MIKE MATHEWS
Oct 21, 2018

CUMBERLAND — Forest Park arrived late and Fort Hill put the game away early Saturday at Greenway Avenue Stadium.

The undefeated Sentinels scored 30 points in the first quarter and 51 in the first 17 minutes and cruised to a 51-14 romp over the Foresters on a sunny, brisk afternoon.

"We just wanted to make a statement from the start today," said Braeden Askins, whose 50-yard sweep on the third play of the game began a string of 51 straight points for the Sentinels.

"We try to get better each game. It was just the play that happened to be called," he said of his first touchdown. "We blocked real good and that was it. We just made it happen."

A lot of Fort Hill players made a lot of things happen. Forty-four of the 45 players who dressed played (the only one that didn't was unable to because he had played in a junior varsity game earlier in the week), 13 carried the football and five scored touchdowns.

Nick Lamb, who had an 82-yard run late in the game, led the Sentinels (7-0) with five carries and 84 yards. Askins ran three times for 77 yards. Blake Beal completed a pair of passes for 67 yards, including a 56-yarder to Tyreke Powell for a touchdown.

Jawaan Hill ran 16 times for 102 yards, with 70 coming in the second half, and scored both touchdowns for Forest Park (1-7).

The Foresters, whose bus pulled onto Greenway Avenue at 12:25, walked onto the field 15 minutes before kickoff. Eight minutes into the game, Fort Hill had four touchdowns, a safety, and a 30-0 lead.

"Our first two downs, offensively, we only gained about three yards, but (coach) Gavin (Palumbo) did a good job recognizing that we had the edge and that got us off to a good start with Braeden's big run," said Fort Hill head coach Todd Appel.

"Our defense played well and the special teams played well, and you want to do those things with your first group going into a big game next week."

Fort Hill had eight first-half possessions and scored on seven of them. After Askins' run, Anthony Smith returned a punt 41 yards to the six, where Powell took it in to make it 14-0 at the 7:30 mark.

A Carter Swan interception and return to the Forest Park 11 two plays later set up the next touchdown, a five-yard run by Smith.

A high punt snap on Forest Park's next possession led to a loose ball in the end zone. Joseph Rivera scooped it up but was tackled by Jayden Haines for a safety that made it 23-0 at the 3:43 mark.

On the first play after the free kick, Beal hit Powell in stride with a perfect pass and 56-yard touchdown to end the 30-point period.

Askins scored on a 25-yard run nine seconds into the second quarter to make it 37-0, and the Sentinels' reserves got plenty of playing time the rest of the way.

"It's always nice to reward kids who practice every day, doing everything that the starters do, giving them good looks defensively and offensively on the scout team," said Appel. "They deserve to play on that field just as much as the other kids do. It's nice to see them play and it's nice to see the first group rooting them on as they play."

Walker Appel, on a 13-yard run, and Colby Santmyire, on an eight-yard run, scored the final Fort Hill touchdowns midway through the period that made it 51-0.

Hill scored on a two-yard run late in the period to make it 51-7 at halftime. His 21-yard run in the fourth quarter accounted for the only points of the second half. Lamb's 82-yard run came in the final minutes. He burst through the line at the Fort Hill 15 and got all the way to the Forest Park three before being caught from behind.

Fort Hill puts its seven-game winning streak on the line against Mountain Ridge, which has won six in a row, Friday evening at Greenway.