Pleasant Grove to Start Playoff Journey in Tatum Friday Night

The Pleasant Grove Hawks finished off a perfect regular season at 10-0, now they will try and make the run for a state championship.

That journey for the Hawks begins on the road at Tatum this Friday night with a 7pm kickoff. But first a look back at what PG did to Gladewater last week.

The Hawks dominated the Bears from the start, demolishing them 50-7. Coach Gibson was very pleased with the effort of his team, "We scored 5 first half TD's in 11 plays. That was an awesome run. Defensively we played very physical, sound and fast."

Gibson says he is extremely proud of the football team for going unbeaten and winning district, saying, "This season is a culmination fo the belief and dedication that our players have poured in over the last four years. They definitely deserve the success they are having this year."

Now as we mentioned earlier the playoffs begin this Friday and the road warrior Hawks who played 6 of 10 regular season games on the road, will be setting out again, this time to play Tatum at their stadium.

If you are wondering why at Tatum, Coach Gibson says, "There aren't many nice stadiums at the halfway point. We have to pay to rent stadiums and we had the option to do so. However, if we have to pay $5k to rent a stadium in Longview that takes us 1.5 hours to get to and Tatum only 15 minutes, I'll take my chance on a coin flip. Not only do we save $5k in rental fees, but your booster club has a chance to make $8k in concessions, as well as $4-5k in gates that come to your school. IT PAYS TO GO HOME AND HOME. We still get half of Tatum's gate, and we had the chance to play at home...it just didn't work out in our favor on the coin toss."

Heading into the first playoff game the Hawks are doing pretty well physically. Gibson says they have two kids that are banged up, but they are getting better. He says they may miss those two for the first round.

As for Tatum, the coach says they run multiple on  offense, and that they try to formation you to death. They do a lot and have some really good athletes.

On defense, they run and ODD front and have athleticism on that side of the ball.

I asked Coach Gibson what it would take to win this game and make a long run in the playoffs, He responded, " We have to keep growing and getting better. I was proud of the growth we showed against a Gladewater team that has battled every team in the district. We dominated the game and played very well. That's the way you want to play going into the playoffs. I think we will take another step this week too."

Coach wraps up the interview, "I'm thankful for our football players and I'm extremely proud of them. This team is special and we are looking forward to a long run in the playoffs."

We could not agree more with Coach, this team is indeed very special, having done something that no football team has done in PG history, to go 10-0, unbeaten District Champs.

But we hope and feel that it's just the beginning for this special team. This ride could last all the way until about time for Santa to arrive, and if that happens, these Hawks just could make history again by winning state.

However, you have to take it one week and one win at a time. That journey begins in a familiar place for this year's Hawks, on the road. Bu,t you know the coaching staff and the players are ready and excited to make that trip.

Now all you have to do is show up, be loud, and support your PG Hawks!!