PG denied in clash of unbeatens

It's over.

Pleasant Grove's win streak, not just a school record but a city record, of 19 consecutive wins came to an end with a 44-37 loss to Gladewater, which scored twice on fumble returns including the game winner in the final 30 seconds on Friday at Hawk Stadium.

"I always say that we want to protect the football and not beat ourselves," Pleasant Grove head coach Josh Gibson said. "Offensively, we gave them two scores. We fumbled too much and had too many penalties. We can play better, coach better, and do a lot of things better.

"The streak has been a special run for our program. I'm very proud of the way our kids compete and believe in each other."

Senior Hawk running back James Wiggins amassed 191 yards on 23 totes and two scores. Teammate Bruce Garrett racked up 144 yards on 18 totes and two touchdowns.

Kamren Woods made a tremendous effort and intercepted a Gladewater pass with a minute left in the fourth quarter with the game knotted at 37-all.

But on the third play for the Hawks, the Bears' Zach Tyieske stripped the ball from the Pleasant Grove running back and rumbled 25 yards into the end zone for what would be the game winner.

The Hawks had six fumbles in the game and lost four, another of which went for a touchdown. Quavian Sheffield had an 11-yard fumble return in the third to give Gladewater a 30-20 lead.

Sophomore sensation running back Eligia Carter finished the game for 233 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns.

Pleasant Grove's Garrett scored a 7-yard TD to give the Hawks a 20-16 lead early in the third quarter.

Carter responded for Gladewater as he found the end zone from 15 yards out to give the Bears back the lead at 23-20.

Sheffield returned a fumble for a score to pad Gladewater's lead, 30-20, with just over three minutes left in the third.

Wiggins ran the ball in from five yards out for the Hawks to make it 30-27. Pleasant Grove's defense forced a three-and-out and capitalized when Wiggins hit paydirt to give the Hawks a 34-30 lead.

The Bears' T.C. Minter caught a 26-yard pass from Tristan Holmes to give Gladewater a 37-34 lead.

Williams booted a 40-yard field goal to knot the game at 37-all for the Hawks.

Gladewater got the ball back with 2:44 left in the game. Woods intercepted a Holmes' pass to give Pleasant Grove back possession with a minute left.

Tyieske stripped the ball from the Hawk running back and scored to seal the win for the Bears.

Dillon Williams kicked a 47-yard field goal to cap an eight-play, 69-yard drive in 3:49. The score gave Pleasant Grove an early 3-2 lead in the first. The Bears got a safety when quarterback Harmon was tackled in the end zone.

Gladewater's Carter broke free and ran down the left sideline on a 64-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 10-3 edge after the 2-point conversion.

Bruce Garrett found the end zone from five yards out to knot the game at 10-all. The touchdown capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive in 4:03.

On a Gladewater second down, Landon Jackson forced a fumble and Marcus Burris recovered for the Hawks. But after a play, the Hawks missed the center to quarterback exchange, and the Bears jumped on the fumble to take back possession.

Gladewater faked a punt on fourth down, but the Black Hawk defense held on to regain possession.

Williams booted a 39-yard field goal with plenty of leg left to give Pleasant Grove a 13-10 lead with 4:07 left until halftime.

Carter ran six times for 59 yards during the ensuing Bear possession and caught a 13-yard pass from Tristan Holmes. Holmes punched the ball in from two yards out to give Gladewater a 16-13 lead. The extra point was partially blocked and fell short as the Bears went into the locker room up by three.

#

Gladewater 10 6 14 14 - 44

Pleasant Grove 3 10 14 10 - 37

First Quarter

GW-safety, quarterback sacked in end zone, 7:45

PG- Dillon Williams 47 field goal, 3:51

GW-Eligia Carter 64 run (Tristan Holmes pass to Jailyn Robertson), 3:13

Second Quarter

PG-Bruce Garrett 5 run (Williams kick), 11:10

PG- Williams 39 field goal, 4:07

GW-Tristan Holmes 2 run (kick failed), 0:22

Third Quarter

PG-Garrett 7 run (Williams kick), 6:16

GW-Carter 15 run (Justice Hassek kick), 4:22

GW-Quavian Sheffield 11 fumble return (Hassek kick), 3:03

PG-James Wiggins 5 run (Williams kick), 0:57

Fourth Quarter

PG-Wiggins 5 run (Williams kick), 10:00

GW-T.C. Minter 26 pass from Holmes (Hassek kick), 7:28

PG-Williams 40 field goal, 2:44

GW-Zach Tyieske 25 yard fumble return (Hassek kick), 0:27

#

=GW=PG

First Downs=16=23

Yards Rushing=33-276=53-415

Yards Passing=59=40

Passes A-C-I=14-5-1=8-5-0

Fumbles-Lost=1-1=6-4

Penalties=6-42=9-64

Punts-Avg.=4-31.8=0-0.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Gladewater, Carter 24-233, Ajani Harris 6-52, Keston Wilson 1-1, Nickalus Lincoln 1-1, team 1 (minus 11). Pleasant Grove, Garrett 18-144, Wiggins 23-191, Ben Harmon 3-15, Nick Martin 6-63, Jackson Cobb 2-7, team 1-(minus 5).

PASSING-Gladewater, Holmes 5-14-1-59. Pleasant Grove, Harmon 5-8-0-40.

RECEIVING-Gladewater, Carter 3-10, T.C. Minter 4-49. Pleasant Grove, Landon Jackson 1-7, Cobb 1-12, Brett Walker 1-14, Wiggins 1-14.

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