A soggy field from Friday?s deluge couldn?t dampen the fire in Friday?s rivalry showdown between River Hill and Long Reach.
But there was plenty of thunder and lightning on the field.
River Hill running backs Zach Martin and Michael Campanaro combined to rush for 358 yards in the Hawks? 32-16 win Friday night.
The second-ranked Hawks (5-0) jumped out to a 25-0 first-half lead behind three Martin touchdowns and 296 total yards of offense.
“The guys played great,” River Hill head coach Brian Van Deusen said. “We thought we had a great week of practice even though it was a short week. We had a good game plan in and the kids came out an executed.”
He said the team emphasized finishing drives, pointing to four turnovers in an ugly win a week earlier. His players did him one better.
Martin, the junior workhorse of the Hawks? backfield duo, ran 29 times for 229 yards and three scores. Campanaro, the lightning to Martin?s thunder, rushed 12 times for 131 yards.
“They had a great game, both of them,” Van Deusen said. “Its? kind of that one-two punch.”
The pace slowed down in the second half, but Campanaro did not.
The shifty sophomore took the first play from scrimmage on a fourth quarter drive and scampered 53 yards for a touchdown.
That was all the Hawks defense would need. Long Reach (3-2) mounted a fourth quarter comeback behind quarterback Keith Richardson, but it wasn?t enough.
“With Richardson at quarterback, the ball is in his hand more,” Van Deusen said of the athletic Long Reach signal-caller. “And he?s a playmaker. So our defense really stepped up and contained them.”
The two rivals knew one another well, having split two matchups from last fall. The Hawks have won five of the last six meetings now.
“We knew they were going to be coming in ready to play after beating them in the playoffs last year. We knew they wanted us bad. But we came out firing.”
Part of that burst came from the offensive line, and Martin said the Hawks? linemen made the difference. “Offensive line, A-plus,” Martin said. He said that he and Campanaro?s results are a credit to them.
“We just had an excellent game,” Hawks? senior left tackle Zach Robinson said. “They were looking forward to playing us here, and we came out and were just more physical than them.”
River Hill won?t rest on a big win, knowing the depth of the Howard County competition.
“Every week is a test, and we?ve got Atholton next,” Martin said. “And Atholton?s good.
