Hawks swarm Pittsburg, win opener
Pleasant Grove implanted a virus in Pittsburg’s operating system.
The Hawks outscored the Pirates, 45-6, in the latter part of the game and rolled to a 45-20 victory at Hawk Stadium on Friday in a District 6-4A matchup.
“Pittsburg jumped out on us because they have a good football team,” Pleasant Grove head coach Josh Gibson said. “They have some phenomenal athletes, and we knew it was going to be a war. To come back from 14 down and outscore them 45-6, shows how resilient our kids are.
“We were playing a little too safe at first. They have kids over there that will play Division one college football. Our kids started playing hard and started to be themselves. They were calm, and we forced three turnovers.”
Tyler Kelley made two interceptions for the Hawks and returned one for 35 yards.
Pleasant Grove took a 28-20 halftime lead and built it to 35-20 after Jackson Cobb grabbed a 2-yard pass from Ben Harmon.
Harmon passed for four touchdowns on 6-of-12 passing, and rushed for two more to lead the Hawks. Harmon fin-
ished with 152 yards through the air and 52 yards rushing.
The fourth quarter belonged to Pleasant Grove as kicker Dillon Williams booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 38-20. Kamren Woods intercepted a pass on the ensuing Pittsburg possession to give the Hawks back the ball.
Brett Walker, who had two touchdown grabs, caught a pass from Harmon and sped 41 yards down the left sideline to put Pleasant Grove up by 25 points late in the fourth.
After Pittsburg jumped out to a 14-0 lead, Pleasant Grove scored 28 unanswered points to take a 28-14 lead with 2:49 left until halftime.
Jaylon Jimmerson threw a 12-yard pass to Keontae Burns for the game’s first score, and tossed a 49-yard pass to Griffin for a TD.
Landon Jackson grabbed a 20-yard pass from Harmon late in the first quarter to cut the Hawks’ deficit in half.
Kelley intercepted a Jimmerson pass and fell in the end zone for the touchback. The catch prevented the Pirates from scoring as they were on PG’s eight-yard line.
On the ensuing Pittsburg possession, the Black Hawk defense forced a threeand-out. The snap was bad, the punter picked up the loose ball and stumbled backwards. The Hawks tackled the punter at the Pirates’ 12-yard line.
Harmon ran the ball in from three yards out to knot the game at 14-all.
Brett Walker grabbed a pass from Harmon and sped down the field 59 yards for the go-ahead Hawk touchdown with 7:44 left in the second quarter.
Kelley returned a Pittsburg punt 22 yards as PG set up on the Pirates’ 36-yard line. Harmon capped the drive with a three-yard run to give the Hawks a 28-14 lead late in the second.
Keithlen Griffin caught a 48-yard pass from Jimmerson for a Pittsburg touchdown, but the 2-point run failed. Pleasant Grove went into the locker room up 28-20.
Griffin led all receivers with eight catches for 200 yards.
James Wiggins was the game’s leading rusher for Pleasant Grove with 85 yards on 19 carries, while teammate Bruce Garrett was right behind with 82 yards on 12 totes.
The Hawks (5-2, 1-0) travel to Gilmer to take on the Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Pittsburg 14 6 0 0 — 20
Pleasant Grove 7 21 7 10 — 45
First Quarter
PITT-Keontae Burns 12 pass from Jaylon Jimmerson (Giovanny Rojas kick), 9:08 PITT-Keithlen Griffin 49 pass from Jimmerson (Rojas kick), 6:15
PG-Landon Jackson 20 pass from Ben Harmon (Dillon Williams kick), 2:58Second Quarter
PG-Ben Harmon 3 run (Williams kick), 9:23 PG-Brett Walker 59 pass from Harmon (Williams kick), 7:44
PG-Harmon 3 run (Williams kick), 2:49 PITT-Griffin 48 pass from Jimmerson (run failed), 0:47 Third Quarter
PG-Jackson Cobb 2 pass from Harmon (Williams kick), 7:21
Fourth Quarter
PG-Williams 31 field goal, 10:38
PG-Walker 41 pass from Harmon (Williams kick), 2:50 PITT PG
First Downs 13 18
Yards Rushing 18-50 45-241
Yards Passing 283 152
Passes A-C-I 31-17-3 12-6-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties 1-5 3-15
Punts-Avg. 2-26.0 3-32.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Keontae Burns 1-1, Jaylon Jimmerson 11-82, Desmond Allen 3-7, team 4-(minus 40). Pleasant Grove, James Wiggins 19-85, Bruce Garrett 12-82, Ben Harmon 11-51, Cobb 2-22, Nick Martin 1-1.
PASSING—Pittsburg, Jimmerson 17-31-3-283. Pleasant Grove, Harmon 6-12-0-152.
RECEIVING—Pittsburg, Burns 4-45, Griffin 8-200, Braydon Pyron 1-6, Ty Jordan 1-5, Promous Morrison 1-23, Mason Monts 1-1, Allen 1-1, Richard Rogers 1-2. Pleasant Grove, Cobb 2-13, Walker 2-100, Jackson 1-20, Marcus Burris 1-19.