Pearland rolls past Memorial 27-0

Memorial started their first possession of the game against Pearland at their own 25 following the opening kickoff. On the first play, Pearland’s Quinton Murray intercepted a Memorial pass and ran it into the endzone for a pick-6 to give the Oilers a quick 7-0 lead following the PAT from Zane Adler with only eight seconds gone in the first quarter.
This may have been the quickest score in the history of Pearland football but it set the stage for what was to come as Pearland shutout the Mustangs 27-0 to post their first win of the season.
The two teams would trade punts throughout the rest of the opening quarter until the Oilers began a drive at their own 43 in the second quarter.
Pearland would go 57-yards in seven plays which would be capped off with a 13-yard scoring toss from QB Jake Westmoreland to WR Jordan “the Jet” Hernandez. Adler added the PAT for a 14-0 advantage with 8:32 left in the second period.
The Oilers would score one more time in the first half as Adler hit a 19-yard field goal as time expired in the opening half giving Pearland a 17-0 lead.
“We were more consistent in the run game and on the offensive line,” coach B.J. Gotte said. “The defense limited big plays in the run and pass game against Memorial.
“The entire offensive line did an exceptional job taking that next step as a unit.”
The Oilers continued to limit Memorial on offense in the second half.
Both teams traded punts to begin the third quarter.
Pearland began their second drive of the third quarter at the Memorial 48. The Oilers went on a 13-play scoring drive that resulted in a 34-yard Adler field goal with 9:51 remaining in the fourth quarter to make the score 20-0 in favor of the Oilers.
The Oilers scored one more time courtesy of the defense as linebacker Charles Gooden III intercepted a Memorial pass at the Pearland 48 and scooted across the goal line to give the Oilers a 27-0 lead with 5:40 left in the game.
QB Jake Westmoreland was 6-of-14 passing for 35 yards and one TD.
RB Tate Chisolm was the leading ball carrier with 130 yards on 17 carries while Cam’ron Bush had 13 totes for 87 yards. Steven Craft had 52 yards on six carries.
Jordan Hernandez had four catches for 27 yards and one score.
“Defensively, we need to become more disciplined with pre-snap and post snap execution/decisions, Gotte said. “We also need to continue to fine tune the details in our reads, fits, and footwork.”
Gotte cited Sam Armstrong, Luke Richardson, Jaison Law, Amari Wilks who stepped up this week to make good strides from one week to the next.
Pearland finished with 284 yards rushing and 35 yards passing for 319 total yards while the defense held Memorial to 56 yards on the ground and 14 yards passing for a total of 70 yards.
Pearland is now 1-1 on the season and will open up District 22-6A action this Friday against Sam Rayburn at Pasadena Memorial Stadium at 7:00 p.m.