It took River Hill less than two months to go from tackling dummy back to king of the hill in Howard County football.

Since losing back to back games in September, the No. 9 Hawks have won eight in a row, including a 21-12 victory over county rival and No. 4 Atholton in Friday night's 3A East regional championship.

"We just came back strong, and we knew that we had to do it for ourselves, for our fans, and for the county to see that we're on top, and we're doing that," River Hill senior quarterback Raamah Vaughn said. "We now know that wins aren't given to us."

The Hawks will host No. 12 Aberdeen (10-2) in the Class 3A semifinals next week.

The Raiders (10-2) struck first on a 45-yard run up the sideline by quarterback Brian McMahon, who broke numerous tackles on the scramble.

But Atholton's next drive ended on a fumble at midfield, caused by Justin Arn and recovered by Noah Carter, which led to a long River Hill scoring drive. Aaron Wells capped the six-minute, 48-yard drive with a short run to give the Hawks the lead after a Davis Grove kick.

It was the first time Atholton trailed in the first half all season.

River Hill scored again on a 29-yard run by Wells with only 30 seconds left in the first half. That score came after Atholton turned the ball over on downs at midfield.

The Raiders attempted to score again before halftime, but were they were denied when River Hill's Justin Arn intercepted a pass at midfield.

River Hill was on the verge of breaking the game open late in the third quarter, but Atholton defensive lineman Paul Federinko recovered a Hawks fumble on the 7-yard line to negate the threat.

That led to a five-and-a-half minute, 93-yard drive by Atholton, capped by a 7-yard Kenny Thomas touchdown run. The Raiders tried to tie the game on a McMahon run, but several River Hill defenders stood him up just shy of the goal line.

The Atholton defense came through with a three-and-out to get the ball back in the hands of the offense, but that drive ended when a fake punt on 4th-and-13 from its own 23-yard line was stopped seven yards short of a first down.

River Hill got the ball back inside the Atholton 30, and after six plays and four time outs — three the by Atholton — Vaughn delivered the dagger when he ran into the endzone from eight yards out.

Davis Grove then kicked the extra point to make it a two-score game with less than two minutes.

Any remaining glimmer of hope for Atholton was snuffed out when Randall Lawson intercepted a desperation pass, allowing the Hawks to kneel out the clock.

"Our kids are crushed," Atholton coach Kyle Schmitt said. "But we've got great kids, and I'm really proud of them. They're not going to realize it tonight but maybe by Thursday they'll enjoy Thanksgiving [and] they'll remember a lot of great memories this season. ... But this is going to sting for a while."

RH (9-2) 0 14 0 7 - 21

A (10-1) 6 0 0 6 - 12

First quarter

A: McMahon 45 run (kick failed), 8:24.

Second quarter

RH: Wells 1 run (Grove kick), 7:19.

RH: Wells 29 run (Grove kick), :30.

Fourth quarter

A: Thomas 7 run (run failed), 8:58.

RH: Vaughn 8 run (Grove kick), 1:59.