Preseason high school football: Brown, trench play fuels Fort Hill to 28-24 win over Tuscarora

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CUMBERLAND — Coming off their third consecutive Class 1A state championship, Fort Hill returns 13 of 22 total starters from the dominant campaign in 2015, setting themselves up to be the favorites yet again this fall.

One of those returning starters is Coastal Carolina commit Brayden Brown, a two-way standout who has a knack for producing big plays. On Thursday night, Brown did what he does best, amassing 117 all-purpose yards and finding the endzone twice to fuel Fort Hill to a 28-24 victory over Tuscarora in scrimmage action.

“He gets bad coaching off the hook,” said ninth year head coach Todd Appel before cracking a smile. “He’s a special kid, and I mean that as a whole. He’s a good person, a good leader. Very quiet and humble and he’s a good example for the rest of the kids.

Five plays into Fort Hill’s first drive, Brown followed a line of lead blocks to rip off a 47-yard touchdown run. Then, just over a minute later, he jumped the passing lane to intercept Tuscarora quarterback Christian Edwards and race 57 yards to the end zone to give Fort Hill a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

From the onset, the Sentinels controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball — paving the way for their forceful ground game and clogging gaps on the defensive end. Appel said the offensive line has been a question mark for much of the offseason.

“We’re actually anxious to watch this film,” Appel said. “(The offensive line) looked good in real time, but a lot of times we watch film to find out exactly what they did. I felt like we did what we were supposed to tonight.”

With 3:11 left in the second quarter, Nathaniel Graves found Noah Stackman on a slant in the middle of the field that he took 57 yards to extend the Sentinel’s lead after 24 minutes, 21-0.

Fort Hill played virtually mistake free football for the entire first half, only needing nine plays to score on both of their two offensive drives while holding Tuscarora in check defensively with pressure applied by their front seven. The Sentinels rested their starters in the second half.

Tuscarora, meanwhile, appeared sluggish and discombobulated from the get-go. With an awkward and crammed two hour bus ride beforehand, Titans head coach Vince Ahearn could feel this sort of performance coming.

“No excuses, but I was kind of thinking this might happen when we get here,” Ahearn said. “That wears you out, on a hot bus for two hours. But in these types of things, as a coach, you see opportunities in teachable moments.”

Ahearn said he and his team gained invaluable game-like experience having to make adjustments on the fly, altering their game plan to the different sets that Fort Hill was displaying.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter the Titans got on the board when backup running back Marcus Wadey danced around a few Fort Hill defenders for a 24-yard score. Wadey finished the night with 137 total yards on 17 touches and later scored again on a 45-yard run.

Tuscarora quarterback Christian Edwards (four quarters) completed 17 of his 20 passes to eight different receivers. Edwards finished with 235 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Towson commit Rodney Dorsey played the first two series, gaining eight yards on three touches and had a dazzling 60-yard score called back due to an illegal block. The Titans boast with skillful depth, but if they want to elevate to the next level, miscues and mental lapses need be ousted.

“We need to work on consistency and execution on offense,” Ahearn said. “Defensively, obviously Fort Hill is a great team on both sides of the ball, but we couldn’t adjust fast enough. That was a great teachable moment for us.”

Fort Hill starting running back Raen Smith ran for 17 yards on two carries and Graves completed two of his three passes for 66 yards and one touchdown.

Nate Monroe led Tuscarora in receiving with six receptions for 70 yards.

Fort Hill travels to Brunswick and Tuscarora hosts Linganore in their opening contests next Friday.

Scoring summary