FH’s Todd Appel named Coach of the Year

Jan 17, 2011
by Mike Burke

CUMBERLAND — For the second time in his three seasons on the job, Fort Hill head coach Todd Appel is the Coca-Cola Golden Helmet High School Football Coach of the Year.

Appel, who directed the Sentinels to a 9-4 record and the Maryland Class 1A West Region championship, will receive his accolades during the 63rd annual Dapper Dan Awards Banquet Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Ali Ghan Shrine Club.

Fort Hill put up back-to-back 11-win seasons in Appel’s first two seasons as the head coach, just falling short to Dunbar in the state championship game the first season, and losing to Allegany in the region championship game the second.

Having lost a deep and talented senior class to graduation, the 2010 Sentinels faced inexperience issues in many areas, including all of the offensive skill possessions. The defense, though, led by senior linebacker Garrett Dolly, was as stout as ever, helping Fort Hill to a 2-0 start, pitching shutouts at home against Surrattsville and then at Keyser.

The Sentinels then dropped the next two to Mount St. Joseph and Martinsburg, two of the same three 4A teams, as classified by the state of Maryland, they had defeated the previous year on their way to an undefeated regular season.

With Fort Hill carrying a 2-2 record and the first two-game losing streak in nine seasons, Appel and his staff tinkered with their lineup and made junior Garrett Clay the starting fullback. Clay responded with two touchdowns in a 42-0 win over MATHS to trigger a three-game winning streak with two more shutout victories, 59-0 at Jefferson and 25-0 at Southern.

The Sentinels were 5-2, with all five of their victories being shutouts. The three-game winning streak would come to an end, though, as Fort Hill’s 4A gauntlet would conclude with a 21-17 loss to Thomas Johnson.

Fighting for their playoff lives, the Sentinels played host to top-ranked Mountain Ridge at Greenway Avenue Stadium in the ninth game of the season and not only trailed 13-7 at the half, but were pushed around at the line of scrimmage in the process.

The Sentinels came to life, however, as a 59-yard scoring drive to open the second half, capped by a Garrett Clay touchdown, would tie the score. With 9:07 left in the game, Mountain Ridge went back ahead, 16-13, triggering the Fort Hill defense to take over and helping the Sentinels outgain the Miners the rest of the way, 126-4. At 5:26, quarterback Joe Howser scored on an 11-yard sneak for the eventual winning score.

“It’s a really big win for us,” said Appel. “It makes us believe we’re a playoff team, even though we thought we were one. There are teams playing lesser people and getting in the playoffs. Even if we lost tonight I’d think we were a playoff team. It validates us, so to speak, because we beat the No. 1 team in the region tonight.”

The validation continued in Fort Hill’s 47-21 Homecoming victory over Allegany, during which time another personnel change the Sentinel coaching staff had made would pay dividends for the rest of the season.

Dylan Clay was moved from split end to halfback and took occasional direct snaps from the wildcat formation for the first time of the season, and the Clay brothers combined for over 220 yards rushing and four touchdowns as the Sentinels eliminated their long-time arch-rival from playoff contention.

The Sentinels opened the playoffs with a 42-6 win over Smithsburg, before shutting down Mountain Ridge, 25-0, for their sixth shutout of the season and the West Region title.

The following week, Fort Hill was denied another state-title game berth, losing another last-second heartbreaker to Baltimore Dunbar, 20-14, in the state semifinals.

Dolly would be named Times-News Area Player of the Year, while Garrett Clay is the Peskin Offensive Player of the Year.

In three seasons under Appel, Fort Hill has put together a 31-7 record, two region titles and an undefeated regular season.

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 program begins at 5 p.m. For ticket information, call The Original Sports Shoppe at 301-722-5490.