FRISCO, Texas — Pleasant Grove hit new heights on Saturday.

The Hawks (9-3) crushed Nevada Community, 42-0, in a Class 4A, Div. II area round football playoff game at The Star.

 

"Our defense did well, and it was great to see because they pursued hard in practice this past week," Pleasant Grove head coach Josh Gibson said. "They stepped up and really embraced the moment. They practiced hard and took a step this week.

"We try to have some fun with the kids. There are so many who played a great game. I had some guys who really stepped up — Reese Elrod, Jalen Woodside, Logan Johnson and all of our defense. There are very few schools who have played through Thanksgiving for five years in a row. It's special, and I am super proud of the seniors because they kept the train chuggin along."

 

The Hawks' next test will be Caddo Mills (11-0) at 3 p.m. Friday at Royse City in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals. Caddo Mills defeated Van, 43-27, in its area playoff. Van eliminated Liberty-Eylau, 34-0, in bi-district playoff.

If Pleasant Grove beats Caddo Mills and Gilmer (11-1) beats Sunnyvale (6-4) next Friday, the Hawks would get another shot at District 8-4A champion Buckeyes in the regional final.

Pleasant Grove built a 21-0 halftime cushion, but the Hawks didn't let up any in the second half.

 

Jaylen Boardley swept to the left and scored a touchdown with 2:25 to go in the third quarter to pad the Hawks' lead to 28-0. The Hawk lead was extended when Logan Johnson caught a 79-yard pass from Jalen Woodside to make it 35-0 in favor of Pleasant Grove with 36 seconds to go in the third.

 

Quarterback Garrett Harrison sneaked into the end zone from a yard out with 5:36 to go in the game to seal it for the Hawks, 42-0. The possession was earned when Gage Stivers recovered a fumble for Pleasant Grove.

Boardley caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Woodside to put Pleasant Grove up 7-0 with 10:27 remaining in the second quarter. Nick Martin broke tackles and sped to the end zone on a 22-yard run as the Hawks took a 14-0 lead with 4:58 left in the second period.

 

"It's a blessing to get to play at The Star again," Martin said. "It's our home away from home and getting a chance to keep playing is great. We have a mindset to go all the way for the fourth year in a row. We can do something that hasn't been done in a very long time. It means the world to us that we have the opportunity to do it again.

"We want to be the most physical team on the field. We want to be remembered as the most physical that has come through Pleasant Grove, so it's a mindset."

 

RJ Collins got in on the scoring action with a 25-yard touchdown run. Collins went into the end zone untouched, and Pleasant Grove went up 21-0 with 1:43 left until halftime.

Johnson finished with 63 rushing yards on eight carries and 106 receiving yards on three grabs for the Hawks. Collins had 63 rushing yards and a touchdown on four totes.

Woodside threw for 191 yards on 6-of-13 passing and two scores for Pleasant Grove. Boardley finished with 31 yards on seven carries and a TD along with 69 receiving yards on a pair of catches.

Pleasant Grove racked up 434 yards of offense and held Community (5-6) to just 119 yards.