PEARLAND, Texas – The final day of finals week was put on hold at Pearland High School Friday. Hundreds of residents and students gathered outside "The Rig" to send the Oilers off to the 5A Division I State Championship.
"It's a very exciting moment," said Oilers receiver Jacoby Lewis. "Ever since freshman year, we've been dreaming of this moment. Now we're here."
Boarding a bus destined for Dallas, the Oilers set out on a journey that began back in January.
"It was a very crazy road," said Lewis. "No one actually expected us to get this far, but we just came together as a team and blocked out negative talk."
"It humbles me to know how much pride Pearland has in their football team, their school and their kids," said Oilers head coach Tony Heath. "It's an honor just to get to represent them."
Focused on finishing the job against Allen, Pearland can look to the blueprint they laid out in 2010's upset over Euless Trinity.
"We've been underdogs before in 2010," said Oilers lineman Willie Williams. "We have something to prove, and we're going to prove it. We're going to show what we're about."
"It's business," added Heath. "We know we've got 48 minutes of business to take care of. Hopefully we'll work our tails off and be victorious at the end."
Pearland plays Allen Saturday at 4pm at AT&T Stadium.