MORE PLAYOFF COVERAGEWilde Lake runs over Fallston for 3A East championshipPlayoff results, scheduleThe streak goes on and so do the Hawks.
Senior running back Michael Campanaro ran for 203 yards on 24 carries and scored three times as River Hill got back to the state semifinals with a 21-6 win over Frederick Douglass of Prince George's County, capturing the Class 2A South Region championship Friday night at River Hill High School.
"The kid, he is as advertised. He's a very good football player. It's tough to beat a really good team with one of the best players in the state," Douglass coach J.C. Pinkney said.
The Hawks (12-0) take their 26-game winning streak into the final four and host Century (12-0). Century advanced by beating Middletown, 47-0, in the West Region final. Game date and time are still to be determined. The other 2A semifinal features Eastern Tech (12-0) against Queen Anne's (12-0). The 2A state championship is Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium, in Baltimore.
River Hill, which had a bit of a test in a 20-6 opening-round playoff win over Gwynn Park a week ago after averaging 46.4 points a game in the regular season, found itself in similar surroundings against Douglass. The Hawks led, 14-6, in the fourth quarter when a 14-play, 68-yard drive sealed the win. Quarterback Luke Hostetler connected with Campanaro on a 17-yard pass on a fourth-and-4 call for the touchdown. River Hill then recovered a fumble on Douglass' ensuing possession and ran out the clock.
Campanaro scored on runs of 23 and 32 yards to give River Hill a 14-0 lead at halftime, but Douglass (9-3) refused to give in to the defending state champions. The Eagles cut the lead to 14-6 at the beginning of the second half on a 12-yard run by Emmanuel Paul while running back Trey Massey began to find holes in the River Hill defense and rush for big yardage, including a 34-yard run to start the drive.
"We were having trouble stopping the dive option and they just kept giving it to No. 28 (Massey)," River Hill quarterback Luke Hostetler said. "He was just running full speed up the middle."
Douglass mounted another drive on the back of Massey down to the River Hill 11-yard line and threatened to tie the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, but the Hawks forced a fumble which Kevin Moore recovered to kill the threat.
"That definitely was a major blow to us, not being able to score once you get into the red zone," Pinkney said.
Reporter Brent Kennedy also contributed to this article.
For more on the playoffs, read Thursday's editions of the Howard County Times and Columbia Flier.RIVER HILL 21, FREDERICK DOUGLASS-PG 6Douglass-PG (9-3) 0 0 6 0 -- 6River Hill (12-0) 7 7 0 7 -- 21Scoring SummaryFirst QuarterRH - Campanaro 23 run (Trench kick), 8:18
Second QuarterRH - Campanaro 32 run (Trench kick), 4:30
Third QuarterD - Paul 12 run (kick failed), 7:17
Fourth QuarterRH - Campanaro 17 pass from Hostetler (Trench kick), 5:22