It wasn’t always pretty, but it was pretty convincing.

River Hill overcame penalties, some sloppy play and some extra pushing and shoving to to earn its fourth shutout of the season and improve to 7-0 Friday night with a 41-0 victory over visiting Marriotts Ridge (5-2). Running back Mike Campanaro (229 rushing yards) scored four touchdowns, and quarterback Luke Hostetler had the other two.

The game started off well for the Hawks when Campanaro intercepted Tim Blair on the first play from scrimmage, returning it about 20 yards to the 1-yard line and setting up Hostetler's first touchdown. But then the Hawks started to struggle.

On River Hill’s next drive, after a Mustangs three-and-out, a 38-yard Malek Redd touchdown run was called back for a block in the back. After that, a Campanaro fumble was recovered by Jae Kim. Two plays later, that mistake was erased by a Blair fumble recovered by the Hawks, but a holding penalty brought back another apparent touchdown run by Redd, this one for 28 yards.

River Hill maintained its composure, though, and Campanaro capped a drive shortly after the penalty with a six-yard touchdown run. “We had some big plays called back, but we were able to recover from that and get some scores,” River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen said.

After the extra point, a River Hill player was flagged for a personal foul, and the pushing and shoving continued for the rest of the game. The Hawks were called for 10 penalties, including five in the first quarter, and the Mustangs were penalized five times.

“It was real sloppy, a lot of penalties, which is uncharacteristic of us, but we kept our heads the whole game,” Campanaro said. “We play these guys during the summer in passing leagues all the time and we always go at it. That’s where the rivalry started.

"I went to Burleigh Manor Middle with all these guys, so they were all my best friends growing up: Tim Blair, Matt Banta, Kyle Williams, Derek Coleman. We get on the field, and we just compete, but off the field we’re still buddies.

“The team right now," Campanaro said, "we’re just starving for competition out there, and we really wanted a team that was going to fight back, and Marriotts Ridge is definitely that caliber team. They’ve got great players, (and) they’re well coached. (But) we came out and played very physical.”

River Hill kicker Scott Trench suffered a leg injury when he was run into after making an extra point in the third quarter.

"He’s such a big weapon for us with the kickoffs, we want to make sure that we can get him back. We’ll know more tomorrow," Van Deusen said.

In Friday night's other game, Wilde Lake defeated Oakland Mills, 49-7, as junior Reynard Roberson ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns on three carries.

River Hill will play undefeated Wilde Lake at home on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. for what should decide the county championship.

For more football coverage, read Thursday's editions of the Howard County Times and Columbia Flier.

RIVER HILL 41, MARRIOTTS RIDGE 0
Marriotts Ridge (5-2)    0   0   0  0  -  0
River Hill (7-0)             14 13  7  7  -  41
Scoring Summary
First quarter
RH: Hostetler 1 run (Trench kick)
RH: Campanaro 6 run (Trench kick)
Second quarter
RH: Campanaro 18 run (kick failed)
RH: Campanaro 5 run (Trench kick)
Third quarter
RH: Campanaro 36 run (Trench kick)
Fourth quarter
RH: Hostetler 1 run (Shahegh kick)

WILDE LAKE 49, OAKLAND MILLS 7
Wilde Lake (7-0)    21  7  7  7 - 49
Oakland Mills (1-6)  0  0  0  7 - 7
Scoring Summary
First quarter
WL: Hough 11 run (Spicer kick)
WL: Fields 1 run (Spicer kick)
WL: March 40 punt return (Spicer kick)
Second quarter
WL: Gilman 3 run (Spicer kick)
Third quarter
WL: Roberson 6 run (Spicer kick)
Fourth quarter
OM: Rynn-Mason 6 run (Frimpong kick)
WL: Roberson 54 run (Spicer kick)

---

user comments (0)