Courtesy PG Hawks Sports
Ever since Coach Josh Gibson came to Pleasant Grove to lead the athletics , he brought a sense of family to the program.
That is never more evident than the Thanksgiving Week Practice schedule, and routine during their playoff runs.
We will talk about that later in this article. First we will look back at the Hawk’s big victory over Salado last week at “The Star” in Frisco. When it was all said and done the scoreboard read PG 42 Salado 14.
The offense for the Hawks was near flawless. Coach Gibson put it this way, ” Offense was clicking and hitting on all cylinders. We had great production out of EVERYONE….all the skill players and all of the linemen. It was the most physical and efficient game we’ve played yet. Our starters scored on the first 6 possessions, as well as averaged over 10 yards/play during that same span. Then, we started subbing in the underclassmen and still had some good success.”
The defense was dominant again for the Hawks. “Defense played extremely sound and physical. We held a REALLY good team to one offensive touchdown. We gave up the last TD at the end when we were resting starters and didn’t want to get them hurt. Our whole defense played FAST & PHYSICAL”
Now it’s Sunnyvale at “The Star” Friday night at 7:30pm. Once again the Hawks are playing another team which is having an incredible season this year. Gibson gives us the lowdown on their team. “They are ranked #2 in the state in some polls and #4 in others. Either way, they are talented and 12-0 for that reason. They play sound football and have a good scheme on both sides of the ball. They are really balanced and do a good job in both the passing and running game.”
As we mentioned at the start of this article, Thanksgiving Week, is just that, a time of Thankfulness at Pleasant Grove. Coach Gibson tells us what they have planned. “We have a GREAT schedule. Monday was the same as usual, and we go mornings for Tuesday and Wednesday practices. When Wednesday practice is over, there is about a 33 hour break so kids can travel and get away for Thanksgiving.”
“Then we come back Thursday night and have a walk-through with all sorts of activities for the community. We serve hot chocolate, coffee, and have Christmas music on. We call EVERYONE up to the middle of the field and pray together and talk about things we are thankful for, and lastly…Santa has made a stop the past 3 years. It’s a special night.”
There is no doubt that the Pleasant Grove community is glad that Josh Gibson made the decision 6 years ago to come to Texarkana to lead the program. He truly has made it just like FAMILY!!
GO HAWKS!!