HANOVER TWP. — Hanover Area and Pine Grove were back on the field Sunday night to resume their Eastern Conference Class AA playoff game that was interrupted by a power outage Friday night.
Pine Grove made the most of the extra preparation time by making an adjustment to attack through the air.
Quarterback Logan Levan completed five second-half passes to propel the Cardinals to a 17-7 win and a berth in Friday’s Eastern Conference championship game against Northern Lehigh.
“We weren’t doing real well Friday night in the run game, so we mixed around a couple things,” Pine Grove head coach Jeff Sampson said. “We figured if we could spread them out, we could get the passing game opened up because we had some mismatches on the outside.”
The game recommenced with the teams tied 7-7 just after the second-half kickoff. Pine Grove drove into Hanover Area territory, but lost a fumble to the Hawkeyes.
The teams combined for eight turnovers in the first half Friday night and it continued to be an issue Sunday. There were 12 combined turnovers in the game.
The Hawkeyes (5-6) were unable to capitalize on the fumble, but they got a second chance when Pine Grove put the ball on the ground again on its second possession of the second half.
Hanover quarterback Jake Peters connected with Isaiah Taylor on a 39-yard completion near the goal line, but he
was hit hard and fumbled the ball into the end zone, where it was recovered by Pine Grove.
“You can’t expect to win when you have that many turnovers in the game,” Hanover Area head coach Ron Hummer said. “There is no feeling down about it. You have to hold onto the ball and put it in the end zone and we didn’t it today.”
The Cardinals were able to turn the turnover into points.
Pine Grove (6-5) adjusted its offense to rely on slant passes to take advantage of the Hawkeye defense. Levan connected with Mark Weinus for 21 yards and Danny Diaz-Walton for 28 yards to drive down to the Hanover 3-yard line. Levan finished the game 10-of-19 for 115 yards.
The Hawkeyes stuffed three consecutive runs to force Pine Grove into a 24-yard field goal attempt. Kicker Kyle Fidler drilled the try to give the Cardinals a 10-7 advantage with 10:44 left in the game.
Hanover Area fumbled again on its next possession to set Pine Grove up in good field position. The Cardinals responded with a 25-yard touchdown run with 6:25 left by Levan, who scooped a low snap and knifed through the middle of the defense before breaking outside and throwing a stiff arm as he crossed the goal line for the score.
The victory advances Pine Grove to an Eastern Conference championship game for the third time in school history. The Cardinals beat Wyoming Area for the 2010 championship after falling to Salisbury in the 2006 final.
“Both teams had turnovers and I think we were able to capitalize on theirs,” Sampson said. “That was the key for us.”
Game Summary
Eastern Conference Class AA Semifinal
PG (6-5) 0 7 0 10 — 17 Han (6-5) 7 0 0 0 — 7
H —Chafin 36 fumble return (Murphy kick)
PG —Wolfe 20 pass from Levan (Fidler kick)
PG —FG Fidler 24
PG — Levan 25 run (Fidler kick)
PG Han
First Downs 15 7
Rushes-Yards 44-128 31-158
Passes 10-19-2 2-11-1
Passing Yards 115 57
Total Yards 243 215
Fumbles-Lost 4-4 7-5
Penalties 5-50 7-70
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Pine Grove — Weinus 27-58, Levan 10-56, Aungst 4-11, Soltys 3-3. Hanover Area — Jones 14-148, Taylor 11-27, Westawski 1-3, Peters 5-(-20).
PASSING: Pine Grove — Levan 10-19-2, 115. Hanover Area — Peters 2-11-1, 57.
RECEIVING: Pine Grove — Weinus 5-50, Diaz-Walton 3-41, Wolfe 2-24. Hanover Area — Taylor 1-39, Brueckner 1-18.
INTERCEPTIONS: Pine Grove — Wolfe. Hanover Area — Chafin, Hagler.