The Hawks' football team has been dominant.
Pleasant Grove has been hot on the gridiron as they have won six straight, including an impressive 41-38 win over then ranked No. 8 Gilmer in a District 7-4A showdown.
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More importantly, it ended the Buckeyes' 16-year home district win streak, going back to 2001.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Harmon hit senior receiver Carson Cox on a 34-yard strike to put the Hawks up with 36 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
Harmon has thrown for 675 yards and nine TDs, while Cox has grabbed 11 of those passes for 325 yards and four scores. Cox averages 29.5 yards per catch.
Pleasant Grove is ranked No. 10 in Class 4A in the state and seek a state championship. Unity comes to mind as they work together as one toward a common goal. So far this season, the Hawks have defeated Arkansas High, Paris, Frisco, Liberty-Eylau, Krum and Gilmer.
Nick Gavriel, Austin Toler, Xavier Benson, Hunter Druhan, Zach Wrinkle, Drake Fowler and Brock Bingham anchor the offensive line. Division I colleges are beginning to take a hard look at these young men.
"Our offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage," Pleasant Grove head coach Josh Gibson said. "We had over 440 yards of rushing, and they played as a unit. Nick Gavriel has been doing this for three years for us, he's a special player for us, and he got a lot of movement and smashes on the line. Austin Toler, at tight end, is an athletic kiddo who mows down anything that gets in his way. Xavier had some extremely physical blocks as well."
The offensive line is comprised of all seniors save for one junior, Bingham.
Tyler Kelley made one of the plays of the year when he intercepted an Aaron Brown pass in the end zone with 8:01 left in the fourth quarter.
"It was one of the biggest plays of the game," Gibson said. "His interception give us the opportunity, not to just stop them, but to drive down and take the lead. He's a fighter, and we're proud of him."
Chauncey Martin, who finished with a game-high 223 yards on 17 touches, capped the drive after the interception with a 57-yard touchdown run.
"Chauncey had 223 yards rushing and played every snap of defense," Gibson said. "He had a very, very special night."
Martin also made six tackles in the game and is second on the team in total rushing with 399 yards on 37 carries and four touchdowns.
TJ Cole amassed 128 yards on 21 totes and 3 TDs against the Buckeyes. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage throughout most of the game. Cole is the leading rusher for Pleasant Grove and has gained 704 yards on 101 carries for an average of 7 yards per touch. Cole has scored 11 total touchdowns with 10 of those coming on the ground.
Pleasant Grove runs a Wing-T offense and so far there have been eight different players with at least one rushing TD.
The Hawks are outscoring opponents 270-93, while scoring an average of 45 points per game. The defense has given up just 16.3 points per contest.
Defensively, Pleasant Grove totaled five sacks-Jacob Barbour had two, while Landon Jackson, Caleb Hemphill and Toler each had one. Hemphill led the Hawks with eight tackles against Gilmer.
Senior inside linebacker Caleb Porchia leads the team in tackles with 59, while Hemphill has totaled 42 stops. Senior outside linebacker Benson had 38 tackles, while teammate Toler has two fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns so far this season.
Kelley and Martin lead the team in interceptions with two apiece. Benson has made two fumble recoveries for the year, while Cameron Wells, Landon Jackson and Kelley each have one.
Pleasant Grove was honored with the Army Values School of the week award by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.
"We prepared for Gilmer's scheme and, on the offensive side of the ball, we focused on ourselves," Gibson said.
Pleasant Grove is in the driver's seat for the District 14-4A championship. Left on the schedule are Atlanta, Pittsburg, Spring Hill and Gladewater.
The Hawks (6-0, 1-0) face Atlanta (3-3, 0-1) at Hawk Stadium Friday at 7:30 p.m. in PG's Homecoming game.