PARIS, Texas -- Pleasant Grove wrapped up its pre-district football schedule with a 30-14 victory over Paris, spoiling the Wildcats' homecoming festivities Friday.
A good crowd filled both sides of Wildcat Stadium as Pleasant Grove (4-1) downed Paris (1-4) in both teams' final warmup before district play begins.
The Hawks put the game away in the fourth quarter pairing power-running offense with a swarming defense. PG runners tallied 441 yards on the ground while Paris was held to 164.
Paris' second fumbled kickoff of the night was recovered by the Hawks, setting PG up at the Wildcat 16 with a chance to put the game out of reach. Ahkhari Johnson found Torion Phillips in the back corner of the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the 6 to swell the Hawk lead to 30-14 with 7:56 left to play. It was the only pass Johnson would complete in the game, but he did add 98 yards on the ground.
Caleb Jones made it a 10-point Hawk advantage with a 20-yard field goal with 11:11 to go in the game, finishing off a drive that started at the end of the third period.
The third quarter saw fireworks from both teams.
On a 4th-and-5 from the 15, Spencer Danner scored his second touchdown of the night, running untouched around the right side of the Wildcat defense with just over 4 minutes showing in the third stanza. The junior ball carrier finished the game with 213 yards on 24 totes.
On the ensuing kickoff, Paris' Clayton Brown bobbled the ball, but picked it up and took it 101 yards to paydirt, cutting the Hawks' lead to 21-14 just 13 seconds later.
The first half took just under an hour of real time with two run-first offenses duking it out. The Hawks took a 14-7 advantage into the locker room.
Paris threatened with less than a minute left, but a smothering Hawk defense, including a 15-yard sack by Victor Shaw snuffed out the Wildcat threat.
The Pleasant Grove offensive front imposed its will on the Hawks' only series of the second quarter that featured several big runs, punctuated by a Jayden Stewart drive from the 3.
Taydrick Dawson put the Wildcats on the board on a 3-yard plunge with 6:35 left in the first half, knotting the score at 7.
The Hawks scored the only points in the first quarter on a drive covering 73 yards, all but 5 of them by Danner who punched it in from 8 to give Pleasant Grove the early 7-0 lead.
Pleasant Grove is idle next week and will open District 7-4A play on Oct. 7 when they host Gilmer at Hawk Stadium.