Younger rushes for 296 yards, leads Fort Hill to 42-0 rout of Northern

Nov. 15, 2025
by Jordan Kendall

CUMBERLAND — Braelyn Younger set a new career rushing high, accumulating 296 yards and three touchdowns in Fort Hill’s 42-0 shutout of Northern on Friday at Greenway Avenue Stadium.

Younger averaged 24.6 yards per run, only needing 12 carries for the Sentinels (7-3).

“Happy that we were able to have the performance that we did and get through to the next round of the playoffs,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said.

On the game’s opening play from scrimmage, Noah House threw a go-ball to Jameson Powell-Morris, who took off for a 76-yard touchdown for the Sentinels.

The Huskies (5-6) answered with a 50-yard pass from Landon Yoder to Evan Graham, but the drive ended on a missed 32-yard field goal.

“They’re a good football team,” Northern head coach Logan Stewart said. “We certainly didn’t quit, which is something for the kids to be proud of. They’re just a machine, they don’t make many mistakes. When they do, you gotta take advantage of it.”

Five plays later, Younger took a toss 49 yards down the right sideline to the house.

Noah House scored the two-point conversion to extend Fort Hill’s lead to 15-0.

The Sentinels next drive was stalled on a fumbled snap and back-to-back penalties, leading to a missed field goal.

Early in the second quarter, Fort Hill went 68 yards in three plays, ending on a 30-yard touchdown run by Younger.

After a quick three and out from Northern, Younger broke off a 58-yard run to the Husky 21.

“He’s phenomenal, great running back, great player overall,” Alkire said of Younger. “Both offensively and defensively. He’s got power to run through people, he’s got speed to run around them. And when he gets in the open field, good luck.”

Four plays later, Carson Bender scored from two yards out.

Bender rushed five times for 105 yards and a score.

The Huskies took over with 8:02 left in the half at the 16 and ran 13 plays down to the Sentinel 15.

After nearly seven minutes, a strip sack from Harley Twigg stalled the drive.

“Playing them at home is always tough,” Stewart said. “Coming out strong was definitely the goal coming in. But when you make mistakes and get behind the sticks, it’s hard to overcome.”

Yoder completed seven passes on the drive, all to Caleb Hinebaugh for 55 yards.

Hinebaugh recorded 115 yards from scrimmage with 70 receiving yards on eight catches and six carries for 45 yards.

Fort Hill’s ensuing drive opened on a 46-yard completion from House to Bender to the Northern 30.

Three straight incompletions set up a 47-yard field goal to end the half that Timmy Brands blocked for the Huskies.

At halftime, the Sentinels had combined for 422 yards with 279 on the ground and 143 through the air.

Yoder threw for 109 yards in the half, but Northern was held to only 11 rushing yards.

“We play a very aggressive scheme, we put our defensive backs on an island and ask them to cover,” Alkire said of shutting down Northern’s run game. “That gives us the opportunity to shut down the middle.”

On Fort Hill’s first play of the second half, Younger broke off a 76-yard touchdown to implement the running clock.

Neek Taylor added a 22-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter for the Sentinels.

Fort Hill finished with 588 yards of offense with 427 rushing and 161 passing.

Yoder finished 13 of 30 for 167 yards with an interception.

Northern combined for 223 yards of offense with only 56 on the ground.

“We definitely expected it,” Stewart said of leaning on the pass. “We knew we were showing signs of that leading into the game. When they’re that good at linebacker and have speed off the edges, you’re just forced to run quick game and get it out.”

Northern’s season comes to an end at 5-6.

The Huskies held Frankfort (11-0) to its lowest scoring output this year at 28 points and lost one-score games to Mountain Ridge (17-14) and Allegany (18-13).

“There are some positives, its obvious the growth the seniors made,” Stewart said. “I just talked to them about that, who cares, once you’re finished playing football it doesn’t really matter what your high school stats are or anything like that. It’s all about the character development. These kids took that with them.”

The Sentinels advance to the state quarterfinals next week and are the No. 3 seed. They'll host No. 6 Green Street Academy (8-3).

Last season, Fort Hill played three playoff games on the road after having to forfeit games for an ineligible player.

That won’t be the case this season, as the Sentinels get at least one more game at Greenway.

“We love Greenway Avenue Stadium, love playing here,” Alkire said. “So we’re happy to stay at home.”