Chris Appel
CUMBERLAND — For the fifth straight season, and sixth time overall, Fort Hill and Allegany will play each other in the Maryland State football playoffs when thousands of fans pack Greenway Avenue Stadium tonight at 7 p.m.
Frankfort continues its march into the West Virginia Class AA Playoffs when the Falcons entertain PikeView at Frankfort Stadium, also tonight, at 7:30.
Two weeks after the Sentinels handed the Campers a 17-7 loss in the annual Homecoming game to gain bragging rights, the right to continue the season is on the line as the winner will win the Maryland 1A West Region title and advance to the State Tournament.
Top-seed Fort Hill (11-0) shook off a slow start to pelt Smithsburg 45-0 last weekend. After getting just a 29-yard field goal from Josh Borland in the first quarter, the Sentinels would score 29 points during the second.
Sam Walker caught a 13-yard touchdown from Devin Lee on the first play of the quarter, and Lee would catch a 57-yard pass from Hunter Ware less than two minutes later.
Dakota Welsh plowed in from a yard out for the third touchdown of the quarter, and Lee finished the scoring with a rushing touchdown of 12 yards.
Welsh added a 6-yard run in the third quarter and Shawn Metheny piled up the final touchdown from 31 yards out late in the fourth. Welsh has rushed for 1,157 yards in 11 games and has 14 touchdowns.
Lee has completed 39-of-81 passes for 701 yards and nine touchdowns. Walker has been his favorite target, catching 12 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns.
Second-seed Allegany (7-3) also had a slow start, but scored 37 points over a 14-minute span in the first half during a 46-6 win over Boonsboro Saturday.
Dustin Wharton ran for 143 yards and scored two touchdowns. Throw in a long reception and punt return, and the versatile Wharton finished with 230 all-purpose yards to add to his area-leading 1,640.
J.D. Hook added two touchdowns, a two-yard run and a 34-yard run, and 51 rushing yards, and John Carpenter kicked field goals of 25 and 36 yards. Aaron Leasure scored on a 5-yard run, and Melvin Tyson got the final touchdown on a 33-yard run.
The Campers outgained the Warriors 420-142 in total offense.
Allegany and Fort Hill have played in the playoffs every year since the Sentinels dropped to 1A in 2005. The teams also met in the 2A semifinals in 1994, with the winner of Homecoming winning every playoff rematch.
Frankfort (10-1) faces a surprise opponent tonight in PikeView (8-3). The Panthers upset No. 5 Westside, 36-21, last Friday night.
The Falcons, seeded fourth, put it to Herbert Hoover on Saturday by racking up 496 yards in a 42-16 win. James Jones, the area’s leading passer, completed seven of his nine passes for 138 yards and connected for touchdowns of eight and 29 yards. Logan Wolford caught the 29-yard TD, and had 75 yards on three catches, while Joey Luciw claimed the 8-yard score and added two touchdown runs of 25 and 34 yards.
Jones added 75 rushing yards, including a 46-yard touchdown, and finished with 213 yards of offense. Jeremy Miltenberger scored on a 5-yard touchdown.
In 11 games, Jones has completed 74-of-117 passes for 1,461 yards and 13 touchdowns. Wolford leads the area with 32 receptions that total 587 yards.
PikeView’s quarterback Ben Nester has rushed for 798 yards and scored 14 times, while helping the Panthers to 580 passing yards. Nester relies on receiver Tanner Ratcliff, who has 20 catches for 273 yards.
Chris Appel is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. Write to him at Contact Chris Appel at cappel@times-news.com.
