The
fierce wind that blew from east to west across the football
field may have helped Fort Hill in that Linganore was
unable to put its explosive air attack into action.
Yet even though the Sentinels were able to mount two
touchdown drives on the ground with their powerful running
game, despite the wind, the biting gale force turned
out to play more of a negative role under the existing
circumstances for the Sentinels than it did the Lancers.
For
Fort Hill, this was a semifinal game that got away.
This was a semifinal game that was blown away.
When
Fort Hill kicker Steve Boggs lined up for his second
extra point attempt with 8:33 left in the game, he was
looking to put the Sentinels ahead of the Lancers 14-7.
Quarterback Craig Schisler made a good hold and Boggs
got a good foot into the ball. It was high enough and
was headed right down the middle of the uprights. But
just as the ball approached the goal post, the wind
caught it and pushed it wide left. That held the score
at Fort Hill 13 Linganore 7.
The
Lancers had just been the victim of a punishing Fort
Hill 57-yard scoring drive that saw fullback Eric Beal
carry on 14 of the 18 plays including the one-yard touchdown
run to break the 7-7 tie. The drive was set up by a
beautiful 33-yard punt return by Chris Grapes and Fort
Hill had indeed regained control of the game.
However
unlikely the notion that Linganore was about to go belly-up
after the drive, the Lancers still seemed to have their
collective ego bruised because of the 9-minute, 30-second
Sentinel scoring drive.
"It
was very frustrating," commented Linganore coach
Dave Carruthers about having his explosive offense stand
on the sidelines for nearly 10 minutes of play. "You're
standing there thinking, if a team can batter us around
for 70 or 80 yards like this, they must be a better
team."
"Fort
Hill is a hell of a team because they went all that
way without making a mistake. But when they missed that
extra point, we said, we have life. We now have a chance
to win this game. It's right there for us."
That
the Lancers marched right down the field - 72 yards,
on eight plays, in 4:22 - was not shocking. The fact
that they got most of the yardage on the ground against
Fort Hill was. Quarterback Jeff Grob hit flanker Chris
Lukasiak on first down from his 28 for a 16-yard gain
to put the ball at the 44. After a Travis Mathews gain
of four, fullback Tommy Stann applied the backbreaker
to the Sentinels with a 27-yard pickup along the left
sideline.
Two
plays later tailback Jeff DiBella picked up 14 more
to take the ball to the 11. Three plays later, at the
4:02 mark, Mathews scored his second touchdown of the
day, this one from two yards out. Keith Wells kick was
perfect for the Lancers and they held the 14-13 edge.
"I
did not think they could run on us like that,"
said Fort Hill coach Mike Calhoun. "We blew a couple
of assignments and missed some tackles. I think that
was pretty evident."
The
winning touchdown drive was really the only time the
Lancers were able to run on Fort Hill all day long.
Prior to that drive, Fort Hill had held the Lancers
in check, limiting them to one pass completion for six
yards and 36 yards rushing on 19 carries.
In
a scoreless tie, Fort Hill opened the second quarter
at the Linganore 34-yard line, first-and-ten. The field
position was set when another outstanding Joe Lindner
punt (44 yards) pinned the Lancers to the six yard line.
After a fruitless offensive series, Linganore punted
into the wind and Fort Hill started off at the 34.
Basically
Fort Hill ran tackle-to-tackle with C.G. Wilson and
Beal doing the bulk of the work. A 12-yard end around
by Jim Furstenberg put the ball on the six for Fort
Hill, first-and-goal. Two plays later, from four yards
out, Beal slashed off the left side for the first touchdown
of the day. Boggs's kick at the 7:05 mark of the half
made it 7-0.
Fort
Hill had the momentum at this point, but Linganore had
the wind. After the Lancers pushed the ball out from
their 37 to the Fort Hill 47, Lancer punter Danny Lang
pinned Fort Hill down to its eight. Schisler picked
up four on first down and Beal hit the right side for
three more on second. But on third down, on a cross-buck
play, Fort Hill lost the ball to Linganore when the
ball slipped off Wilson's hip on the exchange. Andy
Kondisko recovered his second fumble of the day and
Linganore had the ball on the 14.
It
only took three plays for Mathews to bust over from
the three for the touchdown and at 1:51 of the half.
Wells' kick tied the score at seven.
The
game was Fort Hill's to that point, but the Sentinels
let it slip away. The game remained tied at seven until
the consecutive scoring drives occured late in the fourth
quarter.
After
the Lancers went up 14-13, the Sentinels took over at
their 43 with 3:48 to go. But they were snuffed out
by two great defensive plays by Linganore's Steve Fitzgerald,
which pushed the ball back to the 21. A Steve Cline
interception then gave the Lancers the ball at their
42 with 1:26 left in the game. Grob was then able to
run out the clock for the win.
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