Oilers ready for banner season in 2025

Pearland has had some historical seasons, including winning the 2010 Class 5A Division I state championship to finish 16-0. The Oilers beat Euless-Trinity 28-24 at AT&T Stadium – a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation and was the 2009 Class 5A state champion.

The Oilers returned to AT&T Stadium in 2013 to face the Allen Eagles in the state title game only to come up short as Allen claimed their third consecutive state championship under the guidance of QB Kyler Murray who went on to win the Heisman Trophy at the University of Oklahoma and is now the QB for the Arizona Cardinals.

After three successful seasons under the guidance of head coach B.J. Gotte, who has compiled a 24-11 record with three playoff appearances — it appears that his fourth year at the helm of the Oilers may prove to be his greatest season to date with a vision to make a deep playoff run.

When asked about the contrast of the program three years ago to now, Gotte said, “The contrast is pretty stark from our point of view.  Any time there is a change in leadership an adjustment phase can be expected, and we were no different.”The overall understanding of schemes over the three phases, as well as the physical development of our players have improved steadily every year.”

Pearland fans noticed the difference last season as the players have gotten bigger and faster compared to a couple of previous years under different leadership after former head coach Tony Heath retired in 2016.

“Of course, our goal entering the 2025 season is to win the District 22-6A title and to compete for a state championship,” Gotte said. The Oilers are the pre-season favorite to capture the district title according to the state polls which has Pearland ranked No. 18 in the state.

The Oilers will be talented on offense as first-team All-District QB Jake Westmoreland, first-team All-District WR Jordan “Jet” Hernandez, RB Ryan Miller, FB Dominic Tiechelman, and TE Maverick Garner all return. “We also have some young players that we are excited to see contribute this year including junior WR Kaleb Samuels, junior WR Braxton Jones, and sophomore RB Royce Swan,” said Gotte.

Offensively, the Oilers will lack experience on the offensive line. “We lost three starters on the offensive line last year as well as our top two tight ends,” Gotte said. “We do have some experience coming back from returning letterman, but I do expect there to be a period of adjustment early in the season as the new players gain confidence and experience.”

The strength for Pearland will be on defense as they have four Division I players who are being heavily recruited at the collegiate level. Our front seven (LB’s and D-line) are our most experienced and dynamic group with six out of the seven being returning starters,” said Gotte. “Our expectation is that they can control the line of scrimmage while the rest of our defense gets comfortable at the beginning of the year.”

A look at the Pearland Oilers

The pre-season expectations for Pearland are high as the Oilers begin the year in the driver’s seat to win the District 22-6A crown with Shadow Creek, Manvel, and Dawson picked to be the other teams that should advance to the post-season. The rest of the district teams that are projected to finish in the standings are Dobie, South Houston, Pasadena Memorial, Alvin, and Sam Rayburn. Of course, any one of those teams could have a surprise season to make the playoffs.

Pearland finished 9-3 last season and 7-1 in district behind Shadow Creek with a second-round loss to Atascocita in the 6A Region III Div. I area playoffs.
The Oilers will return six offensive and seven defensive starters as well as 21 lettermen.

Players to watch: QB Jake Westmoreland (5-10, 170, 4.5), WR Jordan (Jet) Hernandez (5-9, 150, 4.5), RB Ryan Miller (5-7, 150, 4.5), RB Royce Swan (5-8, 165. 4.6), OL Colby Rao (6-1, 325), OL Nick Howard, WR Michael Shawyer, WR Kaleb Samuels, DE Jaylen Stewart (6-2, 230, 4.7), LB Joseph Credit (6-1, 215, 4.5), DL DeMarco Jenkins (6-2, 285), LB Sam Armstrong (5-11, 180, 4.7), DL Amari Wilks, DB Ezekiel Alkire, LB Anthony Deleon, and DB Jonathan Henton.
Offensively, the Oilers will have some firepower behind returning starter QB Jake Westmoreland (1,681 yards passing, 22 TDs) who will work behind a strong offensive line. All-State honorable mention WR Jordan (Jet) Hernandez will be a favorite target (63 catches for 1,097 yards and 15 TDs). Hernanez set a new Pearland receiving mark with 63 catches.

Defensively, Pearland will enter the 2025 season with one of their most talented defenses led by DE Jaylen Stewart (65 tackles 13 TFL, 10 sacks) who committed to Oklahoma State, DL DeMarco Jenkins (33 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 sacks), and LB Joseph Credit (78 tackles, 10 TFL, 5 sacks). This will be the 26th consecutive year that the Oilers will advance to the playoffs. Fans can expect a deep run this season.