Unbeaten Hawks overtake Pittsburg
PITTSBURG, Texas—The second half belonged to Pleasant Grove.
Bruce Garrett rushed for 117 yards on 12 carries and a score as the unbeaten Hawks defeated Pittsburg, 28-10, at Pirate Stadium Friday.
Pleasant Grove outscored Pittsburg 21-7 in the second half and is in sole possession of first place in District 7-4A, Division II.
“We played a good football team, and I am proud of how we played,” Hawk head coach Josh Gibson said. “It was a great district win. They are well coached and had some weapons, and we were able to shut them down.”
The Hawks (8-0, 3-0) took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and drove down the field 62 yards. TJ Cole capped the drive with a 15-yard run to put PG up, 14-3.
Pleasant Grove's defense forced a three-and-out, but its next drive was halted after an interception.
Pittsburg's Mark Thomas scored a 20-yard touchdown
to make it 14-10 with 20 seconds left in the third. From there the Hawks scored 14 unanswered points.
Garrett broke free on a 19-yarder, and Cole ran it 46 yards to paydirt to make it 21-10 at the end of the third.
The Pirates (5-3, 2-1) could not muster any offense on the vaunted Hawk defense, and when Pittsburg went for it on fourth down, Pleasant Grove sacked the quarterback for a 16-yard loss.
A possession later, Xavier Benson intercepted a Pirate pass and returned it six yards to the Pittsburg 24.
Garrett ran it in from 22 yards out, three plays later, to make it 28-10 in the fourth quarter with just over 2 minutes remaining.
The Hawks went into the locker room with a 7-3 lead.
Pittsburg received the kickoff and drove down down to the Hawks' 6-yard line. Eric Ponce hit a 23-yard field goal for the Pirates to give them an early lead.
Pleasant Grove went three and out on its first possession, but forced a Pirate punt on its next defensive series.
The teams each traded punts, and the Hawks started from their own 28-yard line in the second quarter.
Cole broke off a 5-yard run, and Ben Harmon found Cole for a 17-yard pass for a first down. On 3rd-and-10, Garrett rushed around the right side for 10 yards and a first down.
Luke Harmon ran a 4-yarder, and Garrett got the ball down to the Pirates' 24-yard line after a 12 yard scamper. A few plays later, PG was facing a fourthand-3 and went for it.
Carson Cox grabbed a 17-yard pass from Ben Harmon to give the Hawks a 7-3 lead with 34 seconds left until halftime.
Each team had five first downs in the first half. Pleasant Grove rushed for 55 yards and threw for 34 yards. Pittsburg ran for 85 yards and threw for 53 in the first half.