Maryland: River Hill's Secret to Football Success

Paul Gable is the Senior Prep Writer for football.com. This is special for MaxPreps.com

While crab cakes may be what many people quickly think of when their thoughts drift to Maryland, the people of Clarksville will tell you that it is football that takes the cake.

Winning back-to-back titles and 28 consecutive games can have that sort of effect on the townspeople and that sits just fine with River Hill football coach Brian Van Deusen.

“We have developed a tradition of playing smart, disciplined, hard-nosed football,” Van  Deusen said. “We really believe in three equal phases of the game and spend a high percentage of our preparation and practice time focusing on defense and special teams. We keep the kids focused on one game at a time and focus on improving each day and each game.”

It's been that way since the school opened in 1996. River Hill is located in one of the most affluent parts of what Forbes Magazine considers the third-most affluent county in the country (Hamilton) and has approximately 1,350 students.

While competing on the Class 2A level would be a deterrent to some programs, Van Deusen has had nothing to worry about when the fall football season rolls around.

FAMILY TRADITION

The name Van Deusen has a special meaning to the River Hill football program.

When the school opened, it was Don Van Deusen, Brian's father, who was River Hill's first coach. However, the bond began earlier as Brian played for his father at Atholton High School.

After playing quarterback at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College), Brian Van Deusen returned home and was one of his father's assistants in 1998 before following in his father's footsteps, becoming the head coach.

“Playing for my father was a great experience and very enjoyable for me,” Van Deusen said. “He taught me a lot about being a leader, having a great work ethic and about being a student of the game.”

Those lessons would be applied during Van Deusen's senior preps season.

“He actually let me call all of the plays my senior season at quarterback,” he said. “We ran a no-huddle offense and I called all of the plays at the line of scrimmage. That helped me develop my knowledge of the game. He is the reason why I became interested in coaching and a lot of what we do is modeled after his football programs.”

Van Deusen has stepped out of his father's shadow, wasting little time making a name for himself. In the process, he has received several honors, including being selected as the 2007 Mideast Coach-of-the-Year by the NFHS.

“It was a great honor for our whole program,” Van Deusen said. “We have started to receive some recognition outside the state of Maryland with this award and with our national ranking in the USA Today and Max Preps. This award is really for the whole coaching staff. We have been fortunate to have consistency in our staff over the last several years and our coaches put in the time and hard work and are great teachers.”

OFFENSE SELLS TICKETS, DEFENSE WINS TITLES

Much of River Hill's 2008 championship success had to do with a balanced combination of its offense and defense, including the play of Michael Campanaro, Leron Eaddy and Malek Redd.

Campanaro, a running back and defensive back, signed a letter of intent to play for Wake Forest, while Redd, a running back, and Eaddy, a safety, are both headed to Central Michigan.

According to Van Deusen, it is the play of the Hawks' defense that leads the way each week.

“We realized early on at River Hill that we would have to be strong defensively to make the playoffs and compete for state titles,” he said. “We have developed a 3-5 defensive scheme that really fits our personnel well and helps us get more speed on the field. We play an aggressive, attacking style of defense where we want to shut down the opponents running game and pressure the quarterback. We also spend a lot more time than most scouting and preparing for the opponent's offense.”

A TRADITION

In 2003, success found its way to the River Hill football program as the Hawks won their first county championship. What has followed is something Van Deusen is proud of, and it includes back-to-back state titles.

 

They have won 28 straight games and are 41-1 over the last three years, 52-3 over four and 62-4 over five.

While he is proud, he nor his team relish talking about the streaks they have produced.

“We do not talk much about streaks or our state or national rankings,” Van Deusen said. “We try to stay focused on improving each week and playing our best at the end of the season. Our focus next August will just be to win that first game and take it one week at a time.

Van Deusen says there are quite a few things that make his program a success.

“We have good student-athletes here to work with,” he said. “We have been fortunate to have a great group of assistant coaches over the last several seasons. The coaches and players have put in the time and hard work during the season and in the offseason to turn a relatively new school into one of the top programs in the East. At River Hill, there is really no offseason. The day after winning states we are right back in the weight room, lifting and conditioning to get better for the next season.”

And as for next season, the Hawks will worry about it when the time comes, however, Van Deusen acknowledges there is some talent to replace.

“We are losing some very talented players this season, especially in the skill positions,” he said. “We have a good core group returning and a nice group of players up from our county championship JV team. We feel very good about our chances again next year.”

 

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