Maryland High School Championships

Want to see a local team win at M&T Bank Stadium? Head to next week's high school championships.

Two games are set, while the rest of the semi-finals are today.

Thursday, 7 p.m., 3A Title Game
#2 Damascus (Montgomery County, 12-1) vs. #1 Hereford (Baltimore County, 13-0)

A pair of juggernaut football programs face each other in this game.

Hereford has won nine Baltimore County championships since 1996 and state titles in 197, 2001 and 2002. Coach Steve Turnbaugh's eighth undefeated team in his 13th year at the school is led by senior RB Lonnie Liggins, who has rushed for 1,200 yards this season. The Bulls beat Lackey 35-20 on Friday, although the game was tight throughout. Senior DE Gordy Boone entered the game with a team leading 8.5 sacks and was third on the team with 45 tackles. Herford runs the wing T on offense and a 5-2 defense.

Damascus, in the playoffs for the 10th straight season is led by senior running back Evan Zedler and senior QB Kyle Frazier. Zedler reached the 2,000-yard mark in a 35-6 win over Wilde Lake on Friday. Frazier, (6'2, 210) rushed for threw his 20th TD pass on Friday, against just two picks. Senior LB Brian Wittenberger leads the team in tackles, with 121 entering Friday. Damascus runs a pro-I offense and a 3-4 defense. They won state titles in 1981, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2003 and 2005.

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. 2A Title Game
#2 Eastern Tech (Baltimore, 13-0) vs. #1 River Hill (Howard County, 13-0)

River Hill may be the most loaded team in the state, having outscored their opponents 537-14 this season, including 97-0 in three playoff games. They tied a state record on Friday, posting their 11th shutout of the season.

Don't sleep on Eastern Tech, who have outscored their opponents 82-12 in their playoff run. This is the Mavericks fifth straight playoff trip; they lost in the title game in 2003. They rolled over Clarksburg 35-0 on Friday. They entered the game with 3,065 rushing yards, but senior QB Travis Crane has also thrown 13 TDs. Their 5-2 defense has 27 INT's this year, and they run the Wing T offense. Their running backs include seniors Derryck Davis and Darian Conners.

However, they lack the blue-chip stars at River Hill.

Junior LB/WR Leron Eaddy, Junior RB/CB Malek Redd, Junior RB/CB Michael Campanaro, senior LB/RB Zach Martin and senior LB/TE Jonathan Hill are among the leaders of this very good football team. They also feature junior QB Luke Hostetler, former NYG QB Jeff Hostetler's nephew. Martin was on crutches Friday after he sprained his ankle in the first quarter, but Coach Brian Van Deusen said he hopes Martin will be able to play next weekend.

River Hill came up short against Friendly, another very talented team, in the 3A state final title game and a very motivated. Senior LB Alex Turner told me last night that the shutout record was an afterthought compared to winning the state title.

--Nate Sandstrom