CUMBERLAND — Though only their fourth games of the season, Allegany and Keyser could already be playing in the game of the year when the area’s oldest rivals meet once again tonight, 7 p.m., at Greenway Avenue Stadium with a possible area title on the line.
While the Golden Tornado at the Campers offers the only game tonight in Allegany County, right across the river in Short Gap, W.Va., there are the Northern Huskies visiting the Frankfort Falcons, while Mountain Ridge looks to get into the win column with a trip to Hampshire.
Heading east in the Hub City, Fort Hill goes for its second straight win at North Hagerstown, and Southern travels for a meeting with the Indians down in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
While all of the preceding games begin at 7 o’clock, East Hardy will host Tygarts Valley and Warren County (Va.) plays at Moorefield beginning at 7:30. Pendleton plays at Meadow Bridge, also at 7:30.
At 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Bishop Walsh Spartans will try to stay undefeated when they take on Baltimore Lutheran at Brother Stephen. F. Paul Spartan Stadium.
Keyser (3-0) vs. Allegany (3-0)
With both teams coming off easy victories last week, Allegany and Keyser get together for what could be the area championship in what will be the toughest challenge for each school to this point.
The Campers charged past Mountain Ridge 58-0 last week, leading 42-0 at halftime after scoring on all six of their first-half possessions. They have scored over 50 points in all three of their games this season.
Christian Thomas carried the ball only six times, but gained 188 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the offense, while Carter Imes went to the air for a pair of touchdown passes.
Thomas scored late into the opening quarter on a run of 77 yards, after scoring on a six-yard run earlier in the quarter. Imes hit Chris Fram for 29 yards on the final play of the first to stretch the lead to 21-0.
Thomas scored on another long run in the second quarter, racing 71 yards to score with 4:26 left before halftime. Imes added another touchdown on a 46-yard throw to Hayden Bosley with 1:18 remaining in the half.
The Golden Tornado put up 40 points (its lowest output of the season) during a shutout of Northern last weekend in Keyser. After scoring 60 points in the first game at Petersburg and 51 points in the win over Fort Hill, the Golden Tornado used a balanced rushing attack to control flow and keep Northern off the field.
Danny Fife scored three times, including a 77-yard kickoff return to open the second half, and Garrett Crites had 100 total yards on 91 rushing and nine more receiving. Fife scored from five yards and from three in the first quarter, but would finish with only 30 yards on the ground as Keyser gave multiple runners a chance.
Quarterback Cody Eversole scored on a nine-yard run in the second quarter to give the Tornado a 21-0 lead at halftime.
Keyser won last year’s meeting 34-0 in Keyser.
Northern (0-3) at Frankfort (3-0)
Frankfort hopes to continue its undefeated ways, while the Huskies hope to catch the Falcons napping and collect their first victory when the two meet at Falcons Stadium.
A trio of Falcons reached the end zone twice last weekend during a 64-14 win over Berkeley Springs. Brady Watson scored twice in the first quarter, Damian Morgan had a touchdown in each of the first two quarters and Stephen Buser scored on a two-yard run and on a 5-yard run in the second half to lead a Frankfort ground game that gained 314 yards.
Gage Shaffer threw a touchdown to Chris Faidley and Cole Smith had a 19-yard TD for the Falcons.
Northern struggled on both sides of the ball during a 40-0 loss to Keyser last week. Aaron Broadwater had 73 yards of offense, throwing for 38 yards and running for 35 more, to pace the Huskies.
They put together a drive that moved the ball down to the Keyser 27 during the first half before turning it over on downs. It was the furthest Northern got into Keyser territory.
Last year’s meeting ended in Northern’s favor, 21-14.
Fort Hill (2-1) at North Hagerstown (2-1)
The Sentinels rekindle a relationship with a playoff partner from their days in Maryland 2A when they visit the Hubs after dismantling MATHS 70-6 last week.
Fort Hill had 525 yards, and relied on Alex Barnes to help it rush for 444 yards in the win against the Panthers. Barnes finished with 176 yards, all in the first half. Rashaan Shives added 84 rushing yards, with Zac Elbin and Adam Duvall both rushing for over 50. Shives also had a touchdown pass to his credit.
Hunter Squires completed three of his four passes for 56 yards and two scores. He hit Travis Bush for a 14-yard strike and a 36-yarder to account for both.
The Sentinels came up with five interceptions on defense, with Devin Shreve recording two of them. Shreve reached the end zone on a 10-yard run, and Ty Mance and Brandon Stotler also scored for the Sentinels.
North Hagerstown scored with 37 seconds left in the fourth to go ahead of Oakdale, then intercepted a pass to secure a 22-19 victory.
Kyle Hewlett scored on a six-yard run in the final minute to give his team the lead, and had 77 yards to lead the Hubs in rushing. Preston Carey came up with the interception to end any Oakdale threat.
The last time the two schools played, North Hagerstown won 33-13 in the 2003 Class 2A West Region Semifinals.
Mountain Ridge (0-3) at Hampshire (2-1)
A week after handling Southern 20-0, the Hampshire Trojans look to down their second straight opponent from Western Maryland when they host the Miners.
Denard Hartwell gained 180 yards on the ground as Hampshire ran for 260 in the shutout over the Rams. With the score tied at zero in the third quarter, Hartwell tore off a 60-yard run to put the Trojans ahead. Caleb Landis extended the Trojans’ lead with a four-yard sneak in the fourth quarter and Shane Ennis put the game out of reach by returning a interception 30 yards for the final points.
The Miners found the going tough in a 58-0 loss to Allegany last week, and were held to 76 yards on offense. Seth Bradley was the leading rusher for the Miners, gaining 40 yards on 13 carries.
Mountain Ridge won last year’s game 56-7.
Southern (0-3) at Berkeley Springs (0-4)
After improving on defense, but getting shut out against the Hampshire Trojans last week, the Southern Rams take another shot at their first victory when they face the winless Indians.
The Rams kept the Trojans out of the end zone for the first half, and allowed two touchdowns on defense with the third coming on an interception return. Offensively, Southern rushed for 150 yards with Garrett Campbell leading the team with 51.
Caleb Athey had the biggest play for the Indians in their 64-14 loss to Frankfort last week, getting a 91-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. They would be held out of the end zone until the fourth quarter when Brady Tripatoe added a five-yard touchdown.
Berkeley Springs was limited to 113 total yards.
Southern won 42-18 last season.
Chris Appel is a writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Contact him at cappel@times-news.com.
Tonight’s Schedule
Fort Hill at North Hagerstown, 7:00
Keyser at Allegany, 7:00
Mountain Ridge at Hampshire, 7:00
Northern at Frankfort, 7:00
Southern at Berkeley Springs, 7:00
Pendleton at Meadow Bridge, 7:30
Tygarts Valley at East Hardy, 7:30
Warren County (Va.) at Moorefield, 7:30
