By Dr. David Davis
Establishing control of the game against Spring Branch Memorial at the very beginning was important for the Oilers.
Pearland and Memorial have been long-time opponents with Pearland owning the rivalry with a 14-3 edge.
The Oilers got the opening kickoff and came out with a 12-play, 68-yard scoring drive that took have of the first quarter.
Junior running back LaDamion McDowell was the workhorse of the drive carrying the ball for seven of the 12 plays capped off with a 4-yard scoring run with 6:15 left in the first quarter. Jackson Stagg tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
On Memorial’s first drive from the Pearland 42 to the 4, the Mustangs opted to kick a 21-yard field goal but the kick missed the mark leaving the Oilers with a 7-0 lead.
Pearland took over on their own 20 and QB Cole Morkovsky promptly hit Jordan “The Jet” Hernandez on a pass down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown and the rout was on. Stagg hit the PAT and Pearland was ahead 14-0 with 1:06 remaining in the opening quarter.
After the Pearland defense forced Memorial to punt, the Oilers began their third drive of the game from their own 43.
A pass to WR Patrick Bridges and a 22-yard run by McDowell placed the ball at the Memorial 25.
Morkovsky called The Jet’s number again on an end sweep and Hernanez burned the Mustangs on a 25-yard dash around left end. Stagg once again hit the PAT for a 21-0 lead with 11:16 left in the second quarter.
Memorial finally got Pearland to turn the ball over with a fumble on the Oiler 17. The Mustangs scored on a five-play, 17-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring toss to make the score 21-7 with 5:51 left before halftime.
The Oilers would score two more times on a McDowell 42-yard scoring run and a 58-yard interception return for a score by Jaiden Brown for a 35-7 lead at intermission.
The Oilers continued to dominate the second half as they scored 20 more points on a 21-scoring pass from Morkovsky to Patrick Bridges and a 2-yard run by McDowell.
Stagg, who was kept busy kicking all night, added field goals of 22-yards and 39-yards for a total of 13 points.
Memorial managed to score a couple of touchdowns in the second half to make the final score 55-21.
The Oilers have scored 100 points in their first two games this season as the offense is coming together.
Pearland will host the C.E. King Panthers on Friday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. at The Rig.
