In Group A, Division Two, the high flying Gretna Hawks host Amelia County at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of the regular season meeting won by Amelia 13 to 7 back in September.
Gretna turned the ball over four times in that one, and the Hawks haven't forgotten.
"It was a brutal, physical game," Gretna head coach Kevin Saunders said.
At that point in the season, sophomore Dyon Rosser took over at quarterback for senior Tony Miller, who moved to receiver, and Rosser has made the most of his opportunity. The All Dogwood District signal caller threw for more than a thousand yards and 12 scores in the regular season and has keyed all three of Gretna's playoff wins.
"We had been practicing Dyon at quarterback and just weren't sure when was the right time to do it. we decided let's do it, and play it, see how it goes, and it's turned out really well for us," Saunders said.
Following an opening round win at home over John Battle, the Hawks have thrived on the road in the past two weeks, allowing them the chance to return to Lester Bond Field for the semifinal round.
"You can't ask for a better playoff system in the state of Virginia than the one we've got right now," Saunders said. "It's enabled us to go to Giles and experience that atmosphere and then go to Riverheads and experience that. Amelia is gonna get to come down here and experience an atmosphere they haven't been in either. This is why the system got changed and it's been changed for the best part."
Gretna is in the midst of its 9th consecutive season of 10 wins or more, with 108 total victories over that span.
"This is our third time in the semifinals," Saunders said. "These kids are used to it. They expect to be here. That's just what their expectations are. When we start the year off, we have certain goals to obtain and one of them is to play into December."
Saturday's contest will feature two former William Campbell head coaches and friends, in Saunders, and Amelia head man Brad Bradley, now in his first season with the Raiders.
"He does a good job and he's a great guy and it should be a great football game," Saunders said. "I think me and him are pretty similar in the way we coach -- very intense on the sidelines, and i think it makes it exciting. Our kids play hard for both teams and both programs and we'll just see how it goes."
