It wasn?t as much a victory as it was a coronation. The top-ranked River Hill football team capped its undefeated season by rallying for a 14-7 victory over seventh-ranked Eastern Tech in the 2A state title game Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.
River Hill (14-0) secured the victory when Eastern Tech receiver David Spalt was tackled by defensive back Malek Redd at the Hawks? 13-yard line as time expired.
The victory marks the first state football championship for the Clarksville school, which lost the 3A championship game, 37-18, to Friendly last season. Eastern Tech (13-1) was trying to win the Baltimore County school?s first state title.
“I [already] want to win a title next year,” Redd, who scored eight touchdowns in the playoffs, said. “I saw him trying to pitch the ball at the end and I wasn?t letting go.”
The Hawks trailed 7-0 with 4:02 left in the first quarter when Eastern Tech quarterback Travis Crane dashed into the end zone on a nine-yard touchdown run. The Mavericks lead was the first time that River Hill has trailed all season, as the Hawks outscored their opponents, 548-21, this year.
River Hill regained momentum in the second half, however, and tied the game when quarterback Luke Hostetler connected with Redd on a 69-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter.
Eastern Tech mustered nothing substantial on offense until their final possession, as the Hawks took advantage of the great field position, scoring on third-and-goal from the 6-yard line with 4:02 remaining in the game when Redd took an inside handoff and zig-zagged his way into the end zone.
But two possessions later, a fumble by running back Michael Campanaro near midfield gave Eastern Tech one last drive with 2:17 remaining. The Mavericks drove as deep as the Hawks? 13-yard line before coming up just short.
“I thought we came out with a chip on our shoulders,” Eastern Tech coach Marc Mesaros said. “If we were going to go out, we were going to go out swinging.”
