HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
LIBERTY-EYLAU VS. PLEASANT GROVE •ARKANSAS HIGH VS. HOT SPRINGS
TEXARKANA, Texas — Even Mother Nature couldn’t stop the Pleasant Grove’s ground attack.
The Hawks (8-1, 3-0) defeated Liberty-Eylau (0-7, 0-2) at Harris Field in their District 6-4A clash, 45-6.
“Well, it was sloppy for both teams because of this weather,” Pleasant Grove head coach Josh Gibson said. “I think we we did a good job of fighting some early turnovers and adversity we were facing.
“I’m really proud of both teams, because this is a rivalry and both teams were super classy, and got after it the right way.”
Antonio Watkins added a 9-yard rushing touchdown for the Hawks in the fourth quarter with 7:16 left in the game.
“It just comes down to execution with us early in our games,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Klint King said. “You see early in games when we execute our plan, we do extremely good things. We
do some things where we don’t execute and that hurts us.”
Marcus Burris caught a 10-yard dart from Ben Harmon to add to the PG lead, 38-6, with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
Sergio Rodriguez caught a 31-yard strike from Harmon, adding to the Hawks cushion, 31-6, with 8:03 left in the third period.
“It all boils down that we have to be more consistent as a football team,” King said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. We’re getting there.
“I know the scoreboard doesn’t always show that but we’re getting closer. It just comes down to our execution play in and play out. We have to consistently do what we’re coached to do.”
The Hawks scored 24 unanswered in the first half, after the Leopards opened the game with the long scoring drive.
Bruce Garrett scored from 5 yards out for Pleasant Grove, adding to the Hawks lead, 24-6, with 0:47 left before the half.
Logan Johnson punched in a 9-yard score for PG with 4:46 left in the second period.
Carron Eaton and Josh Gamble scooped up fumbles for the Leopards in the first half, while Landon Jackson added a fumble recovery for the Hawks defense.
Harmon weaved through the
Leopards offense for a 12-yard scoring run, giving the Hawks the edge in the second quarter, 10-6, with 6:53 left in the first half.
“Our plan is to grow each week and get better,” Gibson said. “If we don’t, we’re setting ourselves up for later or setting ourselves up for regret later. This is a big week of growth for us. We get a off week at the end of the year, which is a unique situation for us. We’ve played nine straight games and we have one more game we have to grind out. After next week, we’ll get a break and get ready for the playoffs.”
The Hawks jumped on the board after their defensive line pressure forced a Leopard safety.
The Leopards scored on their first possession of the game when Malik Watson caught a 82-yard bomb from Shannon Roy.
The Leopards are back in action Friday, traveling to Pittsburg, while the Hawks will host Spring Hill for Senior Night.