Cibolo Steele Moves on to Play for State Title With Win Over Houston Memorial
SAN ANTONIO — The Pearland Oilers have enjoyed great success for the last several years but it wasn't until Saturday that they finally earned a spot in the state finals. They punched thier ticket to the championship game with a convincing 51-21 win over San Antonio Stevens in the Class 5A Division I state semifinals at the Alamodome.
Pearland rolled up well over 500 yards of offense with senior running back Dustin Garrison leading the way. He was a work horse for the Oilers as he rushed for 269 yards on 41 carries and scored four touchdowns on the day. Garrison proved to be a load for SA Stevens as he kept going right at their defense eventually wearing them down.
If it wasn't Garrison giving the Stevens defense fits, it was Senior Quarterback Trey Anderson. Anderson shredded the Stevens defense for 111 yards rushing to help provide some extra muscle to the Oiler rushing attack.
In the first half Pearland's defense gave up a couple of big plays as Stevens scored on their second play from scrimmage. Quarterback Mykkele Thompson tossed a 67-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Bias that put Stevens out in front 7-0 with not even a minute gone off the clock.
Garrison helped the Oilers bounce back as he got his day off to a fast start with a pair of touchdown runs in the first quarter to put Pearland out in front 14-7.
Pearland would later mishandle a punt that resulted in Stevens D'Vaunte Pete running it back for a touchdown and a 14-14 tie.
The Oilers recovered nicely as they picked up two more touchdowns in the second quarter. One of them was another Garrison touchdown run and the other was scored on a Jackie Robinson run. Thompson got back in the action himself when he got loose on a long 89-yard touchdown run with less than a minute to go in the half allowing Stevens to trail by just a single touchdown at 27-21 going into halftime.
Pearland took total control in the second half as their defense held Stevens scoreless over the final two quarters. Anderson helped the Oilers build their lead to 34-21 as he broke tackles and powered his way to the end zone for a Pearland touchdown.
The Oilers allowed Stevens to drive deep inside their territory later in the third quarter but managed to end the threat when Charles Higginbotham intercepted a pass to keep Pearland's momentum rolling along.
Stevens had little success in slowing down Pearland in the second half as the Oilers scored 24 unanswered points while building a huge lead as their defense took their game to another level.
Pearland will take on defending state champion and top ranked Euless Trinity at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington next Saturday with kick off scheduled for 8 p.m.
