard drive capped off with a 24-yard scoring strike from Westmoreland to the Jet Hernandez to increase the lead to 42-20 with 7:40 left in the third.

Pearland’s defense immediately got the ball back from Travis as linebacker Sam Armstrong came up with a great interception at the 50.

The Oilers took the ball to the Travis 29 when the drive stalled and Macneish got the call as he drilled a 46-yard field goal at the 2:43 mark of the third for a 45-20 advantage.

Once again, Travis began the next drive at their own 30 and Pearland’s Ed Smith snatched his second interception of the game to give the Oilers the ball at the Tigers 50.

Four plays later Westmoreland hit sophomore WR Braxton Jones on a beautiful 28-yard scoring strike giving the Oilers a 52-20 lead.

After Travis scored on another long pass covering 68-yards to make the score 52-27, the Oilers drove a stake in the heart of the Tigers when RB Royce Swan scored on a 3-yard burst through the Travis defenders to make the final score 59-27.

“We are fortunate to earn another week to clean things up in all phases of the game, and there are plenty of things to work on offensively, defensively, and with special teams,” Gotte said. “No team is going to perfectly execute the entire game, but as you advance in the playoffs, the margins become razor thin.

“So, the goal this week, just like every other week, is to minimize big plays and controllable mistakes.”

Pearland’s offense was outstanding piling up 548 total yards (340 rushing, 208) while limiting Travis to 243 total yards (minus-17 rushing, 260 passing) with two Travis passes for 124 yards of the 260 yards.

Westmoreland was 12-of-18 passing for 208 yards and three TDs.

Champion had 201 yards rushing on 24 carries and three scores.

Swan had 142 yards rushing on 11 totes and one score.

Jones had three catches for 80 yards and one TD while Hernandez had five grabs for 71 yards and one score.