When Pearland concluded Spring football practice with their Spring Game, a casual observer familiar with the Oilers could immediately see a new energy and enthusiasm was evident from the coaching staff and players.
There was a whole new atmosphere that permeated the stadium as the Maroon Team faced the White Team.
However, there were also the cheerleaders, members of the band, and a lot of fans watching with excitement and anticipation that has been missing for the past couple of years.
New head coach B.J. Gotte has already orchestrated new life in the Pearland football program that is being felt by the entire Pearland team and student body.
Gotte replaced Ricky Tullos, who left Pearland after four seasons for Bryan High in mid-January. Tullos went 33-11 as head coach of the Oilers while posting a 1-4 record in the post-season.
Fresh from winning the Class 5A Div. I state championship at Katy Paetow, Gotte began his new journey with the Oilers that includes an impressive coaching resume that includes four state titles as an assistant coach at Katy (2003, 2012, 2015) and La Marque (2006) and one as a head coach at Katy Paetow in 2021.
As the Oilers face the 2022 football season, they will focus on continuing their playoff streak while getting back to making a deeper run in the playoffs that has been missing for the past four years.
The non-district schedule for the Oilers will be a challenge that will set them up to make a run for the District 23-6A crown. The pre-season prediction has the Oilers in third place behind Shadow Creek and Dawson, but Gotte knows that games are won on the field and not on paper.
Pearland will begin the Gotte era on Friday, August 26 at Veterans Stadium against Clear Falls at 7:00 p.m. Clear Falls was 9-2 last season while advancing to the 6A Div. II bi-district after finishing in second place in the 24-6A standings behind Dickinson.
The Oilers will take on a familiar opponent in the Spring Branch Memorial Mustangs on Thursday, September 1 at 6:00 p.m. at The Rig. Memorial beat Pearland last year 17-14 in a rare win. The Mustangs went on to post a 7-5 mark while advancing to the 6A Div II area-round.
Closing out the non-district schedule will be against C.E. King on Friday, September 9 at Panther Stadium at 7:00 p.m. The Panthers were 10-3 in 2021 and advanced to the 6A Div II regional semifinals. C. E. King may be in one of the most challenging districts where they have to compete against North Shore, Atascocita, and Summer Creek. The Panthers are a pre-season third place district selection.
Pearland has six offensive and three defensive starters returning with 26 lettermen to begin the 2022 football season from a 7-4 team in 2021.
Leading the offense will be RB Kennedy Lewis (5-8, 175, 4.6) who rushed for 552 yards and scored seven TDs last season. WR Christian Pitts (5-10, 155, 4.6) proved last season that he is a multi-talented athlete as he had (12 carries rushing for 249 yards and 1 TD; 26 catches for 331 yards and 3 scores; 330 kickoff return yards; 118 punt return yards). Both Lewis and Pitts have the talent to play at the next level.
Junior WR Patrick Bridges (6-1, 175, 4.7) will be another offensive weapon that showed a lot of talent to make an impact on offense while sophomore QB Jackson Hamilton (5-11, 170, 4.8) will take the offensive controls after seeing limited duty last season with 232 passing and 3 TDs. Jackson’s dad is the QB coach for the Houston Texans. The young Hamilton already has received several college offers so he will only get better as he grows and matures athletically.
Others who will contribute on offense include: OL Aidan Demmon (6-3, 270), OL Christian Argo, TE Joseph Garcia, WR Aiden Glasper, TE J.J. Wheeler, and K Jackson Stagg.
Defensively, the Oilers have a young unit that will be tested early in the season.
Leading the defensive unit will be All-District LB Zander Winter (6-2, 200, 4.6) who had 45 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles, 4 TFL, 5 sacks, and 9 QB hurries last season. Joining him will be DB Ashton Hampton (2 INTs) and CB Gabriel Sheppard (5-8, 140, 4.5) in the secondary.
Others on defense who will need to step up include: DL Abraham Diaz (6-0, 230), CB Lazarus Range, DB Cole Anderson, and LB Matthew Lumpkin.
