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Sports

River Hill Hawks Take Away Any Chance of Losing

River Hill forced eight takeaways in a 41-13 win Saturday over Gov. Thomas Johnson High in the 3A state title game.

On September 23, River Hill High School's football team turned the ball over six times in a loss to Hammond, a week after they fell to Atholton.

At 2-2, the Hawks knew they had a lot of work to do and that a third loss could effectively end their season.

They have not lost since then and culminated the unbeaten streak with a 41-13 3A State Title win over the Gov. Thomas Johnson High Patriots Saturday night.

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Coming full circle, the Hawks forced eight turnovers – five fumbles and three interceptions.

Speaking after the game, River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen, said his defense was outstanding in beating a team who outsized the Hawks.

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“It seems like every time they were about to get something going we stepped up and made a play,” Van Desuen said. “Whether it was a fumble or an interception.”

The Hawks’ defense set the tone right away, forcing a fumble on the first play from scrimmage.

River Hill would end up turning the ball over on downs but quickly got the ball back by recovering another loose ball for a takeaway to set up an eight-yard Raamah Vaughn touchdown run with 6:31 to go in the first quarter.   

“I was excited,” Van Deusen said when asked about the two early takeaways. “We had great field position and took the lead. Anytime you can get … the momentum on our side that’s to our advantage.”

Thomas Johnson came back and tied the game on the first play of the second quarter at 7-7 with a one-yard touchdown run by Brandon Berney on fourth down.

On their next drive, the Hawks really showed it was going to be their night.

Vaughn threw the ball up for grabs and Thomas Johnson’s Danny Medina came away with an interception.

But Hawks back Randall Lawson stripped the ball from Medina to give River Hill the ball back. They gained substantial yardage on the play but ultimately turned the ball over on downs inside the 20.

On River Hill's next possession, they took the lead with a one-yard touchdown run by Aaron Wells.

Thomas Johnson almost came right back with a game tying touchdown with 1:05 left in the half, but Lawson forced another big turnover — this time an interception on the one-yard line.

River Hill took a 14-7 lead into the half but would explode with 27 unanswered points to put Thomas Johnson away in the second half.

Van Deusen said he was not screaming at his guys during halftime, but he told them “there’s some things we need to do better on offense and better on defense.”

Even as River Hill scored touchdown after touchdown and forced one turnover after another, Lawson said they never lost their killer instinct.

Up until five minutes to go, “We were still telling each other it’s 0-0 and anything can happen,” he said.  “There was [no] point where we were like we got this and we’re done. We never really stopped playing.”

Echoing that theme, Van Deusen said they would be back lifting weights on Monday.

Saturday's state title is River Hill's third under Van Deusen's leadership.

The Hawks have played for the state championship four of six years since 2006.

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