BACK IN THE SADDLE
PG wins nailbiter against crosstown foe Arkansas High
Two city teams clashed at Hawk Stadium, lit up the fourth quarter, and made a classic.
Pleasant Grove built an early lead and defeated crosstown rival Arkansas High, 27-20, before a packed house Friday.
“I was really proud with our team,” Hawk head coach Josh Gibson said. “Our defense played lights out football for 46 minutes. At the end, we had a broken play, a penalty and an onside kick that made this game closer than it needed to be. But I have to give Arkansas High credit because their kids kept grinding and fighting.”
Razorback head coach Barry Norton said that Arkansas High will be fine going forward.
“I felt like we did some good things defensively, but offensively we are still searching for an identity on who we can be,” Norton said. “This was our first real, live action. I have a great group of kids who fought until the end. Pleasant Grove has an excellent football team.”
Pleasant Grove took a 13-0 lead into halftime, and neither team scored in the third quarter. Most of the scoring was saved for the fourth quarter.
Carson Cox snagged a 7-yard pass from Ben Harmon early in the fourth to put the Hawks up, 20-0. But the Hogs would no go away.
Irijah Price returned the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to set Arkansas High up on PG's 8-yard line. Jordan Hall ran it in for a touchdown, the Hogs' first score of the game with 10:29 left.
Cox grabbed a 47 yard pass from Harmon to put Pleasant Grove into position at the Arkansas High 23-yard line. Two plays later, Cox caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Harmon to make it 27-7.
Tyrie Black returned the kickoff 28 yards for the Hogs, but Arkansas High threw an interception. The Hogs got the ball back four plays later on a deflected interception made by Jaylon Bead. Bead returned the interception 35 yards to the 50-yard line.
Mask snagged a 24-yard TD pass from Drake Browning to cap a 50-yard, 2:08 drive for Arkansas High. The score made it 27-14.
The Hogs legged an onside kick and recovered at the Pleasant Grove 49-yard line. Sean Foreback came in at quarterback and found Price on a 37-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-20 with 1:10 left.
Arkansas High attempted an onside kick, but Pleasant Grove recovered.
Pleasant Grove's Dillon Williams booted a 30-yard field goal for the first score of the game.
After a 31-yard Arkansas High punt, the Hawks set up on the Razorbacks' 37-yard line. On the second play, Josh Roberts swept left and picked up nine yards.
The Hogs were penalized 15 yards on a face mask penalty, and the Hawks had a first down from the 14-yard line. Two plays later, TJ Cole rumbled for a 4-yard gain, but it wasn't enough for a first down. Williams legged in the field goal to make it 3-0.
Arkansas High's Jordan Hall had runs of 10, 9, and 2 yards to keep the ball moving forward for the Hogs on the ensuing possession. The momentum was halted when PG's Jacob Barbour sacked the Hogs' quarterback for a 7-yard loss.
A play later, Xavier Benson sacked Arkansas High's quarterback for a 9-yard loss, and the Hogs had to punt.
The teams traded possessions until Pleasant Grove got the ball with 6:08 left in the second quarter on the Razorbacks' 45-yard line.
On a third-and-4, Harmon found Benson for a 14-yard gain as PG set up on the Arkansas High 20-yard line.
Josh Roberts punched the ball in from six yards out for a touchdown, and the Hawks took a 10-0 lead with 3:35 left in the second.
Arkansas High went threeand-out and punted. The ball had backspin and bounced favorably for PG. It was a 14-yard punt.
The Hawks started from the Hog 44-yard line, and Bruce Garrett ran to the right side for a gain of six. A play later, Cole caught a 10-yard pass from Harmon.
Tyler Allen rushed for 12 yards on the next PG snap, Garrett broke off a 10-yarder, but the next two rushes went for negative yardage. Williams kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 13-0 at the half.
The Hawks had 271 yards of offense, while Arkansas High totaled 180 yards. Each team threw an interception, the only turnovers in the game.
The Hogs (0-1) host Texas High (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Razorback Stadium Friday, while Pleasant Grove (1-0) hosts Paris at 7:30 p.m. at Hawk Stadium.