It was a little after 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, and River Hill was in a deep rut. Not since 2000, the first year Brian Van Deusen had begun coaching the Hawks, had they lost two games in a row.

But here they were, sitting at 2-2 with their playoff hopes in jeopardy. The Hawks suffered a humiliating shutout loss to Atholton where they recorded just two first downs. A week later, they dropped a 12-9 heartbreaker against Hammond where they turned the ball over an eye-popping six times.

"Our backs were against the wall. A lot of people didn't believe in us - even a lot of our own fans didn't believe in us," said senior linebacker Riley Davis. "But Coach Van kept us positive the whole time. He said we could either prove them wrong, or we could fold up. And he wasn't about to let us fold up."

Ten games and 10 wins later, River Hill still hadn't folded. Starting in Week 5, the Hawks embarked on an improbable stretch where they outscored their opponents 385-66, reasserting their status as a Howard County and state power.

River Hill completed their turnaround with a 41-13 whitewashing of Thomas Johnson in the class 3A championship game. It was the school's third state championship and first in the 3A.

But the run to riches may not have been possible without the humbling two-game stretch back in Weeks 3 and 4. And it definitely wouldn't have been possible without Van Deusen's resolve.

"We did not panic; we did not quit," said River Hill's defensive coordinator Tom Gruneberg, who has known Van Deusen since the two played together back at Westminster (now McDaniel) from 1992-1996. "The first Monday after we lost to Hammond, Brian came in and really changed up some things in our pre-practice warm-up. He basically said through his body language that 'I'm not quitting and neither are you guys.'"

Besides the attitude, Van Deusen did make a few personnel changes, such as moving cornerback Raamah Vaughn to quarterback and linebacker Justin Arn to safety. He also rotated in a few new linemen and benefitted from defensive back Randall Lawson's newfound ability to run block.

"Brian is very good at taking advantage of our team's strengths and finding what each individual does well," Gruneberg said. "Then he's also very innovative in terms of tweaking the offense so there's always a little wrinkle in there that teams haven't seen before. He's always trying to stay a step ahead."

But while the tangible changes -- the play calling and the offensive shakeup -- were important, the players insist it was the intangibles - motivation, attitude -- that ignited the championship chase.

"Each week Coach Van would tell us, 'Hey, we can do a little better, we can do a little better,'" said the senior Vaughn. "He kept harping on how if we did just one thing better each week we could get to the level where we couldn't be stopped. Eventually, he had us believing that we would win states. And that's what we did."

The 10-game march started with a 38-0 thumping of Wilde Lake, the 2010 class 3A champs. Even though Wilde Lake was going through a transition period, the Hawks felt the victory proved they could still dominate good county teams.

From there, River Hill reeled off three straight drubbings before the Glenelg showdown on Oct. 28. The feisty, rugged Gladiators had just one loss coming in. Not to mention they had played River Hill tough the year before.

This time, they came within a two-point conversion of dealing the Hawks a loss.

But Davis and several other River Hill defenders came through in the clutch. Coming on a blitz, the Hawks' linebackers knifed into the backfield and notched a game-ending sack, allowing them to escape with an emotional 21-20 overtime victory.

"That game really set the tone and showed we could win a close game," Davis said. "The coaches stayed cool and put us in the right position to win that game. It really got us going and showed that we had the fight to win four postseason games."

But while the sack itself resonated, Davis remembers the aftermath of the game most. Immediately after River Hill won, Van Deusen ran onto the field, grabbed Davis from behind and gave him a big bear hug.

"I've never seen Coach Van so pumped before - not even after we won states," said a chuckling Davis. "It was pretty cool to see him show some emotion. He's always very even-keeled, which is why he's a great coach. He never gets too high or too low. But it's always good to see your coach show emotion once in awhile."

"Brian always does everything in a calm, collected way," Gruneberg added. "People who yell and scream all the time are usually trying to cover up for a lack of knowledge. Well, Brian doesn't lack for knowledge - he's been here before."

After the Glenelg thriller, River Hill closed out the regular season with a beat down of Mt. Hebron before disposing of Howard in the first round of the playoffs, 23-0.

But then came the Atholton rematch. The Raiders had been dubbed the "new Howard County power" after rolling through their first 11 games without a blemish (aside from a Week 1 forfeit). Obviously, that didn't sit too well with the Hawks, who were looking to avenge two straight shutout losses to Atholton.

River Hill did just that, winning a convincing 21-12 game to earn a berth in the state semifinals.

The outcome meant a little bit more to Hawks running back Aaron Wells. Wells set high expectations for himself coming off a stellar junior season, but an injury limited his productivity. Against Atholton, however, the Good Counsel transfer finally busted out for a season-high 132 yards and three touchdowns.

"After the game, Coach Van came up to me, congratulated me and said, 'I knew you had it in you. I knew you could still do it,'" Wells said. "Coach Van doesn't usually do things like that. It wasn't a side I'd seen from him before. So it really meant a lot to me personally."

Encouraged by his coach's words, Wells promptly responded with another 100-yard game in the semifinals, helping River Hill down Aberdeen, 41-7. The relatively easy win earned the Hawks their third trip to M&T Bank Stadium in the last five years.

Davis was a freshman on the 2008 team that won at M&T. But even though he and several of his teammates had been there before, the Hawks were still decidedly nervous pitted against a physically imposing Thomas Johnson squad this time around.

"We were all kind of tense, but before the game Coach Van walked into the locker room, smiled a little and said, 'Guys, you gotta relax,'" Davis said. "The great thing about Coach Van is he never lets the stage get too big for us. Everything is just calm."

River Hill responded by playing free and easy all night long. After Thomas Johnson tied the game at seven, they scored 34 unanswered points for a 41-13 victory.

"We were prepared for everything Thomas Johnson could throw at us - just like we were prepared all season," Vaughn said. "I think that's what sets Coach Van apart - he's constantly in his office, watching film and writing down tendencies.

"The way he game plans, each game is like a championship to him," he continued. "We respect how hard he works, and it rubs off on us. I think that's what you saw this season - all the preparation and work paying off."

Van Deusen is predisposed to hard work. After all, he is the son of a coach, Don Van Deusen, who led the River Hill program until his son took over in 2000. At one point Brian Van Deusen coached football, varsity basketball and college baseball -- all at the same time.

But when Van Deusen finally settled down and directed all his efforts into River Hill football, the program reaped the benefits. Since 2006 the Hawks have won a public-school record 75 games, which includes three titles, six regional championships and nine Howard County championships. In a dozen years at the helm Van Deusen has compiled a 122-24-1 record.

"Brian leads by example. He's extremely organized, he always has a plan and nothing is left to chance," Gruneberg said. "He works year round on the football program, and he cares about developing his players. The kids see that, they want to be apart of that, and they don't want to let him down. It's the main reason we've had sustained success here."

Van Deusen's senior quarterback can attest to that statement.

Late in the fourth quarter of the championship game, Vaughn and a few other seniors hoisted up an orange Gatorade jug. Ever so discreetly, they snuck up behind Van Deusen and "rewarded" him with the obligatory ice, electrolytes, and yellow food die victory bath.

"After jumping around a little bit Coach looked at us and said, 'Come on guys, put your helmets on,'" Vaughn said. "But I was like, 'Come on Coach, we're state champs!' But he just gave me a little smirk and said, 'No, we're not there yet.' Then he looked down at his play sheet and went back to work.

"But that's Van - he gets a little excited, but he's never going to stop working for us."