Pearland, Memorial show flair for dramatic in Texas football playoffs

For one team, it's another trip to the semifinals in what has been a successful, robust decade. For the other, it's a playoff run that its community hasn't seen for more than 30 years. And both punched their tickets in dramatic, show-stopping fashion.

Pearland defeated area No. 1, state No. 2 and Region III favorite Katy 38-35 in the Division I Region III-5A championship game and Memorial (Houston) outraced Cypress Woods to a 48-45 win for the Division II Region III-5A title.

MaxPreps' Texas football playoff brackets

Even though Pearland carried a 13-0 record into its third state quarterfinal appearance since 2006, many pegged Katy, a nationally-ranked squad, as the team to beat in the region.

But behind its prolific offense and improving defense, the Oilers (14-0) were able to pull out the victory in front of a crowd of 41,368 at Rice Stadium. Pearland led by 24-14 in the third quarter and Katy (13-1) came back to take a 28-24 lead and the team's traded touchdowns before quarterback Trey Anderson found receiver/defensive end Samuel Ukwuachu for a 44-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds left.

Running back Dustin Garrison, who is one of the area's top rushers this season, came in on defense to seal the game with an interception on Katy's final possession.

Meanwhile, Memorial (9-5), which finished 5-5 in the regular season, is in the state semifinals for the first time since 1979. On Saturday, the Mustangs rolled to 534 rushing yards - 334 from quarterback Wayne Taylor and 200 from running back Boomer White - to win their shootout with Cypress Woods. The excessive yards and points were necessary because the Wildcats' multi-faceted spread offense attack, led by quarterback Colton Huntsman, moved the ball with ease throughout the game.

That was until Memorial defensive back Brett Strake picked off Huntsman with less than three minutes to go, setting up an eventual 56-yard touchdown run by Taylor that gave Memorial a 10-point lead with just 2:12 remaining.

For a team that had to win its final two regular season games just to secure a playoff berth, it has been a wild ride.

Pearland will meet Stevens (San Antonio) and Memorial will clash with Steele (Cibolo) in the teams' respective semifinal match ups.

LA MARQUE FINDS THE MAGIC
Few would have pegged the La Marque Cougars as regional champions heading into this season or even before the playoffs began. But the traditional powerhouse team - which had missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons - has accomplished just that.

With a 44-28 win over Manvel, the Cougars are back in the Class 4A Division II state semifinals since 2006.

La Marque (10-3) has battled through injuries (starting running back Tim Wright has played with an injured ankle since the first week of the playoffs), pressure and on Saturday, a large deficit. Manvel jumped out to a 22-7 lead early in the second quarter before the Cougars got on track.

The Cougars then reeled off 30 straight points over the next three quarters to take a 37-22 lead.

After limping into the postseason losing four of its last five after a 5-0 start, the Cougars have opened plenty of eyes around the area and the state.

FRIENDSWOOD OFFENSE HELPS MUSTANGS ROLL
The Friendswood Mustangs were in for a tough battle with the Montgomery Bears - who were in the Division I Class 4A Region III championship for the first time in school history - but the Mustangs proved too difficult to stop en route to a 49-28 win.

The teams were neck and neck at halftime, tied at 28 after the teams provided a bevy of highlight-reel worthy plays, but the Friendswood offense continued its production in the second half while the Mustang defense was able to get on track, shutting out the Bears in the final two quarters.

The win puts the Mustangs in the state semifinals for the first time since 2008. Friendswood (13-1) will meet Lake Travis (Austin).

COLDSPRING KEEPS ROLLING
The Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans kept their impressive playoff run going with a 44-14 win over Athens in the Class 3A Division II Region III championship game.

The Trojans (13-1) compiled 333 rushing yards and held Athens to just 211 in the win. Running backs Sherman Gilbert (17 carries, 147 yards) and Cody Cummings (18 carries, 152 yards) combined for 299 of those rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Coldspring advances to the state semifinals for the first time since 1996. They've been twice before (1992 was the other season, when the Trojans made the state finals), but the Trojans are searching for their first state championship.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Wayne Taylor, Memorial - The senior quarterback had 24 carries for 334 rushing yards and three touchdowns In Memorial's 48-45 win over Cypress Woods.

* Pete Maetzold, Friendswood - The senior quarterback was 18 of 27 passing for 396 yards and four touchdowns and added two rushing touchdowns in the Mustangs' 49-28 win over Montgomery.

* Thomas Walkup, Deer Park - The senior forward averaged 29.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4.7 assists in the Clear Creek ISD Carlisle/Kreuger Invitational last week.

LOOKING AHEAD
Five Houston-area teams remain in the football postseason.

Pearland (14-0) vs. SA Stevens (11-3) , 4 p.m. Saturday, Alamodome - The 5A Division I semifinals see Pearland return for the first time since 2006.

Memorial (9-5) vs. Cibolo Steele (12-2), 4 p.m. Saturday, San Antonio Heroes - The 5A Division II semifinals pit arguably the state's best running back (Steele's Malcolm Brown) against perhaps the strongest running game left in Memorial.

Friendswood (13-1) vs. Lake Travis (12-2) , 2 p.m. Saturday, Kyle Field - It's a rematch of the 2008 4A Division I semifinals, which Lake Travis won. They have won three straight titles, Friendswood is back for the first time in two seasons.

La Marque (11-3) vs. Calallen (Corpus Christi) (13-1) , 7:30 p.m. Friday, Alamodome - It's a throwback matchup to the 1990s. These teams met five times in the state semifinals between 1992-1997. La Marque won all five.

Coldspring (13-1) vs. Wimberley (14-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Waco's Floyd Casey - Wimberley is ranked No. 3 in the state but Coldspring has already knocked off a state-ranked team (No. 5 Kirbyville) on its road to this point.

Sam Khan Jr. covers Greater Houston area high school sports for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach him at sam.khan@chron.com or follow him on Twitter attwitter.com/skhanjr. You can also join him, Jenny Dial and other writers from around the state in a weekly high school football chat at noon on Wednesdays atwww.chron.com/hs