Gators outlast Oilers in playoff thriller
Myers records 4 touchdowns, including pass for final score
No one wanted it more than the other.
Dickinson and Pearland struggled through four mostly futile quarters in regulation, and the outcome still was undecided after three overtimes Saturday at NRG Stadium.
So Jordan Myers reached out and took it.
The Rice pledge hauled in a high pass from Delan Baines, spun, broke a tackle and scored a 21-yard touchdown in the fourth OT, lifting the Gators to a 26-23 victory over the Oilers in the Class 6A Division I area playoffs.
“I’m speechless,” Myers said. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that your team can depend on you and you can actually do what they need you to do.”
Myers scored all four of Dickinson’s touchdowns.
His 49-yard scoring grab in the first quarter was the only score until Pearland’s Justin GuyRobinson blocked Terence White’s punt and returned it 37 yards to make it 7-7 with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a scoreless first OT, Myers scored on a 5-yard TD run to force the third extra period. His third score on a 9-yard run gave the Gators a 20-14 lead, but he was stopped short on the two-point try.
The Oilers (11-1) then forced the fourth OT on Davier Pinkston’s 1-yard run.
Dickinson (11-1) fell be- hind 23-20 on Cody Bernstein’s 34-yard field goal and was down to thirdand-16 when Myers won it with his dramatic grab.
The senior finished with 203 total yards, including six catches for 123 yards.
“He’s a heck of a football player,” Gators coach John Snelson said. “He makes big play after big play for us.”
It was a tight game throughout four quarters.
Dickinson scored on its second possession but couldn’t capitalize on multiple opportunities supplied by the defense.
Pearland was called for delay of game before the opening kickoff and struggled from there, committing four turnovers.
The two teams barely topped 300 yards combined in regulation (351), and the defense was not all that good, either.
“We had a lot of mental mistakes on offense, running wrong routes, blocking the wrong people, and I made a few bad calls, too,” Snelson said. “But credit to our kids. They never gave up and fought their tails off.”
The Oilers also didn’t have any quit in them.
After improbably tying it late, they led 14-7 in the first overtime and 23-20 in the fourth before coming up short.
Pinkston supplied two touchdowns in overtime and finished with 147 yards on 27 carries.
“Our defense played awesome (Saturday),” Pearland coach Tony Heath said. “Put (this) one on me. I made some bonehead calls (Saturday) that could have helped this team be a better football team.
The Gators finished with 287 total yards and 14 first downs to 253 and 14 for the Oilers.
Dickinson advances to face Lamar at 2 p.m. Saturday at NRG in the regional semifinals.
“We all knew Pearland was going to be a tough opponent,” Myers said. “We expected this, (and) we worked hard for it.”