Published: September 27, 2008 01:06 am

FH outlasts Cambridge, 36-28

Steve Luse
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — In a thrilling game that had a little bit of everything, it came down to Fort Hill’s Sam Walker batting down a fourth-down pass in the closing seconds to nail down the Sentinels’ 36-28 victory over Cambridge-South Dorchester on a rainy Friday afternoon at Greenway Avenue Stadium.

Fort Hill fullback Marcus Lashley rushed for 180 yards on 32 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead a clock-controlling offense that piled up 273 yards on the ground. He also kicked four extra points and teamed with Devon Lee on a perfect onside kick.

Eric Howser completed 4 out of 10 passes for 85 yards and connected with Jordan Helmick with a 26-yard touchdown strike and a two-point conversion. The senior quarterback also ran three yards for a touchdown.

Mike Durr had two interceptions, including one that set up Howser’s touchdown that put Fort Hill back in the lead in the fourth quarter. Lee also picked off a pass to stop another Cambridge scoring opportunity.

Cambridge’s Jeremiah Howe had the Sentinels thinking they couldn’t afford to blink. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior speedster, whose offensive position is listed as “athlete,” scored the first of his four touchdowns with an 84-yard kickoff return. He caught a pair of touchdown passes of 35 and 37 yards from Taylor Henry and went one yard for the Vikings’ final TD.

Henry, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound junior, completed 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. But his three intercepted passes were the only turnovers in the game.

Fort Hill is now 3-1 after being awarded a 1-0 forfeit from Dunbar (Washington) by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association following an investigation of the controversial game last week in which Dunbar coach Craig Jefferies took his team off the field leading 14-8 in the third quarter. It was Cambridge’s first loss in four games.

“We had a lot of things going on this week and the kids worked hard to concentrate on playing a football game against a great Cambridge team,” said coach Todd Appel. “They had nine of 11 starters back from last year and we knew we were in for a battle.

“This win means a lot and I’m not sure how we would have bounced back if we would have lost,” added the first-year Sentinels’ coach. “We have great kids and they showed great character today. They showed they can face challenges and come through.”

After stopping Fort Hill on its first possession, Cambridge had a chance to get on the board first when Henry hit Howe with a 31-yard pass to the Sentinels’ 15-yard line. The Vikings ended up going for a field goal and Jason Shorter was wide right from 26 yards out.

Fort Hill then marched 80 yards on 11 running plays with Lashley getting his first touchdown on a 26-yard burst up the middle with 3:35 left in the opening quarter. The 6-3, 215-pound senior carried the ball on 10 of the plays for 73 yards and then kicked the extra point.

Howe then showed his speed and elusiveness as he went 84 yards with the ensuing kick. Shorter kicked the first of his four extra points.

Fort Hill went 79 yards on 10 plays on its next possession with Lashley scoring on a six-yard run at the 11:38 mark in the second quarter. His kick made it 14-7. Durr had a 47-yard run to the Cambridge 20-yard line.

Appel, who isn’t afraid to roll the dice, had a gamble fail with a fourth-and-two play that was stuffed at midfield. Five plays later Henry found Howe open down field for a 35-yard scoring strike with 4:27 left in the half. Shorter’s kick knotted the score.

Fort Hill struck right back with Howser hitting his tight end Helmick, who got wide open down field on a 26-yard scoring play. The two then combined again for the two points and the 22-14 lead.

The Vikings displayed again how quickly they can score as Henry found Howe with a 37-yard touchdown pass with only 14 seconds left in the half. Coleman elected to have Shorter kick the extra point instead of going for two and the tie.

Cambridge got the kickoff to start the second half and Henry connected with Bert Quailes for 47 yards to the Fort Hill 18-yard line on the first play. Howe then caught another pass for 17 yards and scored his fourth touchdown on the one-yard run. Shorter’s conversion made it 28-22.

The potent Vikings offense had two chances to add to the lead curtailed in the third quarter on interceptions by Lee and Durr. With just over 11 minutes left, Durr came up with his second pick and returned the ball 22 yards to the Cambridge three-yard line. Howser went over on a sneak with 10:53 on the clock and Lashley’s kick had Fort Hill back on top 29-28.

Then with a play that Appel said worked in practice all week, Lashley launched a high pooch kick to the sideline that Lee hauled in on the fly 12 yards down the field. On the next play Howser hit Helmick again for 39 yards to the eight. Lashley then went in for his third touchdown with 10:25 remaining.

“The onside kick and the pass right after it were huge,” said Appel. “We knew we had to take measures like that to have a chance to win. Mike Durr had a great game and Walker made that big play at the end.”

A Lashley punt put Cambridge in a hole at the own eight with 6:01 left. But the Vikings were able to move down the field behind the passing of Henry and had a second down at the Fort Hill three-yard line. Helmick stopped Howe for no gain and Henry lost four yards after a high snap. Walker then became an instant hero when he knocked down the fourth down pass.

“We certainly had our opportunities,” said Cambridge coach Jake Coleman, who had the Vikings in the Class 1A playoffs last year. “We stepped it up on defense in the third quarter after making some adjustments and put ourselves in position to score three straight times only to come away with nothing. When you do that against a great program like Fort Hill’s this happens. Their safety (Mike Durr) did a phenomenal job.”

Coleman said he was contracted by the Washington Post during the week and warned by the reporter by what might happen in Cumberland. His response is that the Fort Hill players showed a lot of sportsmanship and class when they visited Cambridge last year. He pointed out that he has a lot of African-Americans on his squad and wasn’t expecting any problems.

In the well-played game by both teams, Cambridge only had three penalties for 20 yards, while Fort Hill had seven for 40 yards. There were no personal fouls.

Fort Hill is scheduled to host McKinley Tech on Friday night at Greenway.