Andrew Gluck and River Hill had no trouble in the first round of the playoffs, as they posted a 70-0 win over James M. Bennett. (Photo by Jon Gallo)
River Hill’s Andrew Gluck didn’t need to say much as the final seconds ticked off the clock during his team’s game against J.M. Bennett in the first round of the Class 3A East Region Tournament.
The scoreboard said it all: River Hill 70, J.M. Bennett 0
“That’s a statement,” the senior lineman said. “People can talk about us going 10-0 in a weak county or that we didn’t play anybody. Well, 70-0 says a lot. It says that we’re for real.”
River Hill (11-0), the top seed in the region tournament, made quick work of fourth-seeded J.M. Bennett (6-5) en route to extending its winning streak to 39 games stemming from a loss in the Class 3A final in 2006. The Hawks used a 35-point second quarter to take a 54-0 lead at intermission and cruised to victory in a game in which the clock did not stop running in the second half.
River Hill's Thomas Erdman said the Hawks' statement made in a 70-0 victory over the Clippers should resonate throughout the state.
“It’s nice to play our first playoff game like this,” said River Hill senior lineman Thomas Erdman. “Everybody on our team got to play. Last year, the juniors and sophomores couldn’t play because the games were much closer.”
River Hill will host Atholton on Nov. 20. Atholton (10-1) defeated Wilde Lake, 14-13, in the region's other first-round game. River Hill dealt the Raiders their lone loss of the year when it posted a 35-14 victory on Oct. 30.
The 70-point margin of victory was the Hawks’ largest in school history.
River Hill senior running back Kevin Johnson, who will play at Wake Forest next year, scored on run of 42, 3 and 23 in the first 8 minutes, 24 seconds to give his team a 19-0 lead. River Hill’s Adam Brookhart and Nathan Norwood added interception returns for touchdowns of 75 and 42 in the second quarter, with Nick Bonhag rushing for two scores and Brent Kluge also scoring in the five-touchdown quarter.
In the second half, the Hawks got a 61-yard touchdown run from Kevin Sanders, a safety and a three-yard run by Kirby Smith to cap the scoring with 7:30 left in the game.
“It’s nice to see teammates who haven’t played a lot score touchdowns and make big plays,” Erdman said. “We wanted to come out here and make a strong statement – and that’s what we did.”
jongallo@coachesaid.com
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