Dickinson advances in playoffs
Gators top Pearland 28-23, setting up rematch with Atascocita
DICKINSON — Mike Welch is the man.
The hard-nosed senior quarterback rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score, helping Dickinson overcome pesky Pearland 28-23 on Friday in the bi-district playoffs at Sam Vitanza Stadium.
“We made a lot of mistakes (Friday),” Dickinson coach John Snelson said. “Pearland came out and played really well, had a really good plan and did a bunch of stuff that we had not seen them do on defense. We made a lot of mental mistakes — the penalty bug reared its ugly head — but we kept plugging.”
The win sends the Gators (10-1), the area’s No. 4 team in 6A, to the area round of the 6A Division 1 Region III bracket for the third consecutive year for a rematch with No. 5 Atascocita, which beat the Gators 50-21 in the same round two years ago. The Eagles rolled over Deer Park 69-29 to advance.
Dickinson and Atascocita reunite at 2 p.m. next Saturday at NRG Stadium.
“Region III 6A Division 1 is the toughest in the country,” Snelson said. “There are lots of tough ones, but ours is just an absolute meat grinder, so we’re going to have to go to work and get ready for Atascocita.
“We’ve got to play a lot better, and a lot cleaner (than last time) because they’re explosive as all get out.”
No. 17 Pearland, which led three different times, ends its season at 8-3 after it second straight playoff loss to Dickinson.
Dickinson racked up 269 total yards and 16 first downs in the first half but led only 22-14 after a missed extra point and a two-point pass attempt that was picked off by Pearland’s Corben Martinez. The Oilers stayed within striking distance, despite losing two first-half fumbles, on the arm of quarterback J.D. Head.
The Louisiana Tech pledge threw for 151 yards and two scores before the break.
The Oilers received the opening kickoff and promptly fumbled it away. D.J. Warnell recovered for the Gators, setting up their first score on a 5-yard touchdown run by Welch. But kicker Guillermo Garcia-Rodriguez pushed the extra-point try wide right, keeping the lead at 6-0 early.
Pearland used the opening to take the lead.
They matched Dickinson’s hurry-up offense in a quick six-play, 75-yard march that Head finished with a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremiah Aaron. After the extra point, the Oilers led 7-6 three minutes in.
The opening turnover gave the Gators the ball at Pearland’s 39yard line, and they started their second possession at Pearland’s 37 after the Oilers flubbed an onside-kick attempt. But this time Pearland forced the Gators to settle for a 29-yard field goal attempt, which Rodriguez converted for a 9-7 lead.
Pearland fumbled again on its second series, with Warnell again recovering the loose ball, but Dickinson didn’t capitalize.
Then the Oilers put together a 15-play, 87-yard scoring drive featuring two fourth-down conversions. The second came after Pearland was going to punt, then called timeout and came back with a pass from Head, who narrowly avoided Dickinson’s all-out blitz to find wide receiver Layne Roblyer for a 37-yard touchdown on fourth-and-8, giving the Oilers a 14-9 advantage with 9:03 left in the first half.
But with Welch at the controls, the Gators refused to wilt.
They added two more touchdown drives to enter the break with a slightly more comfortable 22-14 lead. Welch finished the first with a 12-yard strike to wide receiver Kai German on fourth-and-5, and then carried the ball across the goal line from 1 yard out on the second. The Gators went for two after the go-ahead score, but Martinez intercepted the pass and nearly returned it for two points for Pearland.
Welch finished 13 of 22 passing for 144 yards and one score, with 96 yards and two TDs on 20 carries.
“Mike’s our guy,” Snelson said. “The offense is going to run through him. He made a couple mistakes, too, but the thing I liked is … we just made a lot of mistakes that we don’t normally make and we did not panic.”
The first half ended with the Gators sacking Head for an 11-yard loss.
But the Oilers came back to take a 23-22 lead in the third on a 31yard Caleb Mendez field goal that capped a 13-play drive, followed later by Brandon Campbell’s sliding 3-yard touchdown run on the final play of the quarter.
Dickinson punted on its first three second-half possessions but finally found the end zone again after falling behind the third time on a wild scoring play. Running back Ausaru Allah was about to cross the goal line for a 7-yard TD, but the ball slipped out of his hands — and right into the arms of Darryl Harris, who took it the final 2 yards for a 28-23 lead, which stayed there after a failed twopoint run.
The Oilers had one more chance with less than three minutes to go, but linebacker Dominic Chong tackled Campbell, who took a direct snap on fourth-and-1, for a 2-yard loss, and the Gators knelt out the clock.
Dickinson finished with 330 yards and 21 first downs.
“Once again, defense rose up there late and won the game for us,” Snelson said.