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Sports

Playoff Preview: Aberdeen at River Hill

The Hawks host a team with former Ravens' player Polley on its coaching staff in the Class 3A semifinal contest.

Last year the Aberdeen High School football team won one game in 10 tries.

But the Aberdeen team that will play at River Hill High on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Class 3A state semifinals has won 10 of 12 games this season.

The turnaround was led by first-year head coach Johnny Brooks, who spent 13 years at Havre de Grace before taking over this year at Aberdeen.

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"We did not know what we were walking into," Brooks told Columbia Patch.

A former player at Clemson, Brooks brought most of his staff with him from Havre de Grace to Aberdeen. He also added Tommy Polley to his staff as the defensive coordinator.

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A product of Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Polley played at Florida State University and played in the NFL with the Rams, Ravens and Saints.

"He is a tremendous football mind," said Brooks, who doubles as the offensive coordinator for Aberdeen.

Brooks has watched film of River Hill's win over Atholton on Friday in the region title game.

"They have a great history. They are well coached. We hope we can compete with them," Brooks said of River Hill.

Aberdeen is led by senior quarterback Kenny Faulcon and junior running back Austin Bonsall, who has about 700 yards on the ground this season.

The Hawks beat host Atholton, 21-12, on Friday.

One of the co-captains for River Hill is senior Raamah Vaughn, a quarterback/cornerback.

"As our coach says, it doesn't matter how you start it's how you finish it, and finishing it powerful," Vaughn said on riverhillfootball.com. "We're showing everybody that River Hill football is back, and we don't ever die out."

The head coach for River Hill is Brian Van Deusen.

"Aberdeen has a very explosive offense. We need to get pressure on the quarterback and have good pass coverage.  A big key to the game will be the play of the lines.  We need another outstanding game from our offensive and defensive lines," Van Deusen wrote in an e-mail this week.

"We are proud of the way our kids played" against Atholton, he added.  "It was a big win for us because it shows how much we have come together as a team and the improvement we have made over the last eight weeks.  We focus on improving each week and we have done that and hope to be playing our best football at the end of the season."

“We have a great line, our defense is amazing, and we have backs that can run the ball," River Hill senior co-captain Aaron Wells said on riverhillfootball.com.

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