Pleasant Grove
LAST WEEK: Pleasant Grove powered past Gilmer, 56-28, in a Class 4A, Div. II regional playoff game at Allen High School’s Eagle Stadium.
THIS WEEK: Pleasant Grove (11-2) clashes with Pittsburg (10-3) at The Star in Frisco, Texas, at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in a Class 4A, Division II regional final/state quarterfinal playoff game.
OFFENSIVE
STANDOUTS: QB Ben Harmon hit on 12 of 14 passes for 266 yards and five touchdowns. FB James Wiggins scored twice and rushed for 82 yards on 17 carries, while teammate Bruce Garrett led the team in rushing with 174 yards on 17 totes and a TD. WR Sergio Rodriguez led the Hawks in receiving with four catches for 125 yards and a score. Ryan Pickelman caught three passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Kicker Dillon Williams was 8 for 8 on PATs.
DEFENSIVE
STANDOUTS: OLB Nick Martin led the Hawks with 12 tackles, while ILB Bladen Reaves made nine stops. CB Kamren Woods made an interception. ILB Caleb Hemphill had seven tackles, while Rodriguez and Pickelman had six each.
COACH JOSH GIBSON’S
COMMENTS: “I’m proud of our growth. We are getting better each week and that’s a testament to the investment and hard work from our players and coaches. It’s hard to beat a team twice, but we did it in dominating fashion. Our adjustments from game one were really good.
“Ben (Harmon) is a natural leader and fierce competitor. He’s special. He makes great decisions and leads the team with passion. We are lucky to have Ben leading our team. Sergio (Rodriguez) has two great intangibles—he’s smart and extremely fast. He gets open because he knows how to set up defenders and then he can run right by them. He’s a big time weapon for us.
“Our defensive staff spends a lot of time on the technique and tackling, but we also have tough players. Those two things, along with the emphasis on pursuit make us a good tackling team.”