Ben Harmon
TEAMS: Pleasant Grove (5-1) at Pittsburg (3-3)
KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m., Pirate Stadium
LAST WEEK: Pleasant Grove fell to Carthage, 35-14. Pittsburg defeated Rusk, 20-8.
LAST YEAR: The Hawks trounced the Pirates, 45-20, in the regular season, and edged Pittsburg, 44-41 in a playoff game.
GAME FACTS: This is the District 6-4A opener for both teams. Pleasant Grove is averaging 38.7 points per game and give up an average of 16.0. Pittsburg puts up 16.3 points per contest and give up 22.8. The last time the Pirates defeated the Hawks was a 35-19 win on Aug. 28, 2015.
COACH JOSH GIBSON'S COMMENTS: "We will need to play a clean game, not turn the ball over, play physical, not have a lot of penalties and execute in special teams.
"Everyone starts off with a blank slate with district starting this week. Pittsburg is a really, really well-coached football team. Coach (Brad) Baca does a great job schematically on offense. Coach Baca's dad is the defensive coordinator, and he does a really good job too.
"Overall, they are not as athletic as they were last year. They lost two, Division I kids. Having those two impact players last year is why they had a phenomenal season last year. They run multiple formations and use tons of different sets. They are gonna rely more on the run, but they will throw it around."