PERRYVILLE — Fort Hill scored just once after halftime. That was ample with a second-half defensive performance that won’t soon be forgotten.
The Sentinels, trailing Perryville 21-17 at the half, converted a trio of third downs on their first series of the third period. The final, on third-and-11, resulted in a 12-yard pitch-and-catch to Carson Bender from Nash Cassell for what proved to be the decisive touchdown.
Perryville needed just one scoring drive to tie or win the game, and it didn’t get one. It didn’t manage a first down in seven second-half series and lost 18 yards in the process.
It was anything but easy, and the blood pressure of the frozen Fort Hill faithful rose to dangerous levels throughout the fourth quarter, but the eighth-seeded Sentinels found a way to fend off fourth-seeded Perryville, 24-21, on Saturday in the Class 1A state semifinals.
Fort Hill (6-7) moves on to play Western Maryland rival Northern (8-5) for the title at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday at noon.
“I gotta give it to Perryville. Perryville came out with a lot of energy and emotion today, punched us right in the mouth,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said. “But I’m really happy that our team was able to absorb it and respond and get the job done.
“Total defensive victory there in the second half.”
Fort Hill has advanced to the state championship game in nine of the past 11 seasons and has a 43-2 playoff record since 2013. The Sentinels are 18-0 in the postseason under Alkire.
With a win over Northern in Annapolis, Fort Hill would match the state record for consecutive championships (four) held by the 2013-16 Sentinels and Urbana (1998-01).
Dunbar, a 6-0 victor in overtime over Douglass in the 2A/1A semifinals on Saturday, will also have an opportunity to match the record.
This Fort Hill run to the championship, however, was unlike any that preceded it. The Sentinels are 11-2 on the field but had to forfeit five victories for using an ineligible player, sending the squad on the road throughout the playoffs.
After a come-from-behind 30-12 victory at top-seeded and previously unbeaten Cambridge-South Dorchester in the quarterfinals last week, the Sentinels faced another hole Saturday trailing 21-7 in the second quarter.
Fort Hill scored 17 unanswered points and was in prime position to put the nail in the coffin. It faced a first-and-goal from the two-yard line in the fourth quarter.
Perryville stood tall, and inches away on fourth down, penetration by the Panthers blew up the play before it started, resulting in a fumble before Cassell could hand the ball off to Daniels for a turnover on downs.
“They were very aggressive defensively,” Alkire said. “I didn’t think that we were great up front, and we gotta be better there. Really disappointed we weren’t able to get in on four downs there, but that’s kind of our mentality. We’re going to go for it. ‘One yard to win’ is essentially how we looked at it.”
After a Perryville punt, Fort Hill fumbled near midfield to give the Panthers the ball on the Sentinels’ 48 with under four minutes to play.
Kyler Miller sniffed out a screen for no gain on the first play of the series, and defensive lineman Mason Bennett recovered a fumble on third down.
Fort Hill’s offense was again stopped on downs, affording Perryville one last gasp on its own 40-yard line trailing 24-21 with 58 seconds to play.
A second-down sack by Bennett with an assist from Nick Willison set up a 4th-and-17, and Gamil Daniels made an open-field tackle on a pass to Josiah Rose for the clinching turnover on downs.
The Panthers finished 10-3, falling in the state semifinals for the second straight year and to a Western Maryland squad at states in three straight seasons.
“I think we played 48 minutes with a team that no one gave us a shot to compete against,” Perryville head coach Sean Sandora said. “Nobody in Cumberland, and nobody in the state. We took them to the brink. Just a great high school football game.”
Perryville quarterback Joe Thomason completed 4 of 8 passes for 120 yards before halftime, but Fort Hill adjusted to play safety Neek Taylor deep and put Jabril Daniels on Jayden Byard out wide in the second half.
Byard killed Fort Hill in the first half with two receptions for 120 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown and a 40-yarder that set up a score by Devin Clore after he fumbled it into the end zone.
Byard was held without a reception after halftime, and Thomason completed just 2 of 13 passes for eight yards. Taylor came down with an interception in the fourth.
“We had a lot of confidence that our defensive line would be able to stop the run with four (rushers),” Alkire said. “Once we were getting beat early, we had to do something to give our DBs more confidence. We did go with a Cover-1, Cover-2 look most of the second half. I think that paid dividends for us.
“Our defensive line, it all starts there. Those guys were getting pressure, and that helped (our secondary) out too.”
Fort Hill had the edge in total offense (275-115), time of possession (29:53-18:07) and first downs (11-5). Both teams had two turnovers.
The Sentinels were penalized just two times for 10 yards, all in the first half, and the Panthers had five penalties for 30 yards.
Fort Hill had 48 carries for 253 yards. Perryville ran it 18 times and lost seven yards.
Daniels finished with 188 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Fort Hill managed only 87 yards otherwise, as the Sentinels’ blockers struggled to handle the athleticism of Perryville along the defensive front, particularly on outside runs and passing plays.
Braeyln Younger had 42 yards on five carries, the most significant a 34-yard scamper on Fort Hill’s decisive series. Noah House also ran eight yards to convert a third-and-8 earlier on the drive.
It took a special run by the workhorse Daniels and special teams scores to give Fort Hill offense in the first half.
With Fort Hill trailing 21-7 in the second, a strong Perryville push on a fullback dive appeared to bottle up Daniels in the backfield, but the back evaded a tackler and cut outside.
Five Panthers followed in pursuit, and they didn’t catch him as Daniels cruised 77 yards to the house.
Runs of 22, 13 and 11 yards by Daniels on the Sentinels’ ensuing drive put Fort Hill in field goal range, and Bobby Brauer drilled a 26-yard kick for a 21-17 halftime deficit.
A 79-yard kick return for a touchdown by Tristan Ross gave Fort Hill its first offense after Perryville opened the game with a 14-0 lead.
Perryville utilized a pair of short fields to score its first two touchdowns.
Fort Hill was stopped on fourth-and-2 on its own 29 on its first drive, and five plays later, Thomason linked up with Rose for a 12-yard touchdown.
Byard then intercepted a deep ball on Fort Hill’s second drive and returned it 40 yards to pave the way for a three-play, 43-yard drive.
Fort Hill’s defense responded with nine consecutive stops after Fort Hill fell behind 21-7, and the Sentinels survived and advanced in Cecil County to return to Annapolis.
For the fourth consecutive season, two Western Maryland squads will meet for the 1A title. The Sentinels and Mountain Ridge met in the prior three.
Northern is making its first championship appearance in school history. Fort Hill has 10 titles to its name.
“It’s another one of those Western Maryland matchups, but it doesn’t matter if it’s Western Maryland or from the Eastern Shore or Baltimore City, you have to attack it the same way,” Alkire said.
“Kudos to coach (Phil) Carr and getting his team this far. I look forward to the matchup.”