River Hill?s Leron Eaddy knew his football team would be good this fall, as the junior linebacker joined several key players from last year?s squad that won its first 13 games before falling to Friendly in the Class 3A final at M&T Bank Stadium.
But Eaddy never thought the Hawks would be this good.
River Hill (12-0) enters its 2A semifinal game against visiting Elkton of Cecil County (10-2) on Friday night at 7 on the verge of posting one of the greatest seasons in Maryland public school history.
The Hawks have posted 10 shutouts ? the latest a 35-0 blanking of previously undefeated Patuxent of Calvert County in the finals of the 2A South Region Tournament this past Friday ? and are one shy of tying the state single-season record set by Seneca Valley in 1977.
River Hill, which is in the state tournament for the third consecutive year, has scored 76 touchdowns this season ? 11 shy of the state-record 87 scored by Hereford in 1997. The Hawks, who have scored 509 points, are 94 shy of eclipsing the state-record 602 by Hereford in 1997. River Hill averages 42.4 points per game.
“We know about the records, but we don?t talk about them very much,” Eaddy said. “For us, the only thing that matters is if we win the state championship because that?s all that matters. We don?t want to lose again. But it would mean a lot to win a championship and set records.”
That?s why the Hawks took the final two minutes of their victory against Patuxent seriously. River Hill was leading 35-0 when the Panthers? Kevin Haines burst down the sidelines for a 52-yard run before he was tackled at the Hawks? 14-yard line. However, River Hill?s defense stiffened, and kept the Panthers out of the end zone, with junior cornerback Michael Campanaro sacking quarterback C.J. Hopson on fourth down to preserve the shutout.
“If they would have scored at the end, we wouldn?t be as happy as we are now,” senior middle linebacker Zach Martin said. “We didn?t want them to ruin the shutout by scoring at the end.”
River Hill?s defense features several of the area?s top players ? Eaddy, Campanaro and junior cornerback Malek Redd ? but Martin is the unit?s unquestioned leader.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder has powered a 3-5 scheme by making 173 tackles ? 156 unassisted ? to go along with 9 sacks and a fumble recovery. Martin also never leaves the field, as the running back has rushed for 1,152 yards on 152 carries ? an average of 7.5 yards per attempt ? to go along with 13 touchdowns.
In postseason victories against McDonough and Patuxent, Martin made 28 tackles and 2 sacks, in addition to rushing for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns on 36 carries.
“Zach?s the key to everything we do defensively, and nobody on our team can run between the tackles like he can,” River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen said. “He?s been a really good leader for us in making sure all our guys stay focused and are not looking too far ahead.”
