Football: No. 12 Fort Hill flexes muscle to power past No. 25 Allegany, 48-13

Kyle McFadden (@k_fadd) | Twitter

The latest Tweets from Kyle McFadden (@k_fadd). Freelancer covering college sports, preps & #nascar. ?: @WashPostHS @BaltSunSports @frednewspost. @FrederickCC student. 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. Views=mine. New Market, MD

CUMBERLAND — With cameras clicking away, Fort Hill football players posed for photo ops as they gathered at midfield. Celebrating their ninth straight victory over Allegany High, “The Kettle” was passed throughout the cluster of Sentinel football players with each person marveling at the historic trophy.

Though Fort Hill won their 59th game in the last 60 contests after the 48-13 win over the Campers on Saturday afternoon, MSA Player of the Game and Great American Rival Series Player of the Game Brayden Brown sees a bigger picture.

“It’s great about all the wins and everything, but what’s more important are the coaches who get us ready for life after football,” Brown said. “That’s what it’s all about. Things in football transfer to life. … Responsibilities in football transcend to life.”

Brown, a Coastal Carolina University commit, has graced the Sentinel athletic fields over the previous three years while providing an exclamation point in his senior season. He’s won the Class 1A state championship every year since walking through the doors of Fort Hill. Majority of athletes who are in Brown’s position would proudly boast about such accolades, but the Fort Hill senior says his faith and coaching staff are the ones to praise for putting him in that position.

Brown’s upbringing through the Fort Hill program is a direct reflection of how Saturday’s game played out. With their backs against the wall, facing a 4th-and-20 — down 3-0 — at the Allegany 23-yard line, Sentinels quarterback Nathaniel Graves lobbed a 50-50 ball into the back of the end zone. Brown went up and over the Allegany defender to make the emphatic grab.

Kyle McFadden on Twitter

WHAT A GRAB by @brown_brayden on 4th-&-20, up & over the Allegany defender!! @FH_Football leads, 7-3. #SCTOP10 @ScottABC7 @MikeMathewsCTN https://t.co/8hwWAwsFSf

“Coaches always said, throw it to your superstar,” Graves said. “One-on-one, honestly, I don’t think anybody in the area, or in 1A, can compete with Brayden Brown. I think with his speed and jumping ability, I’m confident in him every time I throw the ball to him.”

Nursing a 13-10 lead under three minutes remaining in the second half, Brown took the handoff and skirted around the Camper front-seven to extend Fort Hill’s lead to 20-10. Though Allegany outgained Fort Hill in terms of yardage — 234-162 — the Sentinels took a 20-13 lead into halftime.

For the final 24 minutes, Fort Hill commanded the line of scrimmage while piling on 28 unanswered points on runs from Raen Smith (five yards), Troy Banks (1-yard, five yards) and Graves (two yards). They also held Allegany to 32 total yards of offense and one first down in the third and fourth quarters. For perspective, the Campers’ only first down in the second half came with 7:25 to go on a defensive holding penalty.

“Our defense withstood the whole game,” Appel said. “We just kept playing hard and believed in ourselves, and everything turned out OK.”

Appel’s ability to use the game of football as a vehicle to send his players into lucrative positions after high school is what’s driven the Sentinels’ dominant four-year run.

“It ain’t easy playing for us; we work them pretty hard, but life ain’t easy,” Appel said. “You have your set backs. We try to connect it as much as possible. … If we didn’t do that as a coaching staff, we’d be letting those kids down.”

Over the past four years, Fort Hill has a 59-1 record with three state championships. Saturday afternoon marked the end of the regular season, in which the Sentinels ended 10-0, and they go into next Friday’s playoff game as the favorites once again.

“It’s truly amazing,” Graves said, who finished with 99 total yards (66 rushing, 33 passing), two total touchdowns while snagging two interceptions. “Honestly, when I was a freshman, I really looked up to the seniors. They really engraved how well we needed to do things, and I think we’ve done very well with that.”

Smith finished with a game-high 104 yards rushing on 17 carries. Banks gained 87 yards on 14 carries. Allegany was paced by Karson Robinette, who totaled 78 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.

“This is the last time I’m going to do this,” Brown said. “This community is great. Honestly, if I could pick somewhere else in the state of Maryland to grow up, and another school in the state, I’d still pick Fort Hill. It’s great.”