Fort Hill runs wild in 50-13 win over Perry Traditional

Sep 17, 2011
by Mike Mathews

CUMBERLAND — There was nothing unorthodox about Fort Hill’s plan of attack against Perry Traditional.

The Sentinels ran right. They ran left. They ran up the middle. They did as they pleased behind outstanding line play from start to finish in a 50-13 drubbing of the defending and 16-time Pittsburgh City champion Commodores Saturday night at Greenway Avenue Stadium.

Garrett Clay ran 14 times for 222 yards and scored three touchdowns and Ryan Briner ran 17 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns for the Sentinels (3-0), who piled up 499 yards on the ground and had 546 yards for the night.

If forced to hand out grades, there’s little doubt what head coach Todd Appel would have given his team after this one.

“For effort, an ‘A’,” he said. “I don’t know anything as far as execution until I watch the film, but I definitely think the effort deserves an ‘A’.

“We had to chase a lot of great athletes and the kids never quit, no matter how tired they were. When you are on the sidelines, there are some kids you don’t think can go an extra step, but they do for some reason. And they just keep playing. I’m extremely proud of the way they played with effort.”

Perry Traditional (1-2) trailed 29-0 midway through the second half but quickly got back in it behind Darelle Carson, a speedy, strong-armed quarterback who completed 10 of 12 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter. He finished 16 for 25 for 270 yards. Donte Marcus caught six passes for 118 yards and Antwon Collier caught four for 93 yards.

Perry’s 83- and 99-yard touchdown drives made it 29-13 at halftime, but the Sentinels went right back to work in the third quarter, and dominated the second half behind center Austin Lee, guards Nick Greise and Bryce Lowery and tackles Ethan McDermott and D.J. Jolley.

“We told them we wanted it to be kind of old school, 1950s football,’’ Appel said. “We wanted to get on the shoulder pad and get on the hip and take people off the ball. We’ll see if that happened when we watch the film, but from the sideline, it looked to be true.”

Clay ran 11 times for 161 yards in the first half, including a 54-yard gain in the second quarter.

“A lot of the guys on the line are 2-year starters and are good at what they do and that’s why we have success,’’ Clay said. “They executed like always and are always on point. Our guards are fast. When you watch film, 54 (Greise) and 70 (Bryce Lowery) will run halfway down the field with my brother and I, and Jaron Watkins and Lance Fullwood and all the halfbacks. They’re fast and athletic. They get out there and make us look good.”

The Sentinels dominated the second half, with Briner scoring on 2- and 16-yard runs and Clay on a 52-yard dash in the third quarter. The clock ran continuously during the fourth quarter because of the 35-point mercy rule.

“My hat goes off to Ryan Briner for coming in the second half and doing a great job for us, picking up Garrett Clay when he was a little tired,’’ Appel said. “Garrett was everywhere — in the secondary, running fullback and halfback —and Ryan stepped in and gave Garrett a needed break and we didn’t lose much there.

“My hat goes off to Ryan and the offensive line. I think we’re getting better. We just need to keep on practicing.”

The Sentinels scored on their first four possessions, which ended with an 8-yard run by Briner, a 1-yard dive by Clay, a 6-yard sneak by Mike Austin and a 15-yard run by Clay.

Fort Hill turned up the defensive pressure on Carson in the second half, and held the Commodores to only 13 yards of offense, all in the third quarter. Carson, 15 for 18 in the first half, was just 1 for 7 in the second.

Garrett Clay had an interception in the first half and Dylan Clay an interception in the second for Fort Hill.

The Sentinels play at Taylor Allderdice in Pittsburgh on Saturday.