Pleasant Grove never lost belief. Despite trailing in the state title game, the Hawks continued to put their hearts and souls into each other and football.
 

The state runner-up had to face the likes of University of Texas commit Jordan Whittington. Whittington scored all of Cuero's touchdowns (6) and rushed for a state championship record 334 yards on 28 carries.
 

"I think the biggest difference in the game was Jordan (Whittington)," Pleasant Grove head coach Josh Gibson said. "He's the best football player I've ever coached against in a football game. He took over in the second half, we weren't able to slow him down, and Cuero was able to eat a lot of the clock. Offensively, we never got into rhythm and weren't able to produce like we did the first half."
 

Bruce Garrett, the Hawks' junior wingback, rushed for 208 yards on 21 totes and three touchdowns. Garrett amassed 191 yards in the first half and only 17 in the second.

Junior QB Ben Harmon caught a 46-yard pass from Garrett, scored on a 1-yard plunge, and finished with 72 yards passing (5 of 15). Senior fullback James Wiggins finished with 21 yards on eight carries for Pleasant Grove.
 

"The most improved offensive player is James Wiggins," Gibson said. "We had to replace an All-State RB (TJ Cole), and we didn't lose much production at all with James. He ran the ball every play like his life was on the line—full tilt with all his heart and soul."
 

Wiggins finished the year with 1,264 yards rushing on 200 attempts and 10 touchdowns. Garrett led the team in rushing with 2,004 yards on 264 carries and 20 TDs.

Harmon finished with 2,008 passing yards (91 of 171 passes) and 30 scores with just five interceptions. He also rushed for 400 yards on 91 attempts and 11 touchdowns.

Senior linebacker Bladen Reaves led the Hawks in tackles against the Gobblers with 11, while teammate Nick Martin had eight stops. Senior Tyler Kelley, junior Jaime Lewis, and senior Caleb Hemphill each had seven tackles.
 

Senior cornerback Kamren Woods had an interception against Cuero and finished the year with seven. Kelley led PG in interceptions with eight.
 

"Defensively, I would say our five seniors that started—Caleb (Hemphill), Bladen (Reaves), Ryan (Pickelman), Tyler (Kelley), and Kamren (Woods)—were all extremely dominant," Gibson said. "All of the seniors will be remembered by our community as the winningest class to ever come through Pleasant Grove."
 

Reaves finished the season as the leading tackler with 141 stops, while Martin was second with 136. Hemphill made 117 tackles, Kelley 99, and Pickelman 86.
 

"To our coaching staff, we will remember the impact they've had on buying into the culture of our program and leading our younger athletes," Gibson said. "The relationships we built over the last five years are so special and that is what I will miss the most."
 

Other seniors who played their final high school game were PK/QB Dillon Williams, WR Brett Walker, WR Linton Colvin, RB Will Cullipher, TE Miller Hornsby, OL Preston Allen, and OL Brock Bingham.
 

Williams finished second in team scoring to Garrett's 132 points with 103.
 

"We shared an unbelievable journey together that I'll never forget," Gibson said. "I will remember a team didn't have a lot of experience and less talent than a lot of teams we played, but overcame those things because of their belief in each other, their work ethic, and their selflessness. "This team will go down as the team that reached their full potential and got absolutely everything out of themselves that they could. They made our community and staff extremely proud. I'm in awe of these young men."