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(Enlarge) River Hill's Mike Campanaro, 5, breaks free from the Frederick Douglass-PG defense to set up a River Hill touchdown during the first half of the Class 2A South Region championship game Nov. 21. River Hill won, 21-6. (Staff photo by Todd Spoth)

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On fourth-and-4 at the Frederick Douglass 17-yard line, midway through the fourth quarter of the 2A South regional final Nov. 21, it was no secret that River Hill wanted the ball in the hands of Mike Campanaro, its lead running back.

How he got the ball, though, that's where coach Brian Van Duesen decided to get a little creative.

Going to the air, despite being 1-for-4 for minus-6 yards passing up until that point, the Hawks called for quarterback Luke Hostetler to roll to his left and look for his senior tailback just inside the 10-yard line. Campanaro did the rest.

Catching the ball at the 8, Campanaro turned down field, cut to his right and raced into the end zone for a touchdown with 5:22 left that gave River Hill the insurance score it needed to beat Douglass, 21-6, and claim its second straight regional title.

"Coach called a timeout and everyone was standing in the huddle giving suggestions, and he wasn't saying anything. It was funny because I could tell he was thinking of that perfect play," Campanaro said. "Then finally he stepped in and said we're running waggle pass to me, which did end up being the perfect play call."

The Hawks (12-0) now host Century (12-0) Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in a Class 2A semifinal. Eastern Tech (12-0) travels to Queen Anne's (12-0) in the other semifinal, also Friday night at 7. The winners will play for the state championship Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium, in Baltimore.

River Hill was able to make the big plays all game on both sides of the ball. Campanaro (203 yards rushing to go with his three scores) provided the lions' share of the offense, while the defense came up with three fumble recoveries.

In the second quarter, with River Hill already up 7-0 courtesy of a Campanaro 23-yard touchdown, defender Kevin Moore spoiled a six-minute Douglass drive to the River Hill 22 by recovering a fumbled pitch in the backfield. On the ensuing drive, the Hawks increased their lead to 14 on a 32-yard Campanaro rush up the middle.

"The kid, he is as advertised, he's a very good football player," Douglass coach J.C. Pinkney said of Campanaro. "It's tough to beat a really good team with one of the best players in the state."

Still down, 14-0, at halftime, Douglass played inspired in the third quarter. Eagles fullback Trey Massey carried the ball six straight times and racked up 64 yards down to the River Hill 15. Three plays later, Emmanuel Paul scored on a 12-yard run to cut the lead to 14-6.

Following the Hawks going three-and-out on their next possession, Douglass again drove down the field and was threatening to close the deficit even more. However, on second and nine from the 11, Paul fumbled and Moore was again there to pounce on it.

"All that was running through my head was right here we need a big play," said Moore about the second recovery. "It's weird, but every time I've had a fumble recovery or interception in a game I've had two, so I was just kind of looking for it."

Just like earlier in the game, River Hill scored on the very next possession and that essentially put the game out of reach.

"Bend but don't break -- that's our motto defensively," said Campanaro, who is part of a defense that has yet to allow anyone to score more than one touchdown all season. "They moved the ball, but when it came down to making stops we came through."

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