Fort Hill’s Dolly player of year

Jan 16, 2011
by Mike Burke

CUMBERLAND — To the naked eye, perhaps, there was nothing about his football abilities that jumped out to demand attention or cause awe-inspired oohs and aahs. But Fort Hill football players, coaches and fans would have known if Garrett Dolly hadn’t been there.

The 6-1, 212-pound senior linebacker and jack of all offensive trades, was a three-year starter and led Fort Hill his senior season to a 9-4 record, the Maryland Class 1A West Region championship and a berth in the state semifinals. Never one to draw attention to himself, Dolly will be the recipient of more attention than he’ll care to know on Sunday, Jan. 30 at the 63rd annual Dapper Dan Awards Banquet when he is honored as the 2010 Cumberland Times-News Area High School Football Player of the Year.

“It would have been hard for us to win football games without Garrett because of his ability to lead,” said Fort Hill head coach Todd Appel. “He had a tremendous amount of experience coming into his senior year. Without him we have no go-to guy as far as running behind him on offense, and we don’t have the experienced leader on defense who is familiar with our defensive calls and adjustments.

“It would have taken a couple of weeks without him for us to overcome his absence. We would have had to find other people to go to. Personally, I’m glad we had him to go to.”

Offensively, Dolly, played tight end most of the time, but he also played fullback and the slot, with a little bit of halfback thrown in. Regardless of his position, he blocked, and he blocked well; but he was also capable of picking up big yardage, important yardage, as he showed in the Sentinels’ 24-0 victory at Keyser.

“He had a big game for us at Keyser in short-yardage situations,” said Appel. “But for the most part, which was 80 percent of the time, we used him to block and he was at the point of attack on every play. I’m sure opposing teams knew that, but we were still successful doing that with him.”

Defensively, Dolly was named first-team All-State, leading Fort Hill in tackles for the third straight season and helping the Sentinels to six shutouts. Dolly collected 51 solo tackles and 69 assisted, including one sack. But the numbers don’t do Dolly’s value to the Fort Hill football program justice.

“His ability to help his teammates on both sides of the ball,” said Appel, “that’s what makes him special. On and off the field, he had a way of helping us overcome obstacles throughout the year, whether they’d be off-the-field obstacles or on-the-field obstacles.

“Besides that, he’s a heck of a good football player.”

Dolly flat-out breathes football during the season and, according to Appel, it is that devotion and his selfless manner that make him the player that he’s become.

“Studious, tough, highly motivated,” Appel said of Dolly. “To be successful for himself, but not at the expense of others. Highly motivated to help Fort Hill win.

“You never hear Garrett say anything negative about anybody. In a Me world, you never hear Garrett say ‘me.’ It’s about everybody around him, and he’s last on the list.

“Garrett doesn’t have a lot of God-given attributes. All he’s earned and accomplished he’s done through hard work. He is very spiritual and he believes he can do things well if he puts them in God’s hands. It’s an amazing thing to watch. His actions have touched a lot of our players ... and coaches.”

Dolly played in the Chesapeake Bowl, a senior all-star game at Towson State University involving players from Maryland and Virginia, as well as in the Maryland Crab Bowl at Bowie State University in a contest that pits seniors from the Washington and Baltimore regions.

Dolly showed his knack for the game by playing different positions in both games — outside linebacker in the Chesapeake, and inside linebacker in the Crab, helping both of his teams to wins.

“He earned the selections to both of those games,” said Appel, “but he never said a word to anybody, so a lot of kids didn’t know.

“That’s just the kind of person Garrett Dolly is.”

Appel says there was no particular game in which Dolly’s best was on display any more than in any of the other game. The Sentinels knew what to expect from him in every game.

“Just a steady performer,” said Appel. “He might go unnoticed, but he usually leads the team in tackles. He’s always around the ball. He has a nose for the ball and is a student of the game. He watches film and is constantly learning. Then he translates it to the field.

“You just don’t see that in a lot of kids.”

The 63rd annual Dapper Dan Awards Banquet will take place at the Ali Ghan Shrine Club. Dinner will be served at 4 p.m. and the awards program begins at 5 p.m. For ticket information, call The Original Sports Shoppe at 301-722-5490.