Petersburg’s Crimson Wave broke against a Hanover juggernaut.

  In a rematch of last year’s Central Region championship game, the Hawks – led by a sophomore quarterback Sam Rogers – pounded away and eventually wore down visiting Petersburg 56-26 in a Central Region Division 5 football semifinal.

  Both teams demonstrated big-play potential, but the Hawks (11-0) did a better job of controlling the ball. As the Petersburg (7-2) defense spent most of the night keying on Hanover senior running back Deane Cheatham, they opened up opportunities for Rogers. Rogers was particularly deadly running off tackle, finishing the night with 16 carries for 269 yards and one touchdown. He completed 4-of-7 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns.

  Cheatham drew his share of Crimson blood, however, rushing 17 times for 110 yards and three touchdowns.

  “We knew they’d be keying on Deane. Deane’s a hell of a running back,” Rogers said. “We’ve got an awesome offensive line. Our offensive line just dominates, dominates all the time.”

  Hanover’s victory cast a pall on an otherwise spectacular performance by Petersburg quarterback Kevin Green. Green, playing with an injured knee, completed 32-of-53 passes for 502 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

  “Defensively, we made some mistakes here and there, but that kid can throw the football,” Hanover coach Josh Just said of Green. “He was winging it around there, but I thought our guys came up and made plays when we needed to, made a couple of key stops that allowed us to get more points.”

  Petersburg coach Mike Scott knew his team was going to face a tough opponent.

  “We knew we were coming up against a very physical offense at Hanover,” Scott said. “We came up against a two-headed – a three-headed – monster that was on fire tonight.”

  Scott said the two teams worked together in the off-season, and that work helped the Crimson Wave reach the Central Region playoffs.

  “My hat’s off to [Hanover coach] Josh Just. It was great working with him,” Scott said. “What you saw tonight, the display from our guys offensively, we had a lot to owe to Hanover from working with them in the off-season. We still had the best regular season record we’ve had in 31 years.”

  The two teams’ big play potential was evident early on. Petersburg’s second touchdown came on a 63-yard pass from Green to Keith Johnson with 2:42 remaining in the half to close the gap to within two points, 14-12, of Hanover. But the Hawks responded with an 86-yard kickoff return by Xavier Crocker 17 seconds later. Matt Palmen’s kick made it 21-12.

  The Crimson Wave was determined to strike back in the remaining seconds in the half. They were knocking on the end zone door when a pass interference call on the Hawks as time ran out gave Petersburg another chance to score from the Hanover 10. Green’s pass failed to find its mark, however.

  The big plays continued to play a role after the break. Rogers began the first drive of the second half with a 29-yard run. Cheatham followed with a 22-yard run, and the Hawks capped it with Cheatham’s 4-yard scoring run with 9:50 left. On their next drive, Rogers’ 41-yard run set up a 6-yard touchdown by Cheatham with 7:20 in the third quarter that put the Hawks up 35-12.

  “As an offense, we just know we just have to come out there and score every chance we can,” Rogers said. “We can’t really worry about what’s happening with our defense. They stepped up and made big plays tonight.”

  On the next possession, a 53-yard pass from Green to Demonte Gregory helped set up Petersburg’s third touchdown, which came on a 1-yard run by Elvin Briggs with 5:44 in the third quarter. Green connected with Devondre Pollard for the 2-point conversion to close to 35-20.

  But the Hawks kept pounding away and scored on three successive possessions at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to seal the Crimson Wave’s fate.

  “Sam Rogers make plays all night long. When we needed a play, he was there to make it” Just said. “I thought Deane in the second half got going a little bit. And when Deane and Sam are both going, we’re going to be tough to stop.”

  This Friday in the Division 5 final, the Hawks host Dinwiddie, a 43-21 winner over Clover Hill.

Petersburg…..............  6 6 8 6—26
Hanover…............  7 14 21 14—56

P – Briggs 1 run (run failed)
H – MarzaeBrooks 25 pass from Rogers (Palmen kick)
H – Underdown 22 pass from Rogers (Palmen kick)
P – Johnson 63 pass from Green (pass failed)
H – Crocker 86 kickoff return (Palmen kick)
H – Cheatham 4 run (Palmen kick)
H – Cheatham 6 run (Palmen kick)
P – Briggs 1 run (Pollard pass from Green)
H – Cheatham 21 run (Palmen kick)
H – Facison 52 pass from Rogers (Palmen kick)
H – Rogers 41 run (Palmen kick)
P – Robinson 21 pass from Green (run failed)

RUSHING:  Petersburg – Green 1 carry (minus 1) yards, Briggs 2-2, Gregory 4-11, Abrams 1-7, Turner 3-9. Hanover – Rogers 16-269, Cheatham 17-110, Jones 7-31.
PASSING: Petersburg – Green 32 completions 53 attempts 502 yards, 2 interceptions. Hanover – Rogers 4-7-128-0.

RECEIVING: Petersburg – Mitchell 1 reception 1 yard, Pollard 6-95, Pair 8-88, Gregory 6-93, Johnson 8-148, Robinson 1-21, Briggs 1-11, Harris 1-23. Hanover – MarzBrooks 1-25, Underdown 2-51, Facison 1-52.