Sep. 1, 2012
by Mike Mathews

CUMBERLAND — Fort Hill did little wrong, Silver Oak did little right and the scoreboard reflected it all night as the Sentinels routed the Rams 63-18 in a season-opening mismatch that was mercifully stopped at halftime Saturday night at Greenway Avenue Stadium.

Fort Hill scored 15 seconds into the first quarter, five seconds into the second and led by 50 with 8:46 still remaining in the first half.

The Sentinels’ win was all but clinched in the first few minutes. In a first quarter that took 59 minutes to play, they led 28-6, recovered two fumbles and intercepted one pass.

Meanwhile, Silver Oak had no first downs and was whistled for 11 penalties for nearly 100 yards.

Zac Elbin and Ty Mance scored two touchdowns and Alex Barnes had the longest score of the night with a 33-yard run late in the second quarter for Fort Hill. Mance ran four times for a game-high 67 yards, and Chris King was 9-for-9 on extra points.

“We won, and got some things out of our kids that we didn’t know we would. It’s hard to monitor how good you are in a game like this, but I like the way the kids performed,” Fort Hill coach Todd Appel said. “We have a lot of young players eager to play, and I was happy with what I saw tonight.”

Silver Oak, which received the opening kickoff, fumbled on its first play and Fort Hill, after Joe Mundella’s recovery, scored on its first play on a 13-yard run by Elbin.

The Sentinels were aided by a personal foul penalty on their next drive, a 22-yard, four-play series that ended on an eight-yard run by Devin Shreve.

The Sentinels needed only 12 seconds to score again after a short punt. Mance ran 20 yards to get to the eight and Brandon Stotler did the rest, going untouched up the gut to make it 21-0 with 6:26 on the clock.

After an exchange of possessions, Shreve recovered a Silver Oak fumble at the 41 and the Sentinels reached the end zone in only four plays. Elbin, who had a 21-yard run in the drive, scored on a three-yard plunge that made it 28-0.

Silver Oak’s Nathaniel Tarleton capped the high-scoring, clock-trudging quarter by returning the ensuing kickoff 85 yards, making it 28-6.

Fort Hill scored four touchdowns on its first five plays from scrimmage in the second quarter.

Hunter Squires hit Travis Bush with an 18-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter, and Mance had 28- and eight-yard TD runs moments later to make it 49-6 with 9:49 left in the quarter. Barnes broke free on a 33-yard run that made it 56-6 with 8:46 left.

Cody Arigo scored the final Fort Hill touchdown on a 10-yard run, with 4:24 left in the half.

Mundella, Shreve and Elbin recovered fumbles for Fort Hill, which had 18 first downs and 222 yards of offense. Jalen Blackston ran for 62 yards, with all but three coming in the second quarter for Silver Oak, which had 111 yards of offense and 112 yards on 16 penalties.

The game, which began at 8 p.m., ended at 10:20.