Published: November 22, 2008 12:38 am

Fort Hill does it, 21-14
Sentinels win on Howser’s TD with 1:55 remaining

Steve Luse
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — The Fort Hill Sentinels proved they could run the ball against Allegany with three long scoring drives and came up with big defensive stops in a 21-14 victory over the Campers for the Maryland Class 1A West Region championship on a cold and breezy Friday night at Greenway Avenue Stadium.

The Sentinels lifted their record to 10-1 with their eighth straight win and will be hosting Joppatowne in the state semifinals Friday night or Saturday afternoon. Joppatowne knocked out Havre de Grace, 26-0, for the East Region championship.

Allegany, which suffered a tough 26-22 loss to Fort HIll in a Homecoming thriller two weeks ago, closes the campaign with an 8-3 record.

In a finish very similar to the first meeting with the Campers, Fort Hill put together an eight-play, 64-yard drive in the final six minutes to retake the lead on a six-yard run by quarterback Eric Howser with 1:55 left. Johnathan Foster then picked off the only Allegany pass of the game to nail down the win.

Held to only 74 yards rushing in the Homecoming win, Fort Hill piled up 283 yards on 43 runs Friday night. Howser had two key completions in eight attempts for 44 yards to give the Sentinels 327 yards in total offense. He also passed to Jordan Helmick for a two-point conversion.

“We knew we could run the ball and the stats from the Homecoming Game were deceiving because we didn’t have the ball very much,” said coach Todd Appel. “We have run the ball all season and we wanted to prove we could run against Allegany. We got great plays from Eric Howser and Marcus Lashley ran the ball extreemly well.”

Lashley, the senior fullback, rushed for 126 yards on 12 carries and scored the first touchdown on a one-yard blast. Howser finished with 74 yards on 12 attempts, while Foster gained 48 yards on six runs and scored on a seven-yard sweep.

Sean Collette scored the two Allegany touchdowns on runs of 10 and 42 yards and finished with 58 yards on 12 carries. Fullback Melvin Tyson rushd for a team-high 78 yards on 14 attempts. The Campers finished with 211 yards on the ground on 42 plays.

Fort Hill got the ball at its own 35-yard line after the opening kickoff went out of bounds. The Sentinels used nine running plays to move the 65 yards with Lashley scoring from the one at the 7:44. Foster had an 18-yard run in the drive. The kick for the extra point sailed wide.

Allegany came right back and marched 59 yards on 14 running plays with Collette scoring on the 10-yard sweep on the first play of the second quarter at the 11:55 mark. The drive took 7:49 off the clock. John Carpenter’s kick made it 7-6.

The Campers then caught the Sentinels off guard on the kickoff as their short kick was recovered by Collette at the Fort Hill 34-yard line. They moved the sticks twice and had a first-and-goal at the seven-yard line.

The Fort Hill defense then stepped up to the task and on fourth down at the two, Glen Vincent and Garrett Dolly got through to nail Dustin Wharton for a one-yard loss.

Taking over at the three, the Sentinels went 97 yards on a 14-play march that took 5:17 seconds off the clock. After a pass interference call that was Allegany’s only penalty of the game, Foster went in from the seven with 14 seconds left before the break. A key play in the dive was a 20-yard pass to Colton Sibley. Foster got outside on a 17-yard run ahd Howser went 15 yards with a keeper. Howser’s pass to Helmick made it 14-7.

Allegany got the kick to open the second half and needed just four plays to go 69 yards as Collette was able to get to the outside and break tackles on his 42-yard run at the 10-minute mark. Carpenter kicked the extra point.

The Fort Hill defense then stepped up and forced three Allegany plays and a short punt that went only 18 yards into the win, giving the Sentinels the ball at their own 38-yard line. Lashley started the winning drive with a 22-yard run and Howser had an 11-yard run on a sweep two plays before his winning touchdown, Lashley kicked the extra point.

Creating holes to make the Fort Hill running game go were tight ends Sibley and Helmick, tackles Caleb Morris and Morgan Absher, guards Nathan Greise and Clint Johnson, and center Matt Riggleman.

“Our players never quit and always believed they can win the football game.” said Appel. “We have great, great kids and they really played together all year.”

Fort Hill’s Johnathan Foster celebrates as he crosses the goal line on a seven-yard touchdown run 14 seconds before halftime that gave the Sentinels a 14-7 lead over the Allegany Campers in the Class 1A West Region Final Friday night at Greenway Avenue Stadium. Fort Hill defeated Allegany for the second time in two weeks, 21-14. (PHOTO BY: Steve Bittner)