Cootball: Pearland completes title run

The Pearland Oilers produced a Class 5A Division I state championship with a perfect 16-0 run.

Here is a game-by-game look at how they were able to get through their 16-game schedule:

Game 1

• Pearland 35, Houston Madison 7 (Aug. 27, The Rig): Dustin Garrison hauled in a 49-yard pass from Trey Anderson with 8:57 left in the first quarter to begin a season that would become an offensive highlight reel for the Oilers and fans. Anderson threw for 283 yards in the game, connecting for scores with Garrison, Myles Kanipes, Sam Okwuachu and Cole Staudt, and Garrison chipped in 107 yards on the ground. The Oilers led 21-0 at halftime and never looked back.

Game 2

• Pearland 41, Fort Bend Kempner 27 (Sept. 2, Mercer Stadium): Dustin Garrison ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns as the Oilers improved to 2-0 with a non-district win over Kempner. Three of GarrisonÕs touchdowns came in the fist half, helping Pearland to a 21-14 intermission advantage, but a 17-6 edge in the third quarter helped the Oilers pull away. Pearland's defense allowed 229 yards and 13 first downs, and forced the Cougars in four turnovers (three lost fumbles and an interception).

Game 3

• Pearland 49, Memorial 42 (Sept. 10, The Rig): In the tightest contest during predistrict play, the Oilers outlasted Memorial 49-42 when Trey Anderson found Dustin Garrison for a game-winning 48-yard touchdown pass with only 33 second to go. Memorial had tied the score at 42-42 on a touchdown pass and two-point conversion run with 50 seconds showing, but it took Pearland only 17 second to answer. The teams combined for 1,024 total offensive yards (Memorial 587, Pearland 437), with Anderson going 14-of-19 for 254 yards with touchdown tosses to Myles Kanipes, Garrison and John Gibberman, and Garrison rushing for 169 and two scores on 20 tries.

Game 4

• Pearland 40, Clear Springs 38 (Sept. 25, Clear Creek ISD Veterans Memorial Stadium): Both teams had two weeks to prepare for this 24-5A opener that turned out to be the district championship game, and once again, quarterback Trey Anderson pulled out a victory, this time on a 42-yard connection with Sam Ukwuachu with only 11 second to go. It was another 1,000-plus yards of combined total offense (Pearland 554, Clear Springs 515) as Dustin Garrison ran the ball 35 times for 282 yards and two touchdowns, Anderson passed for 236 yards and three scores, and Myles Kanipes going for 120 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

Game 5

• Pearland 35, Clear Lake 18 (Oct. 1, The Rig): The Oilers turned a close game into a comfortable win on consecutive touchdowns runs by Garrison (10 and 29 yards) and Myles Kanipes (53) after leading 14-11 midway through the second quarter. Clear Lake didn't complete a pass (on only four attempts), and had one picked off by Pearland, which was led offensively by Dustin Garrison's 175 yards and three touchdowns on 26 runs, while improving to 2-0 in district.

Game 6

• Pearland 45, Dickinson 31 (Oct. 8, Dickinson Sam Vitanza Stadium): Pearland led 23-7 on three Dustin Garrison touchdown runs and a Dylan Nowak 37-yard field goal with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half, but Dickinson took a 24-23 lead with 11:55 to play thanks to 17 unanswered points. The Oilers got back on top in two minutes on a 54-yard scoring strike and two-point conversion from Trey Anderson to Myles Kanipes, and made it a two-possession game on Anderson's 27-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later. Dickinson cut the lead to 38-31 with 5:11 remaining, but a time-consuming drive and Garrison's 1-yard scoring dive with 17 seconds showing put it away.

Game 7

• Pearland 35, Clear Creek 28 (Oct. 15, The Rig): It was back-and-forth with both teams up early on, and then being deadlocked at 14-14, before Pearland took the lead for good on a Dustin Garrison's 40-yard scoring run with 1:08 to go before halftime. The Oilers went up 28-14 on Trey Anderson's 6-yard scoring scamper late in the third quarter, and after Clear Creek climbed back to within seven, Garrison scored from four yards out to clinch the win that gave Pearland a 4-0 district start. Garrison gained 208 ground yards and scored four times on 31 attempts, and Anderson was a workmanlike 11-of-15 for 164 yards.

Game 8

• Pearland 27, Brazoswood 23 (Oct. 22, Hopper Field in Freeport): This was possibly Pearland's wildest game, and closest call, all year. Brazoswood, which finished the season at 4-6 and didn't make the playoffs, led by scores of 7-0, 7-6 and 9-6 until Dustin Garrison's 77-yard scoring sprint with 5:43 to go in the second quarter. Brazoswood answered with a touchdown pass with one second remaining in the first half for a 16-13 advantage, but the Oilers came back to lead 20-16 thanks to a 42-yard touchdown run by Garrison to start the third period. The defenses took over until Brazoswood went ahead once again with 2:38 to go, but miracle man Trey Anderson found Garrison on an 11-yard scoring connection with 37 seconds on the clock, and the Oilers were 8-0 overall, and 5-0 and in first place in 24-5A.

Game 9

• Pearland 48, Clear Brook 25 (Oct. 30, Clear Creek ISD Veterans Memorial Stadium): The Oilers took care of business early and often jumping to leads of 27-3 at halftime, and 34-9 after three, and then clearing the bench with the regulars getting some rest and relaxation. Despite coming out early, Dustin Garrison gained 162 yards and scored four times on 21 rushes.

Game 10

• Pearland 62, Alvin 23 (Nov. 5, The Rig): Alvin actually made the regular-season finale interesting for most of the first period tying the score at 7-7, and trailing 14-10, but Pearland then tallied 40 unanswered points starting with Dustin Garrison's 59-yard scoring run in the first quarter and ending on Jackie Robinson's 16-yard touchdown scamper late in the third period. Eric Cooper added a 90-yard kickoff return to Pearland's scoring spree, and the Oilers were playoff bound at 10-0 with a 24-5A championship in hand, and not realizing there was still six victories to come.

Game 11

• Pearland 28, Kempner 13 (Nov. 12, Alvin Memorial Stadium): Beating a team twice in one season is never easy, and after Kempner cut Pearland's lead to 14-13 with 5:35 to go in the third period, the Oilers knew they were in the middle of a postseason battle where both teams started over at 0-0. Short touchdown runs by Dustin Garrison, the first late in the third quarter, and the other with 4:07 to go, gave Pearland what looked to be a comfortable win, but coach Tony Heath admitted it was much closer than the score indicated, and it was possibly time to turn up the heat during workouts. Garrison burned Kempner for 201 yards and four scores on 39 totes.

Game 12

• Pearland 51, West Brook 22 (Nov. 20, Baytown Stallworth Stadium): Pearland turned on the heat against West Brook in all phases of the game and led 7-0 after one period, 24-0 at halftime, 38-0 after three, and before West Brook ever got on the board, which the Bruins finally did against Pearland backups. Myles Kanipes opened the scoring on a 60-yard scoring reception from Trey Anderson, and he added another touchdown on a 46-yard interception return just before halftime. In limited action, Anderson was 11-of-15 for 305 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he ran for 56 yards, including a 31-yard scoring scramble.

Game 13

• Pearland 54, Cy Creek 7 (Nov. 27, Baytown Stallworth Stadium): In a game that most expected to be much closer, the Oilers jumped right on Cy Creek for a 21-0 first-quarter cushion, and leads of 40-0 at halftime, and 54-0 at the end of the third period. This one was over early with Dustin Garrison running for three touchdowns, Myles Kanipes scoring on a 62-yard reception from Trey Anderson and a 74-yard interception return to close the first half, and Chris Alexander picking up a fumble and rumbling 40 yards for another score. Jackie Robinson, who returns as a senior in 2011, led all Oiler rushers with 78 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Game 14

• Pearland 38, Katy 35 (Dec. 4, Rice Stadium): In front of 40,000-plus, the Oilers did what many said they couldn't and beat Katy in a state quarterfinals thriller matching 13-0 teams, and it took another Trey Anderson heartstopper to make it happen. This time he located Sam Ukwuachu on a 44-yard touchdown pass with only 47 second to go, and it gave Pearland a trip to the state semifinals. Anderson was 19-of-33 for 314 yards with two scoring strikes to Ukwuachu (four receptions for 103 yards) and another to Myles Kanipes (seven receptions for 128 yards), and Garrison ground out 104 yards and a couple of touchdowns on 30 carries.

Game 15

• Pearland 51, San Antonio Stevens 21 (Dec. 11, San Antonio Alamodome): Pearland coach Tony Heath agreed to play at the Alamodome in San Antonio in hopes of preparing his Oilers for what they might face the following week against Euless Trinity in Cowboys Stadium (traveling to face an opponent playing close to home), and it worked. After falling behind 7-0, Pearland led 14-7, and after being deadlocked at 14-14, the Oilers outscored Stevens 37-7 the rest of the way including 24-0 in the second half. Dustin Garrison's 269 rushing yards and four touchdowns on a season-high 41 attempts, and Trey Anderson's 209 yards of total offense helped give the Oilers their first-ever berth in the state finals.

Game 16

• Pearland 28, Euless Trinity 24 (Dec. 18, Cowboys Stadium in Arlington): The Oilers got their best-ever Christmas present a week before the big day when they wrapped up a 16-0 run with a Class 5A Division I state championship victory against the No. 1 team in the state and nation under the biggest screen of all. Anderson capped a brilliant season by going 17-of-23 for 202 yards and a touchdown with his trademark no interceptions, and Dustin Garrison scored three times while rushing for 124 yards on 28 tries. "It's a feeling you just can't describe," Pearland coach Tony Heath said after improving to 133-38 in 14 seasons at Pearland.