by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191
Hanover County belongs to the Hawks.
Hanover finished off a 3-0 season versus its neighbors with a dominant 28-7 victory over Atlee, the No. 9 team in the DigitalSports Top 10, Friday night.
The Hawks stopped Patrick Henry 34-16 in the opener and topped Lee-Davis in a shootout 40-38 two weeks ago.
But this was far from a shootout, as Blake Jones, Marzae Brooks, Matt Pocta and Brad Goldsmith led a tremendous defensive effort.
“We came together and we played Hanover style football. Like the Nebraska black shirts back in the 90s,” a fired up Jones said. “We just came together. It was awesome.”
No offense was awesome in the first half as both defenses dominated.
Hanover popped Atlee QB Drew Ferguson on a scramble and Danny Trsic scooped up the fumbled and raced to the 8-yard line.
Three plays later Chris Lee punched his ticket to the end zone from a yard out for the only score of the first half.
Each squad traded possession twice to start the third period when Hanover punted to Atlee’s talented freshman C.J. Watkins (six carries, 38 yards), who was a bright spot offensively.
But he muffed the punt. Hanover recovered.
Freshman Hanover QB Sam Rogers threw a laser to Danny Trsic, who converted the slant pattern for an 11-yard score.
Matt Palmen‘s extra point gave Hanover a 14-0 lead as the Hawks would score on their next two possessions, a 34-yard jaunt by Deane Cheatham (21 carries, 154 yards) after he converted a fourth-and-1 on a fake punt, and a 43-yard bolt by Rogers as the ninth grader showed his wheels.
“They had a lot of guys stacked up right in front,” Rogers said. “Once you pass the first level it was one-on-one with the safety and I was able to get around him.”
Atlee’s offense couldn’t get around much, totaling 120 yards without senior QB Dylan Garthright, out with an injured fibula suffered against Armstrong last week.
“They did some things defensively I didn’t expect for them to do,” Atlee coach Roscoe Johnson said. “I take full blame for this game. We weren’t prepared because of me.
“Our defense did all they could to keep us in the game. I just made some bonehead calls.”
Hanover 7 0 7 14 – 28
Atlee 0 0 0 7 – 7
H – Lee 1 run (Palmen kick)
H – Trsic 11 pass from Rogers (Palmen kick)
H – Cheatham 34 run (Palmen kick)
H – Rogers 43 run (Palmen kick)
A – Ferguson 3 run (Boothe kick)
RUSHING
Hanover – Cheatham 21 carries, 154 yards, Rogers 17-106, Childress 3-6, Lee 3-8, Crocker 1-3; Atlee – Watkins 6-38, Ferguson 10-16, Elie 9-7, Williams 1-(minus 7)
PASSING
Hanover – Rogers 7 completions, 16 attempts, 92 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions; Atlee – Ferguson 6-14-66-0-0
RECEIVING
Hanover – Trsic 4 receptions, 27 yards, Facison 1-23; Atlee – Williams 2-26, Page 2-37, Elie 2-3
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