Pleasant Grove scored on every possession of the first half in Friday’s Class 5A, Region 5 victory over Carver-Birmingham.

Not to be outdone, the Spartans’ defense forced a three-and-out on every Rams possession and allowed only 23 first-half yards en route to the 42-0 home victory. The 5A, No. 4-ranked Spartans won their fifth straight game.

“We definitely wanted to come out and play a clean game of football in all phases of the game,” Pleasant Grove coach Darrell LeBeaux said. “The defense has been playing lights-out all season. We just have to prepare to play good football on both sides (of the ball) to have a chance to extend our season.”

Star of the game: Pleasant Grove quarterback Eric Handley capped the first two drives with touchdown passes of 39 yards to Clarence Taylor and 26 yards to Rashad Sager. He finished 9-of-11 passing for 148 yards.

More scores: The next three possessions ended in touchdown runs – a 4-yarder by Collin Moore, a 33-yarder by Derrick Davis Jr. and a 3-yarder by Aiden Hall – for a 35-0 halftime lead. Brian Hardwick scored on a 4-yard yard in the third quarter.

Coachspeak: “Eric managed the game really well and made a lot of on-sight adjustments tonight. He really is growing into a complete quarterback.” – LeBeaux

He said it: “It was a really good team win. Great execution in the first half. We did what we were supposed to do. We just have to keep growing and just make sure we put everything together.” – Handley

Key stat: Carver had just three first downs, with two because of Pleasant Grove penalties.

Stat sheet: Pleasant Grove ran for 162 yards on 23 carries and threw for 148 yards. … Carver finished with 48 yards of total offense – 6 passing and 42 rushing. … Carver had 55 yards in penalties.

What’s next?: The Spartans play at Jasper next week and a win will secure a home playoff game in the first round. Carver plays Ramsay at home next week.