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A Rise to the Top of the Mountain

HE SUCCESS OF the Pearland Oilers football teams has provided one of the fastest-growing
Tcommunities in the Houston area with a lot of excitement. Once known as the doormat team to
schedule as a homecoming opponent, the Oilers are considered as one of the area powers on the
gridiron.

Pearland head coach Tony Heath recently retired after 20
years at the helm of the Pearland Oilers -- orchestrating one
of the most incredible turnarounds in Texas football history.
Heath finished his illustrious coaching career with a spar-
kling 195-53 overall record including a state championship in
2010.
When Heath arrived -- no one ever thought a state champi-
onship would ever enter the picture.

But 2010 proved to be the unexpected, from the bottom to
the top.

Pearland is the third winningest football program in the
Houston area since 1999. They are the 10th winningest foot-
ball program in the state of any class since 2000.

“I’m just the orchestrator; (my assistant coaches) are the nuts and bolts,” Heath said. “They’re the
reason we’re in this position and for the success we’ve had.

“They’re much more than good coaches -
they’re outstanding teachers and even coun-
selors. They work with the players, with teach-
ers and parents. They go above and beyond
the call of duty. They wear a lot of hats, and
they love wearing them,” Heath said.

The entire coaching staff, from junior high level
to varsity, knows that when the season begins -
it is going to be a seven-day work week. Un-
derstanding wives and girlfriends are a must.
“We have a close-knit family within our coach-
ing staff,” Heath said. “Wives are friends with
each other, their kids play with each other, and
it’s really a family atmosphere. I’m very fortunate to have the coaches with the families that they
have. Being a coach’s wife or girlfriend, you have to be a special person because a lot of times
they have to be mom and dad.”

“This state championship didn’t just happen overnight,” Heath said.
“It was the culmination of 14 years of hard work by each team who
laid a winning tradition for Pearland football.”
Heath finishes his career at Pearland as the winningest coach in
PHS history with a 195-53 mark over 20 years.

The 2010 squad proved that when players play together and be-
lieve in one another - they can accomplish much.

But the journey didn’t end for the Oilers in 2010.

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