Sep. 22, 2012
from Staff Reports

HAGERSTOWN — Tre Anderson welcomed the Sentinels to Hagerstown by taking the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, then sparked North Hagerstown to a 27-point third quarter with another return as the Hubs ran away from Fort Hill for a 54-16 win Friday evening at Conservit Field at Mike Callas Stadium.

Just as in their first loss of the season to Keyser, Fort Hill (2-2) played tough in the first half, but allowed big plays on special teams and gave the Hubs a short field at the most inopportune times. North Hagerstown (3-1) got two touchdowns on special teams, and both of Fort Hill’s turnovers set the Hubs up in the red zone. It was help Hagerstown didn’t need as it already had a size and speed advantage over the Sentinels.

Isaiah Keyes ran for 134 yards and Kyle Hewlett 74 as the Hubs ran for 231. Anderson finished with three touchdowns, playing a big part in the passing game as well.

On the Hubs second drive, Fort Hill put them in a fourth-and-1 situation, but a quarterback sneak by Nick Karlen got a first down. Karlen was also involved in the next big play for Hagerstown, finding Anderson for 22 yards to take the ball to the Fort Hill 28. Kyle Hewlett took it to the 10 on the next play and finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown two plays later.

The Sentinels responded sluggishly on their next drive and eventually threw an interception. The Hubs were called for roughing the passer on the play, though, giving the Sentinels a boost of energy.

Fort Hill went to Zac Elbin for some tough running, and found themselves in a fourth-and-one at the Hagerstown 22 when Cody Arigo ran six yards for a first down. The Sentinels finished the 70-yard drive on the next play when Hunter Squires aired it out to Travis Bush in the corner of the end zone with 41 seconds left in the first quarter for a 16-yard touchdown.

Bush had another big catch on the next drive, using the reception and a face mask on the tackle to put the ball down to the 10-yard line after the Sentinels began the drive at the North Hagerstown 48. Fort Hill ran the ball down to the five-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal from Chris King to cut the lead to 13-10.

The Hubs broke off their best drive of the half on the next possession, capitalizing on a 41-yard pass from Karlen to Reggie Moody right after Hewlett converted a third down. Hagerstown went back to Hewlett after the pass and he eventually punched in a one-yard touchdown to make it 20-10 with 1:22 left in the half.

Trying to run out the clock and go into halftime down 10 points, Fort Hill suffered a disasterous fumble that the Hubs recovered at the Sentinels’ 13. A pass to Anderson moved the ball to the three and a Keyes’ run finished the drive on the next play, making it 27-10 going into halftime.

Elbin sparked a fire for the Sentinels early on their first drive in the second half, breaking off a big run all the way down to the Hagerstown 19.

Elbin finished with 140 yards rushing as the Sentinels ran for a total of 225, just six less than the Hubs.

Squires moved the ball to the seven on a keeper, and after a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, saw the ball placed at the four. Elbin finished the drive from there to slice the lead to 27-16 after the extra point was missed.

The rest of the third quarter would be all Hubs.

After scoring the first time he touched the ball in the first half, Anderson replicated the feat the first time he touched it in the second by taking the ensuing kickoff to the house for an 85-yard touchdown. After a short possession by Fort Hill, the Hubs got the ball back and went 74 yards on 10 plays. Hagerstown relied on the legs of Hewlett and Keyes for most of the series, with Preston Carey capping the drive on a 15-yard run with 4:37 left in the third to make it 41-16.

The Hubs got the ball back with a very short field after Gabriel Fridgen intercepted a fake punt attempt and returned it to the Fort Hill 8. Anderson made his third trip to the end zone on the following play on a quick pass to the outside, which increased Hagerstown’s lead to 48-16.

Following another Fort Hill three-and-out, Keyes raced 57 yards as the quarter ended for the fourth touchdown of the period, making it 54-16.

With the clock running because of the 35-point rule, no points were scored in the fourth quarter.

It was the first meeting between the two school since the 2003 playoffs when the Hubs grabbed a 33-12 win in the Maryland Class 2A Regional semifinals. It marks only the sixth time that a North Hagerstown team has beaten Fort Hill as the Sentinels lead the all-time series 35-6-1.

The Sentinels return home to play Carrick from Pittsburgh on Friday. North Hagerstown hosts Brunswick the same evening.