It was a banner season for the Hawks. Pleasant Grove's 2017 Class 4A, Division II state championship season goes down as the best one ever in Hawk football history. With Josh Gibson at the helm, Pleasant Grove scored an average of 43.4 points per game, while the Black Hawk defense gave up just 16.3 points per contest.

 

"We are blessed to have the types of kids that we had," Gibson said. "The kids made it extremely special in how they approached the whole season. They are an extreme joy to be around, and I couldn't be more proud of our kids and community."

 

Several team and individual school records were broken. The Hawks set the school record for most victories (16), most points (695), longest winning streak (16) and largest margin of victory (63). Pleasant Grove romped past Krum, 63-0, earlier in the season to earn the record.

 

Senior fullback TJ Cole broke many records. Cole has the record for most rushing yards in a game (234 vs. Spring Hill), rushing yards in a season (1,741), tied the record for rushing touchdowns in one game (four vs. Melissa), rushing touchdowns in a season (25), and points in a season (180).

 

Sophomore quarterback Ben Harmon broke the record for passing TDs with four each against Gladewater and Atlanta. Harmon also tied Antonio Graves for most passing touchdowns in one season with 27. Graves achieved the feat in 2009.

 

Senior receiver Carson Cox set the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 13. The old record was 12 scores by receiver Damien Watts in 2009.

 

Senior linebacker Caleb Porchia set the bar high when he totaled 196 tackles, a new school record. Kennard Henderson held the record for 11 years with 165 stops in 2006.

 

The Hawks' 16-game win streak culminated when Pleasant Grove defeated West Orange-Stark 41-21 in the state championship game Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Pleasant Grove began the season by notching a 27-20 victory over crosstown rival Arkansas High on Sept. 1. The state champs followed with a 45-13 win over Paris and then a 43-13 win against Frisco. The Hawks defeated crosstown rival Liberty-Eylau, 51-14, took down Krum, 63-0, and edged district foe Gilmer, 41-38. In one of the biggest wins of the season, PG's victory over the Buckeyes was the first time in 17 years that Gilmer lost a district game at home.

 

"We came away extremely proud of our kids and our program for being able to get a signature win over one of the best programs in the state of Texas," Gibson said. "It gave us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."

 

Atlanta fell to the Hawks, 48-17, then Pleasant Grove beat Pittsburg, 28-10, and Spring Hill, 48-31. Pleasant Grove rolled past Gladewater 50-7 to complete a perfect regular season at 10-0.

 

The Hawks began their playoff run with bi-district, 21-7 win at Tatum. PG set its sights on Aubrey and won 56-28 in the area round. Then they took out Celina 33-14 in the regional, and followed with a 55-14 victory over Melissa in the state quarterfinals. Pleasant Grove punched its ticket into the state title game as it romped past Graham, 45-14, in the state semifinals, and the rest is, literally, history.

 

In addition to Cole, the Hawks had two other 1,000-yard rushers in sophomore Bruce Garrett (1,046) and senior Chauncey Martin (1,023). Brock Bingham, Hunter Druhan, Zach Wrinkle, Nick Gavriel, Drake Fowler anchored the offensive line. Tight ends Xavier Benson and Austin Toler also helped out with blocking, and Benson finished the season with 20 catches for 537 yards and five scores.

 

Benson, a senior linebacker, finished second behind Porchia in tackles with 106, followed by safety Caleb Hemphill with 101, and freshman standout, defensive end Landon Jackson with 98. The rest of the Black Hawk defense, which played solidly the entire year, were cornerback Cameron Wells, safety Ryan Pickelman, cornerback Tyler Kelley, safety Martin, Jacob Barbour at linebacker, nose guard Fowler, and tackle Toler. Kicker Dillon Williams finished second on the team in scoring with 109 points, followed by tailback Martin who scored 90 points for the Hawks.

 

Pleasant Grove will remember the 2017 season for years to come.