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Pearland stuns Clear Lake in OT
  
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By TED DUNNAM
Dustin Hopkins, the best high school kicker in the nation, could have made the field goal in his sleep.
But in front a Clear Lake crowd ready to celebrate a victory, he never got the chance.
A botched snap on what would have been a routine 25-yard field goal in overtime shockingly resulted in an 80-yard return for a touchdown by Pearland’s Dennis Walls, giving the Oilers a jaw-dropping 34-28 Class 5A win Friday night at Deer Park’s Abshier Stadium.
Stunned Clear Lake head coach Troy Aduddell was beside himself after the game, bent over in disbelief.
“I don’t know what happened – we had it in our grasp,” Aduddell said. “I don’t know if it was a bad snap or not. I’ll have to watch the film.
“All I know is it’s a shame to lose it like that. You can’t ask for more out of these kids than what they gave tonight. It’s just unfortunate to lose a game this way.”
The teams entered overtime tied at 28, and Clear Lake’s defense had just stuffed Pearland, forcing a 39-yard field goal attempt by Pearland’s Blake Allan that misfired.
Lake’s bullish wishbone then moved the ball to the Oiler eight-yard line when the Falcons lined up for an apparent game-winning kick. After all, Hopkins had made four PATs on the night, and the Florida State signee had boomed kickoffs out of the end zone all night.
But the snap went a little high, Pearland’s rush smothered Hopkins and the holder, and Walls picked up the loose ball. He raced down the sideline, but Hopkins couldn’t catch him as the Oiler senior sprinted to the end zone where he was mobbed by his teammates.
“I just picked it up and I knew my teammates were there to block for me,” Walls said. “I saw one player (Hopkins) coming after me, but I just kept pushing. When I picked it up, I knew I was going to score.
“You just gotta believe all the time.”
Hopkins was as stunned as anyone by what unfolded.
“I was lining up for the kick, and I had it in my sights,” Hopkins said. “(The snap) was a little high, but it looked like Craig (Phelps) had it. I don’t know…I guess he got unlucky.
“I got knocked down, and then I saw the guy with the ball, and I thought he got knocked down. Then he took off running. For a second I thought I might catch him, but when I was directly behind him I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to catch up.”
The miraculous finish capped a Pearland comeback that saw the Oilers trail by as much as 28-14 in the second half. But the Oilers scored on a 13-yard Kasey Carrier run with 1:25 left in the third quarter to close to 28-21, and then tied the game with 4:38 left after quarterback Sam Allen’s 1-yard sneak.
Pearland (11-0) botched its own chance to win the game in regulation when it had first down at the Clear Lake 23 yard line, but poor offensive management resulted in the Oilers not attempting a game-winning field goal as time expired, setting up the dramatic overtime situation.
“We were a little bit lucky, and a little bit good,” Oiler head coach Tony Heath said. “We were 8-gap rushing on the kick, and the holder kind of bobbled it there.
“When Dennis picked up the ball, I was just hoping he would score because I didn’t want to go to another overtime.”
Heath said he felt as bad for Clear Lake (8-3) as he did good for his own team.
“All the compliments go to Clear Lake,” Heath said. “If you want a clinic on the wishbone, there’s no better place to go than Clear Lake. As for us, this is another great victory for this town and this team.
“It shows what we talk about – belief in the system and about having faith and that good things happen.”
Pearland led 14-7 after one quarter on a two-yard run by Carrier and a 42-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Myles Kanipes on a fourth-and-seven play. Those two scores were sandwiched around a 12-yard scoring run by Clear Lake’s Jarred Mack.
The Falcons took a 21-14 halftime lead when Randall Hollimon and Lake quarterback Eric Canas each scored on two-yard runs.
A Mack 10-yard run gave the Falcons their 28-14 lead with 3:51 left in the third quarter.
Canas finished the game with 175 yards on 16 carries to lead all rushers while Mack added 155 on 18 attempts.
Carrier paced Pearland with 145 yards on 25 carries.
Pearland meets either Katy Taylor or Houston Lamar in the next round of the playoffs.
But in front a Clear Lake crowd ready to celebrate a victory, he never got the chance.
A botched snap on what would have been a routine 25-yard field goal in overtime shockingly resulted in an 80-yard return for a touchdown by Pearland’s Dennis Walls, giving the Oilers a jaw-dropping 34-28 Class 5A win Friday night at Deer Park’s Abshier Stadium.
Stunned Clear Lake head coach Troy Aduddell was beside himself after the game, bent over in disbelief.
“I don’t know what happened – we had it in our grasp,” Aduddell said. “I don’t know if it was a bad snap or not. I’ll have to watch the film.
“All I know is it’s a shame to lose it like that. You can’t ask for more out of these kids than what they gave tonight. It’s just unfortunate to lose a game this way.”
The teams entered overtime tied at 28, and Clear Lake’s defense had just stuffed Pearland, forcing a 39-yard field goal attempt by Pearland’s Blake Allan that misfired.
Lake’s bullish wishbone then moved the ball to the Oiler eight-yard line when the Falcons lined up for an apparent game-winning kick. After all, Hopkins had made four PATs on the night, and the Florida State signee had boomed kickoffs out of the end zone all night.
But the snap went a little high, Pearland’s rush smothered Hopkins and the holder, and Walls picked up the loose ball. He raced down the sideline, but Hopkins couldn’t catch him as the Oiler senior sprinted to the end zone where he was mobbed by his teammates.
“I just picked it up and I knew my teammates were there to block for me,” Walls said. “I saw one player (Hopkins) coming after me, but I just kept pushing. When I picked it up, I knew I was going to score.
“You just gotta believe all the time.”
Hopkins was as stunned as anyone by what unfolded.
“I was lining up for the kick, and I had it in my sights,” Hopkins said. “(The snap) was a little high, but it looked like Craig (Phelps) had it. I don’t know…I guess he got unlucky.
“I got knocked down, and then I saw the guy with the ball, and I thought he got knocked down. Then he took off running. For a second I thought I might catch him, but when I was directly behind him I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to catch up.”
The miraculous finish capped a Pearland comeback that saw the Oilers trail by as much as 28-14 in the second half. But the Oilers scored on a 13-yard Kasey Carrier run with 1:25 left in the third quarter to close to 28-21, and then tied the game with 4:38 left after quarterback Sam Allen’s 1-yard sneak.
Pearland (11-0) botched its own chance to win the game in regulation when it had first down at the Clear Lake 23 yard line, but poor offensive management resulted in the Oilers not attempting a game-winning field goal as time expired, setting up the dramatic overtime situation.
“We were a little bit lucky, and a little bit good,” Oiler head coach Tony Heath said. “We were 8-gap rushing on the kick, and the holder kind of bobbled it there.
“When Dennis picked up the ball, I was just hoping he would score because I didn’t want to go to another overtime.”
Heath said he felt as bad for Clear Lake (8-3) as he did good for his own team.
“All the compliments go to Clear Lake,” Heath said. “If you want a clinic on the wishbone, there’s no better place to go than Clear Lake. As for us, this is another great victory for this town and this team.
“It shows what we talk about – belief in the system and about having faith and that good things happen.”
Pearland led 14-7 after one quarter on a two-yard run by Carrier and a 42-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Myles Kanipes on a fourth-and-seven play. Those two scores were sandwiched around a 12-yard scoring run by Clear Lake’s Jarred Mack.
The Falcons took a 21-14 halftime lead when Randall Hollimon and Lake quarterback Eric Canas each scored on two-yard runs.
A Mack 10-yard run gave the Falcons their 28-14 lead with 3:51 left in the third quarter.
Canas finished the game with 175 yards on 16 carries to lead all rushers while Mack added 155 on 18 attempts.
Carrier paced Pearland with 145 yards on 25 carries.
Pearland meets either Katy Taylor or Houston Lamar in the next round of the playoffs.
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