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HANOVER TWP. &#8212; Sean Coleman knelt down at midfield, took off his gloves and buried his hands into the grass.At the conclusion of his last game in a Hanover Area uniform, as his teammates had already made their way toward friends and family, Coleman solemnly took the time to remember a season otherwise worth forgetting.Hanover Area completed a winless season by suffering a 44-0 loss at the hands of rival Nanticoke Friday night in the battle of the Sans Souci Parkway. The Hawkeyes cap off their first season without a victory since 2012.On the other sideline, the Nanticoke players celebrated like it was a home game.And for good reason.The Trojans have a shot at making the district playoffs for the second straight season after snapping a 17-year drought last season. Nanticoke can qualify for the district playoffs with a GAR win over Meyers on Saturday afternoon. If Meyers wins, the Trojans will head to the Eastern Conference playoffs.&#8220;Making the playoffs was our goal at the beginning of the season,&#8221; Nanticoke coach Ron Bruza said. &#8220;But I&#8217;m happy with this young week that we get to play another week.&#8221;Nanticoke senior Brian Reakes rallied the team on the first defensive possession by blocking a punt into the end zone for a safety.At regular season&#8217;s end, the Nanticoke roster hardly resembled the seasoned group of recognizable faces that started the year. Injuries, as it happens, forced the Trojans to mix-and-match their rotations. The names commonly heard over the loudspeaker Friday were either reserves or players at positions that did not match their numbers.&#8220;A lot of times we play down to our competition, and Hanover is a good football team,&#8221; Bruza said. &#8220;They&#8217;ve been in every game this year, and being in a rivalry game, you don&#8217;t know what way it is going to go.&#8221;Joe Ammons, who started the year at tight end, scored a pair of touchdowns. He burst open for a 23-yard touchdown to start the second quarter to extend the Trojans&#8217; lead to 16-0. Ammons sprinted around the tired Hawkeyes&#8217; defense for a 67 yard score in the third quarter to set the running clock. He finished with 130 yards on eight carries.Quarterback Colby Butczynski, who began the year behind four-year starter Matt Wrubel, completed nine out of 11 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns.Despite the win, nine penalties dogged the Trojans for 75 yards. Three Darren Boseman touchdowns were called back due to infractions. Boseman was able to get a 38-yard touchdown reception for Nanticoke&#8217;s first of the game after a nearly identical play was sent back to holding. Keanu Ammons caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.Hanover Area gained just 19 yards on the ground and 80 for the game.&#8220;Our defense, it&#8217;s bend and don&#8217;t break,&#8221; Bruza said. &#8220;Our seniors stepped up to injuries. Guys that were out of position have two weeks in those position which helped us out defensively.&#8221;<ins>Nanticoke 44, Hanover Area 0</ins><ins>Nanticoke`9`21`7`7`&#8212;`44</ins><ins>Hanover Area`0`0`0`0`&#8212;`0</ins><ins>First quarter</ins><ins>N &#8212; Brian Reakes punt block safety, 9:46</ins><ins>N &#8212; Darren Boseman 38 pass from Colby Butczynski (Ricky Klepadlo kick), 1:52</ins><ins>Second quarter</ins><ins>N &#8212; Joe Ammons 23 run (Klepadlo kick), 11:13</ins><ins>N &#8212; Keanu Ammons 40 pass from Butczynski (Klepadlo kick), 7:11</ins><ins>N &#8212; Manny Saldana 35 run (Klepadlo kick), 2:38</ins><ins>Third quarter</ins><ins>N &#8212; JAmmons 67 run (Klepadlo kick), 4:37</ins><ins>Fourth quarter</ins><ins>N &#8212; Dawson Hughes 13 run (Klepadlo kick), 11:15</ins><ins>Team statistics`N`H</ins><ins>First downs`18`8</ins><ins>Rushes-yards`30-314`29-19</ins><ins>Passing yards`122`61</ins><ins>Total yards`436`80</ins><ins>Passing`9-11-0`10-19-0</ins><ins>Sacked-yards lost`1-10`3-25</ins><ins>Punts-avg.`0-0`5-25</ins><ins>Fumbles-lost`1-1`4-2</ins><ins>Penalties-yards`9-75`5-65</ins><ins>INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS</ins><ins>RUSHING &#8212; NAN, Butczynski 2-(minus-1), JAmmons 28-130, Hughes 12-82, KAmmons 1-12, Saldana 4-88, Kris Selwell 2-4, TEAM 1-(minus-1). HAN, David Fedorczyk 11-26, Sean Coleman 3-5, Aaron Hummer 7-(minus-10), Joshua Jopling 7-(minus-10), TEAM 1-(minus-1)</ins><ins>PASSING &#8212; NAN, Butczynski 9-11-0-122. HAN, Hummer 10-19-0-61</ins><ins>RECEIVING &#8212; NAN, Boseman 2-39, JAmmons 2-6, KAmmons 2-45, Shane Repasky 1-10, Saldana 1-2, Hughes 1-20. HAN, Coleman 1-0, Connor Quaglia 4-29, Trenton Ambrose 3-20, Hummer 1-3, Jared Kishbaugh 1-9</ins><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bruza </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_Nanticoke-CoachBruza_CMYK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bruza </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jay MonahanFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</shirttailMeta></div>

Nanticoke shuts out Hanover Area in regular-season finale