Sports
Playoff Preview: River Hill at Atholton
Howard County teams will meet in the regional title football game in Columbia on Friday.
Howard County is assured of having a football team in the Class 3A high school state semifinals.
That was guaranteed last weekend when Atholton High School beat Stephen Decatur High and River Hill knocked off Howard High in the first round of the regional playoffs.
Atholton will host River Hill on Friday at 7 p.m. in Columbia in the Class 3A East Region title game on Freetown Road.
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What will be the keys to the game?
"Turnovers and penalties will make the difference," Kyle Schmitt, head coach of Atholton, said. "At this point in the playoffs all of the mistakes are magnified."
Find out what's happening in Columbiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Raiders are 10-1 overall while River Hill is 9-2. The Hawks are making their ninth straight trip to the playoffs.
Atholton beat River Hill, 14-0, earlier this season.
Schmitt is in his third season as the head coach at Atholton. His team beat Stephen Decatur, 49-0, while River Hill beat Howard, 23-0, in the other regional playoff game.
"We played very well," Schmitt said. "Our team came out focused and jumped on Stephen Decatur early. We put up points and our defense performed very well again."
Brian Van Deusen, head coach for River Hill, could not be reached for comment.
