Miscues lead to Kingwood's upset over the Oilers in the season opener

September 1, 2009

   

HOUSTON — The last time that Pearland dropped their season opener was in 2000 when they lost a heartbreaker to Angleton 34-33. So when the Oilers fell to Kingwood 9-7 this past Saturday at Reliant Stadium -- it served as a wakeup call that this year's team had better realize that every team they play considers it a huge accomplishment if they can knock off one of the top teams in the area and state.

The last time that the Oilers played Kingwood was in 2001 when they faced the Mustangs in the Class 5A Region III semfinals in the Astrodome. Kingwood clanked an extra point off the left upright with a little over three minutes left in the game allowing Pearland to escape with a 28-27 victory. The Oilers finished the season 13-1 while capturing the 5A Region III Division I crown and advancing to the 5A state semifinals.

Kingwood scored the game's first touchdown, but placekicker Mitch Glander bounced one off the left upright leaving the Mustangs ahead 6-0 -- a score that stood up for the first two quarters. Glander also missed a 31-yard field goal.

Turnovers played a big part in Pearland's loss as the Oiler punter mishandled the deep snap and was tackled at the Oilers’ 12-yard line. On the first play after the change of possession, Kingwood quarterback Greg Williamson ran it up the middle for the 12-yard scoring run with just less than eight minutes left in the second quarter.

Pearland scored their lone touchdown of the game on their opening drive of the third quarter with an impressive 15-play, 69-yard drive. Dustin Garrison capped the drive with a three-yard run. Dylan Nowak booted the extra point giving the Oilers a 7-6 advantage.

It appeared that the Oilers might dodge a bullet as the Pearland defense, who allowed 118 rushing yards in the first half, came out in the second half and limited the run-oriented Kingwood offense to only 10 total yards in the third quarter.

While the defense stepped up their intensity and were totally dismantling the Mustangs rushing attack in the third period -- the Pearland offense finally began to find a consistent rhythm... but two fumbles inside the Kingwood 20-yard line left the Oilers clinging to the one-point lead.

Pearland controlled the final two quarters, limiting the Mustangs to only 98 yards of offense, half of those yards coming on one play.

That one play was a run by Taylor Olejniczak with less than five minutes to play. Olejniczak broke free on a misdirection trap play, broke free of a couple of would-be tacklers and raced 49 yards to the Oiler 28 yard line. Seven plays later, Glander kicked the game-winner with 41 seconds left on the clock.

The kick could have gone either way, but the ball hit inside the left upright and was good.

“This is part of growing up,” Pearland head coach Tony Heath said. “We have a lot of young kids here. The potential is there, but potential has never done anything. You have to learn. I know this team has a lot of great times ahead of them. We just have to go back and take care of the basics."

“We knew it was going to be a process in becoming a good, football team,” Heath said. “You don’t become a good football team in one game. It’s a journey, it’s a process. These guys are committed. We’ll be alright.”

The never-say-die Oilers weren't going to go down without a fight. Quarterback Trey Anderson showed a lot of poise in the final seconds as he completed some big passes and the Oilers were helped along by two 15-yard Kingwood penalties to move the ball to the Mustang 23 with five seconds left to play. But Dylan Nowak’s 42-yard kick fell short as time expired.

“We felt like we had momentum, but we came back and shot ourselves in the foot,” Heath said. “It’s not only the ones that everyone sees — the dropped catches or the fumbles. There are missed blocks and other intricacies to the game that people don’t see. And we need to take care of those things.”

Anderson finished the game hitting 13-of-24 for 127 yards with no interceptions. Myles Kanipes had four catches for 34 yards while Charles Ortiz had three grabs for 39 yards. Junior Dustin Garrison had 17 carries for 76 yards and one TD and senior Desmond King had 12 totes for 58 yards.

The Oilers finished with 15 first downs and 237 yards of total yards. Pearland lost two costly fumbles while their third down efficiency was only 1-of-10.

Kingwood had 13 first downs and 215 total yards. The Mustangs were 0-for-1 passing, but converted 5-of-12 third downs.

Pearland will travel to face the Kempner Cougars on Friday, September 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Mercer Stadium (16403 Lexington) in Sugar Land.

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