Hopewell 185, Petersburg 242
(9 holes, Jordan Point Golf Club, par 34)

H: Adair 46, Wilmot 46, Hunter 46, Crocker 47, Butterworth 47
P: Claiborne 58, Steves 59, Wilson 61, Nedrick 64

Matoaca 162, Petersburg by forfiet
(9 holes, at The Highlands, par 36)

M: Wells 37, Stanfield 40, Field 42, Bott 43

NORFOLK—Antoine Knight scored the only touchdown in a defensive battle between the Crimson Wave and Maury, ranked No. 10 in The Virginian-Pilot football poll, Thursday night. Knight’s touchdown came on a 21-yard run in the third quarter. Orion Hall kicked the extra point. Hall also missed two field goal attempts. The Crimson Wave, which scored 38 points in its season-opening victory over Halifax County, couldn’t get untracked against the Commodores’ defense.

in predicted order of finish   2008 records: 6-1 Central, 6-4
  Offense: Williams lost nine starters and figures it will take time to get the unit to gel. The line will be a good starting point, with all-district guard Greg Gallop (6-2, 306 pounds) and tackle Spencer Randolph (6-3, 298) leading the way. They’ll be joined by center Josh Childress, guard Adam White, tackle Sam Hartman and tight end Mike Dudley. Airek Green is a prospect at running back with senior Demitrius Campbell at quarterback.

Petersburg High School quarterback Eric McGruder rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 187 yards and two scores to lead the Crimson Wave to a 38-7 victory over visiting Halifax County (0-1) last night. McGruder hooked up with receiver Keith Johnson for touchdown passes of 75 and 55 yards in the first quarter. McGruder sandwiched scoring runs of 55 and 40 yards around a 29-yard touchdown run by DeMonte Gregory to give Petersburg (1-0) control of the game.

Retired educator Robert G. Churn dies When Bobby Churn retired in 1988 from Richard Bland College after 14 years as dean of student affairs, students recalled things they liked about him:

Anthony Collins, who led Virginia State to the CIAA tournament semifinals last month, was reassigned today after four seasons as the Trojans men’s head basketball coach. Collins had been on the hot seat since midseason, partly because the Trojans didn’t resemble a team that was expected to challenge for the conference title. Then, booster and alumni members turned up the heat while VSU was losing nine of 11 games.

Tied at the end of three quarters, the King’s Fork Bulldogs scored on seven of its first nine possessions in the final period of the boys Group AAA semifinal and handed the Petersburg Crimson Wave a stunning 73-67 loss tonight at the Siegel Center in Richmond. The loss ended Petersburg’s quest for the state title and a perfect season. They finish with a 30-1 record.

As much as Central Region fans would like to see Petersburg and John Marshall meet in the Virginia High School League Group AAA boys basketball tournament final Friday night, players and coaches know that won’t happen without semifinal victories.

Tickets are on sale at John Marshall High, Petersburg High and Cosby High for the schools’ semifinal games Wednesday in the Virginia High School League state Group AAA basketball tournament. Tickets cost $10 each. There are two sessions for Wednesday’s games. Each session requires a ticket. The game time for the John Marshall boys meeting with William Fleming of Roanoke has been moved up to 3:45 p.m. to accommodate the session break. It’s the last game of the morning/afternoon session. The Siegel Center will be cleared, then reopened for the Cosby girls’ game with Princess Anne (Virginia Beach) at 7 p.m. and Petersburg’s game with King’s Fork (Suffolk) at 9.

Nationally-ranked Petersburg is in the semifinals of the Virginia High School League Group AAA tournament for the second year in a row because of its talent. Hayfield, the Northern Region runner-up, challenged the Wave with a scrappy, quick-hands defense last night in a state quarterfinal at the Siegel Center. The Hawks forced the Wave into 21 turnovers and drew six offensive fouls, but the Hawks shot just 37 percent.

Nationally ranked Petersburg is in the final four of the Virginia High School League Group AAA tournament for the second year in a row because of its talent. Hayfield, the Northern Region runner-up, challenged the Wave with a scrappy, quick-hands defense Friday night in a state quarterfinal at the Siegel Center. The Hawks forced the Wave into 21 turnovers and drew six offensive fouls, but the Hawks shot just 37 percent for the game.

The top area high school teams in the state tournament will face Northern Virginia high schools in quarterfinal play tonight and tomorrow night.

Radio: WGGM (820 AM), 8:30 Tickets : $8 at the door.  Projected starting lineups:
  HAYFIELD PETERSBURG
  Notable : The Hayfield Hawks (21-7) of Alexandria are the Northern Region runners-up. The Hawks are coached by Ronald Palmer, 71, who is in his second year. Before coming to Hayfield, he coached 25 years at Long Beach Polytechnic High in California where he went 609-150, won 19 district titles, eight region titles, one state title and one national title. The Poly gym is named after him. The Hawks are in the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2005, when they lost to Central champ L.C. Bird. Hayfield was in the state field in 2000, 2002 and 2004 as the Northern Region champion and in 2001 as the runner-up. The Hawks were the state runners-up in 2000. . . . The Petersburg Crimson Wave (29-0) is bidding to become the first Central Region boys team to go undefeated and win the state title since Moses Malone led the Wave to 50 consecutive victories and state titles in 1973 and 1974. The Wave is in the state tournament for the third year in a row. Petersburg last won the region crown in 1998. The winner advances to the semifinals Wednesday at the Siegel Center against the winner of the King’s Fork-George Washington (Danville) quarterfinal.

The Central Region basketball tournament championship games originally were scheduled to be played Monday. That meant Petersburg and John Marshall had either four or five days before play commenced in the Virginia High School League state tournament depending on which team won and lost. Then it snowed. The title games were played Wednesday night. Petersburg (29-0) won 68-58 and earned the right to play tonight against Northern Region runner-up Hayfield (21-7). Game time is 8:45 p.m. at the Siegel Center.