Hanna, Black Knights hold off Rockets

VAN BUREN – Van Buren wide receiver Jacob Harrington was asked about the play of his quarterback, Cooper Hanna, after Friday night's game with Pandora-Gilboa.Hanna ran for 180 yards and two long touchdowns in the Black Knights' 28-13 win over the Rockets.Harrington, a senior, said much of the credit should go to Van Buren's offensive line, a statement just about everyone agreed with.But then, Harrington paused."Cooper's doing an amazing job running down the field, though," he said.Hanna came up with big plays in the second half.The game was tied 7-7 at the break. The Rockets scored on the game's opening possession when Layton Cannode raced 14 yards for a touchdown.Van Buren tied the score in the second quarter, when Haiden Orr scored the first of his two touchdowns, this one from a yard out.In the third quarter, P-G quarterback Brady Deleruyelle executed a 5-yard pop pass to Zahnder Boggs for a touchdown and a 13-7 lead.P-G tried to go for two, but Deleruyelle's throw was broken up. Van Buren responded with another drive, and another Orr TD run, this one from 4 yards out with 29 seconds left in the third.Carson Stone – who made all four of his extra points Friday – put the Black Knights up 14-13 with the conversion kick.Orr finished with 58 yards on 14 carries."He ran the ball hard tonight," said Van Buren coach Ethan Percer. "He's a selfless guy. He'll go out there and block on the edge, and when he gets his touches he's gonna make them count.""I knew if we went down there and scored," Hanna said, "there was no way we were gonna lose."Pandora-Gilboa had the ball early in the fourth, but was forced to punt.Hanna then led Van Buren on a nine-play drive. After a first down completion to Casten Heitkamp moved the ball to the P-G 34, Heitkamp took off for a 34-yard touchdown run and a 21-13 lead,After P-G turned the ball over on downs with 4½ minutes remaining, Hanna added the exclamation point.On the first play of Van Buren's drive, he darted 39 yards to the end zone"I saw that hole open up, and I just went, and nobody touched me," Hanna said. "I was gone."(The offensive line) helps me out a lot," he added. "They're some of my best friends up front, and I get along with them well and they just are there for me."Van Buren improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2014.P-G dropped to 1-2, 1-1 in the BVC."We did not play well, but that's a credit to Van Buren," said Rockets coach Matt Hershey. "They obviously put us in a position to make mistakes. They capitalized on our mistakes, and we did not force them to make very many mistakes."For P-G, Deleruyelle threw for 130 yards, but threw a key first-half interception with the Rockets threatening.At the time, the game was tied at 7, and the quarterback had just hit Boggs on a 41-yard pass that moved the Rockets to the VB 5.Harrington, also a linebacker, had been defending Boggs on the pass, and two plays later, got a shot at redemption."I just gave up the long ball, so I was thinking they were gonna go back, try and hit me again," Harrington said. "I saw (Deleruyelle) roll out and I watched on film they do that jump pass.Deleruyelle threw, and Harrington stepped in front of the P-G receiver."I just read it," Harrington said. "It came right in my hands."Percer praised Harrington after the game."It's great to see that kid, because he's a grinder, he's that leader," Percer said.Boggs was a standout for the P-G offense, catching seven passes for 95 yards. But Hershey said it was a struggle for the Rockets."The keys are, (Van Buren) played a lot harder than we did," Hershey said. "They were the better team tonight, they deserved to win. Coach Percer and his staff have done a great job of getting that young team ready to play ball."The Rockets will host Riverdale next week. Van Buren travels to Ada."We can't have a letdown for this week after this win," Percer said.