PG captures first football league title

CLIMAX — While growing up, most everyone is taught that sharing is a very important trait to possess. The Providence Grove football team, at least in this instance, felt just the opposite.

Having already secured a share of the Central Carolina Conference championship last week, the Patriots decided they wanted that honor all to themselves and went out and posted an impressive 31-9 win over Thomasville Friday night to earn that league title outright.

The Patriots will enter the playoffs with a perfect 5-0 league record and 8-2 overall mark, tying the school record for most wins in a single season. 

“It’s awesome, the kids worked hard,” first-year head coach Cody Moran said. “I told them before the game that it doesn’t matter what happened. I am proud of you. But we talked all week. We wanted it to be ours.”

And it became theirs after PG broke away from a 17-9 halftime lead with second-half rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jackson Lawver and Nick Straughn.

“It’s crazy,” Lawver said after running for a TD and throwing a first-half scoring strike to Holden Swift. “Looking back at last year’s game, we knew we were done. Coming into today, it was different.

“The last couple of years, it’s been basketball season after tonight. We all realize how special it is, we realize that. But we are looking forward to the weeks ahead and getting ready for the playoffs. Last year, I never would have thought this would happen.”

The eight wins were enough for Providence Grove to ear a fifth seed and a first-round bye. From last year’s 3-7 record to a first-round bye is achieving something special in a short amount of time.

Both Moran and Lawver pointed to the same time as to when this team truly believed it could reach new heights.

“West Davidson,” Moran said of when the players truly believed after the 23-22 win on Oct. 23, which featured a stirring fourth-quarter comeback by the Patriots. “We were down in the fourth quarter by two scores. They trusted what we were doing. We scored quick, Carson (Jones) made a field goal and we got an interception.

“That was a culture shift for us in this program. We have been involved in close games that don’t go our way in the past where we find a way to lose. This time, we found a way to win.”

Lawver said the team anticipated a good season at the beginning, but earned validation in the win over the Green Dragons.

“Right before the season, we all came together, but a couple of weeks ago when we played West Davidson, we realized we’re special and could go somewhere,” the starting quarterback said. 

Swift, who recorded five interceptions this season to run his school career-record total to 10, had one pick against the Bulldogs. Straughn ran for 196 yards as the Pats registered 351 yards of offense.

“It feels great,” Moran said. “I thought we played well tonight. Things got a little chippy and as coaches, especially going into the playoffs, you don’t like that. They are showing they have confidence now. We’ve always been set up here to struggle with schools like Thomasville. Whether it’s a mental block or what. Tonight, they didn’t have an answer for us.”

And that allowed the PG fans to have a celebration in the stands once the final horn sounded.

“All the confetti cans were going off at the end of the game and before we shook hands, I told them to turn around and look, soak it in real quick,” Moran said. “This has never happened before.”