Fort Hill's Carter Hess wins Defensive Player of the Year

Mar. 4, 2023
by Alex Rychwalski

CUMBERLAND — It was impossible to stop Carter Hess this season, so teams eventually only hoped to contain him.

They weren’t very successful.

The Fort Hill defensive lineman ran roughshod through opposing offenses, racking up an area-best 152 tackles — 22 of which came behind the line of scrimmage.

With Hess dictating play from the point of attack, Fort Hill rode a historically great defense to a 13-1 record and a consecutive Class 1A state title — ninth overall.

For that, Hess was the runaway pick for Defensive Player of the Year by the area’s head coaches.

“It’s great that he was able to do that,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said. “We think he’s one of the premier players in the area. He showed that this year. He was a big reason for our success. ... He’s put in a lot of work.”

The 6-foot-2, 295-pound Hess received seven votes for the award, and Mountain Ridge linebacker Hunter Clise and Frankfort linebacker Parker VanMeter received the other two.

Hess, who is also a starting tackle along the Sentinels’ offensive line, won the 2021 Lineman of the Year as a sophomore.

“Whether he’s bull rushing somebody or trying to swim past him, his sheer physicality at that part of the field, you can’t run away from him,” Alkire said.

Teams tried to hide from the Sentinels’ strongman and were having some success early in the season. To counter that, Fort Hill moved Hess over the ball, ensuring that the junior would be involved in every play.

It isn’t a flashy role, but it was a vital one on a championship team.

“Every play starts there with the center,” Alkire said. “With him causing penetration there, right in the middle of the field, it was big for us.”

The junior’s strength has become the stuff of legend. In February, Hess posted a video on social media of him bench pressing 225 pounds 27 times, a mark that would’ve been the second most at the 2022 NFL Combine.

Only Otito Ogbonnia, who was drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angelos Chargers, had more reps with 29.

“He’s a kid who is always working,” Alkire said. “We’ll have track meets, and we’ll come home and I’m putting stuff away, and there’s Carter, he wanted to get a half-hour in the weight room.

“He said, ‘I didn’t get to lift today because we had to leave early for the track meet. Thought I’d come down here and get my lift in.’ That’s the kind of kid that he is.”

But Hess’ skill set contains far more than strength and speed, Alkire said.

He carries a 4.2 GPA and has a good understanding of defenses, a necessary attribute when teams are devising game plans to stop him on a weekly basis.

“They’d double team him,” Alkire said. “There’s some times that he’d be triple-teamed. It didn’t really matter. He’s really good at feeling the offense coming at him, so he’ll get under those guys’ pads. He’ll know some guys coming and he’ll be able to take a step off and redirect to split the double team.”

How good was the Fort Hill defense in 2022? The Sentinels allowed just 7.8 points and a minuscule 135.9 yards a game (85.9 rushing, 50 passing).

Following a humbling 30-8 loss to Mountain Ridge on Oct. 7, Fort Hill’s defense allowed just 14 points over the next seven games, including four shutouts. A fifth shutout was prevented by a kickoff return for a score against Perryville.

In the state title game, Fort Hill held Mountain Ridge’s offense — one of the best in area history scoring 44.4 points per game — well below their season average in a 16-14 win.

Hess tallied nine tackles and his fifth sack of the year in Annapolis.

The defensive lineman still has one more season in South Cumberland, and he’ll have a chance to capture his third state championship.

On an individual level, Hess is still searching for his first college offer but has received significant interest from Division I Football Champion Subdivision schools.

Hess may be flying under the radar, but only to those who haven’t seen him play.

“Loyalty is big to him, and I think that the school that gets in there first is going to go a long way with him,” Alkire said. “Hope that happens sometime this summer.”