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October 30, 2009
Not one iota. Even after Atholton's star receiver Matt Robinson torched them with two long touchdown catches. Even after they were stuffed on the 1-foot line and later fumbled in their own territory. Even after they trailed at halftime, 14-7, for the first time since 2007. No, this group of Hawks didn't even shake a finger at the panic button. Instead, No. 6 River Hill (9-0) regrouped and rallied for 28 unanswered points in a 35-14 victory over No. 24 Atholton (8-1) in front of more than 2,000 fans at River Hill on Friday night. "Never in doubt," said senior defensive end-tight end Nick Bonhag, who had a touchdown run and a sack. "[Atholton] wasn't driving the ball and they only had two big plays. We knew if we made a couple adjustments we would win." And that's exactly what the Hawks did. At the start of the third quarter they drove 80 yards on 10 plays and scored the game-tying touchdown. After a defensive stop they scored another touchdown, this time taking the lead for good. "We came out a little flat, and we took responsibility for it," said running back Brent Kluge, who ran for 96 yards and a touchdown and also recorded a sack. "But In the second half we really took care of business and everyone gave 110 percent." River Hill is currently in first place in the 3A East Region and has all but locked up home-field advantage in the playoffs. They have now won 37 games in a row and seven consecutive Howard County conference championships. But after the game River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen wasn't thinking about streaks or championships. For the first time all season his team was tested. And they responded with authority. "You know, it's good to be in a closer game like this where our starters got to play a full game," Van Deusen said. "In he playoffs we'll play some tougher teams like Atholton, so it's good that we experienced a battle." It was more of a battle than River Hill is used to, but it was still a rather one-sided affair. Though the first-half score wouldn't indicate it, River Hill dominated this game for almost all 48 minutes. Despite trailing by seven at the break, the Hawks held the ball for more than 17 minutes. In the second half, River Hill's hulking offensive line took advantage of Atholton's weary front four, pounding them relentlessly with the run. The Hawks rang up 212 yards of total offense in the second half (393 yards overall), with most of it coming via the ground game. "We've relied on the line all year," Van Deusen said. "In the second half they created some space and we kept a balanced rushing attack. We just pounded them." Meanwhile, the Hawks' defense keyed on Robinson and held quarterback Kyle Seamonson in check. Robinson, after hauling in four catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, caught just one pass after intermission. Seamonson was 5-for-7 for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. But in the second half he was just 4 for 11 for 48 yards. Making matters worse, the Atholton offensive line couldn't mitigate River Hill's constant pressure. The Hawks sacked Seamonson five times in the second half. They held the Raiders to just 38 second half yards after allowing 197 in the fist two frames. "We lost our composure a little bit," Robinson said. "Our line was having trouble with their blitzes and we weren't running the ball. That was really our kryptonite in the second half." Trailing 14-7, River Hill got the ball first to open the second half. They immediately faced a third-and-long, but quarterback Harry McLaughlin (4 for 7 for 77 yards) floated a perfect pass down the sideline for receiver Kevin Johnson, who made a diving 28-yard catch. After five straight runs, McLaughlin ran a play-action pass and connected with John McMichael for a 13-yard score. The ensuing extra point made it 14-14. The River Hill defense then forced Atholton to go three-and-out, allowing the Hawks' vaunted Wing-T attack to take over again. Starting at their own 43-yard line, River Hill gashed the Raiders' defense with five runs, including a big 25-yard burst from Kluge. With the ball at the 3, McLaughlin ran a quarterback keeper for the touchdown. River Hill had its first lead, 21-14. The momentum had officially swung. "In the first half they got in our heads a little bit," Bonhag said. "But in the second half we were ready to go and ran the ball down the field. When we got that touchdown to open the third quarter and then forced a three-and-out, we knew we had it." The River Hill avalanche continued to pummel Atholton. On the Raiders' next possession they went three-and-out again. But this time they couldn't even get a punt off. The Hawks' Jeremy Ogorzalek broke through the line and blocked the kick, giving River Hill the ball at the Atholton 15. Three plays later Johnson (19 carries, 116 yards) had a 5-yard touchdown run and the Hawks had a 28-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. With the game in control, Kluge capped off the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown, setting the score at 35-14. "Early on the breaks weren't going our way," Van Deusen said. "We're on the 1-foot line and didn't score, so that was disappointing ? and then we had a fumble. But we knew we were going to be able to move the ball on them. And we knew if we eliminated those big plays we could stop them. To beat them 28-0 in the second half was great for our guys." For one half, the Atholton sidelines dreamed of a colossal upset. Soon after stopping McLaughlin on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1, Seamonson threw a high, arching pass to Robinson down the left sideline. Robinson caught the ball over his shoulder and outran the River Hill cornerback 90 yards to pay dirt, making it 7-0. The Hawks responded with an 80-yard drive capped off by a Bonhag touchdown run, but the Raiders weren't demoralized. After two successive fumbles - one by Seamonson and one by McLaughlin - Atholton had the ball at their own 20. On the first play Seamonson connected with Robinson down the seam for an 80 yards score. "That shook us up a little bit, but we didn't let it get us down," Kluge said. "There are four quarters in football. We had time to come back." Next week River Hill will finish out the regular season against Centennial, while Atholton will look to get back on track against Glenelg.
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