Texarkana Pleasant Grove (11-1) vs Carthage (12-0), 2:30 p.m. Friday at McKinney’s McKinney ISD Stadium:

It’s best rivalry in all of East Texas as Carthage, and its 10 state championships, tangles with its biggest threat to East Texas supremacy, the Pleasant Grove Hawks.

They’ve played in the playoffs in three straight years, with the Bulldogs dominating in 2022 with a 45-14 win. PGHS was favored to knock Carthage offin 2023, but the Bulldogs pulled the upset. Last year Carthage handled the favorite role well and used a suffocating defense to take the Hawks down for the second straight year in the third round.

Both teams have been dominant in the playoffs with Pleasant Grove getting back-to-back home games. Last week the Hawks rolled to a 48-7 win over Canton as RB Nick Bells ran for three scores and the PGHS defensive front made life a nightmare for the Canton offensive attack.

After struggling on defense in the bi-district round against Pittsburg, Carthage played much better last week in a 62-35 dismantling of Sanger in a game that really wasn’t that close.

Texas A&M RB commit KJ Edwards ran for 184 yards and four touchdowns in the first half and he didn’t play the second half as Carthage raced out to a 41-0 second quarter lead and a 55-14 halftime lead. WR Junior Henderson, who is back from an injury that kept him out much of the early part of the season, hauled in two touchdowns as well.

The Pleasant Grove defense will be Carthage’s biggest test since their Week 1 win over Kilgore. PGHS has a state title level defense and Carthage may have the best offense pound for pound in the state — that’s your money matchup.

I think the game will follow a similar pattern to last year where Pleasant Grove’s defense keeps them in it before Carthage hit some big plays in the fourth quarter. 

Stepp’s Pick: Carthage by 9