Hanover football coach Joshua Just will keep his playoff beard for at least one more week. That’s not a concern for quarterback Sam Rogers, since the 14-year-old freshman doesn’t need to shave yet.

  But Rogers played like a veteran in his second playoff start, throwing two first half touchdown passes and running for another as Hanover raced out to a 28-0 halftime lead and beat Petersburg 42-8 for the Division 5, Central Region title last night.

  “We don’t consider him a freshman. He’s a leader, he’s a football player and he’s a natural quarterback,” Just said of Rogers, who completed 9 of 19 passes for 147 yards as Hanover (9-3) advanced to face Eastern Region champion Phoebus in a state semifinal at 2 p.m. Saturday in Hampton.

  Junior running back Deane Cheatham spearheaded the Hanover ground game with 203 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. He closed the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 54-yard run and dragged a defender the final three yards.

  “Our line got good push in the second half,” Cheatham added, “and we wore them down.”

  Fourth-seeded Petersburg (6-6), which was looking for its second consecutive upset after knocking off No. 1 Clover Hill in overtime last week, got off to a good start when it ended Hanover’s initial possession on downs at the Crimson Wave 28.

  But Petersburg was hampered by three first-half turnovers, including a fumble on the kickoff after Deane Cheatham’s 3-yard run got Hanover on the scoreboard with 3:12 left in the first quarter. The Hawks recovered and ran five plays before Rogers found Marzae Brooks for a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0.

  Hanover converted Cheatham’s 23-yard run on a fake punt into Rogers’ 15-yard touchdown run, then took advantage of a failed gamble by Petersburg coach Mike Scott to score again late in the first half.

  Facing fourth and 2 from his 41, Scott opted to go for the first down instead of punting. Kevin Green’s short pass fell incomplete and Rogers struck on the next play, hooking up with Kenny Morris for a 41-yard scoring strike that pushed the Hawks’ advantage to 28-0.

  “They played man-to-man the entire game, so they were blitzing a lot and I had heat in my face,” Rogers said. “For our line to pick that up was huge.”

  Petersburg avoided a shutout with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Green to Damond McLaughlin in the third quarter.

  “I guess you could say it’s a pride thing, but when you get to a championship game, pride has nothing to do with it,” Scott said.

Petersburg .............. 0   0 8   0 — 8
Hanover…...............14 14 0 14 — 42
H — Cheatham 3 run (Palmen kick)
H — Brooks 10 pass from Rogers (Palmen kick)
H — Rogers 15 run (Palmen kick)
H —Morris 41 pass from Rogers (Palmen kick)
P — McLaughlin 19 pass from Green (Spain run)
H — Cheatham 6 run (Palmen kick)
H — Cheatham 54 run (Palmen kick)
RUSHING: Petersburg: Gregory 6 carries 31 yards, Green 11-27, Turner 3-21, Spain 1-(-1). Hanover: Cheatham 22-203, Rogers 11-35, Morris 1-25, Henry 3-(-1), Knizner 1-(-2).
PASSING: Petersburg: Green 12 completions 21 attempts 151 yards 1 interception; Haskett 1-2-10-0. Hanover: Rogers 9-19-147-1.
RECEIVING: Petersburg: Johnson 4 receptions 77 yards, McLaughlin 3-55, Magruder 2-9, Pollard 1-10, Gregory 1-5, Haskett 1-3. Hanover: Morris 2-45, Underdown 2-37, Trsic 2-33, Cheatham 1-17, Brooks 1-10, Facison 1-5.