Fort Hill Sentinels Crush Overlea By 48-0
By MIKE BURKE
Times-News Writer
November 16, 1986

DUNDALK, Md. - In The Baltimore Sun preview for Saturday's Maryland Class A state quarter-final game at Dundalk Community College between seventh-seeded Fort Hill and second-seeded Overlea, it was noted that the Falcons were one of four unbeaten teams in the state playoffs. They are no longer in the playoffs, so it stands to reason that they are no longer unbeaten.

The Sun reported that Overlea's defense has registered six shutouts. The Times-News is now reporting Overlea ended the season with six.

The Sun said, "(Overlea's) running game is what makes the offense go. Darryl Brantley has rushed for 1,142 yards and 15 touchdowns, and Jeff Coleman has rusheds for 641 yards and six toucxhdsowns." Saturday, Darryl Brantley rushed for 13 yards on eight cxarries and no touchdowns, and Jeff Coleman rushesd for minus-four yards and no touchdowns.

The Sun said of Fort Hill, "The key backs who quarterback Jeff Brodie (sic) dsistributes the ball to are C.G. Wilson who rushed for more than 600 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Eric Beal who rushed for 400 yards and four touchdowns."

Saturday, C.G. Wilson rushed for 97 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns, and Eric Beal rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Brodie's actual name is Jeff Brode, and on Saturday he did a little more than just distribute the ball. Brode carried the ball three times for 17 yards and three first downs. At the time, the first downs were important.

But Brodie, er Brode, also completed five of eight passes for 125 yards, and threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to Troy Todd, and 49 yards to John Snyder.

The Sun's Pick: Overlea 17-8.
The final score: Fort Hill, 48-0.

Can we talk mystery team? Can we talk mystery area? Overlea head coach Norm Johnson thinks that's the key.

"This is Baltimore County," said Johnson after the massacre that ended his team's season at 10-1 and sent Fort Hill to the Class A semifinals. "We weren't even allowed to play on our own field this year because they resodded it."

Johnson then reached his point. "I'm from West Virginia. I'm familiar with Fort Hill, Allegany, Martinsburg, Handley, and Hagerstown, when they had one school and Mel Henry was coaching them. I'm familiar with the way they do things up there. They beat on each other."

"I knew what Fort Hill football was. It's a way of life. When I drew Fort Hill, I knew what we'd be up against. We didn't play well, but they're the reason for that. We played as well as we could. Good luck to Fort Hill."

In terms of blowouts, the 48-0 score is moderate. The story of this blowout is the manner in which the Sentinels did anything and everything they wanted to do. They scored touchdowns on seven of their ten possessions.

On the first possession of the game, quarterback Robert Johnson scrambled for eight yards on third down to come up with the Falcons' biggest gain on the ground for the afternoon. After Overlea punted, the Sentinels took the ball at their 44, and scored on five plays. After Wilson and Beal took the ball out to the Overlea 44, Brode sprinted out to his left after play-action, and fired to tight end Todd racing along the left hash.

Todd took in the ball at the Falcon 25 and ran in for the 44-yard touchdown play with 7:54 left in the first quarter. Vince Lai's kick was good.

Next, Fort Hill took over at the Falcon 38 after Snyder returned a punt from the Sentinel 45. Wilson pounded away at the huge (seriously) Overlea front with runs of three, five, 16, six, and seven, before Beal busted over from one yard out with 3:10 showing in the quarter. The pass on conversion failed, and Fort Hill led 13-0.

The Sentinels next took the ball on the Falcon 47 with 55 seconds left in the quarter. On first down, tight end Jim Furstenberg took the ball on the end-around and rambled 41 yards down to the six. After a touchdown pass to Terry Zacharias was nullified because of illegal motion, Brode hit Snyder from the 11 with a bullet on a quick look-in right. Snyder made a typical Snyder catch at the one, with an Overlea defender all over him.

At the 11:12 mark, on fourth and goal from the one, Beal plowed over for his second touchdown of the day. The Sentinels went for two, with Brode rolling right to hit Kevin Holderby in the end zone. 21-0.

Overlea did move the ball from its 27 out to its 48 on six plays, but the Falcons then punted. With 8:51 left in the half, the Sentinels began their next scoring drive from their 26. The big plays were pass interference on Overlea, a 12-yard pass from Brode to Snyder, and a 28-yard run by Beal. After Brode picked up a first down and moved the ball to the Falcon five with a six-yard gain on fourth and three, Wilson went over left guard with 6:24 left in the half for six. Lai's kick was partially blocked after a high snap, but skidded over the crossbar anyway. 28-0.

On Fort Hill's fifth possession of the game, the Sentinels took over at their 48 with 4:33 left in the half. Brode hit Snyder underneath for 10, and then picked up eight more on a run. Wilson gained seven, and Beal four on two carries. From the 14, it was Furstenberg again on the end-around for 13 more. And with 1:27 left in the half, Wilson dove over from one yard out to make it 34-0. Lai's kick made it 35-0.

With about 16 seconds left in the half, Lance Steckman picked off a Johnson pass and returned it to the 25. But a Fort Hill clip on the return moved it back to the Overlea 49. With time running out, Brode sent Snyder on a fly pattern down the left sideline. The senior quarterback then put up a picture-perfect spiral that Snyder hauled in at the two. One-step, two-step, touchdown Fort Hill with two seconds left in the half.

Lai's kick was no good and the Sentinels led at the half, 41-0.

When you're down 41-0 at the half, what do you say to a 10-0 team that gave up just 51 points the entire season?

Coach Johnson didn't know either.

The final Sentinel score came on the third possession of the half when Wilson and Beal took turns running the ball from the Fort Hill 47 to the Overlea two. With 7:51 left in the third quarter, Wilson scored from the two, and Lai's kick made it 48-0.

Coach Johnson did find a silver lining after the game, however."An old Shepherd boy won though, didn't he?"

Johnson and Fort Hill coach Mike Calhoun both are Shepherd graduates.

Calhoun said, "I don't think that league Overlea is in can compare to the caliber of football played in Western Maryland. But I think the lack of emphasis makes it that way. I kind of saw this coming when we read that Franklin lost to South River, 28-0. Franklin and Overlea played to an 8-7 game."

"I'm the most pleased with the way our team was away from home and understood what had to be done. We had a good trip, and relaxed the whole way. But when they got up this morning, they were going to play."

The Sentinels will be away from home again this week in the semifinals. Any preferences for the opponent? Frederick, a team that beat Fort Hill 14-7 this year? Or maybe McDonough, the defending Class A champ, which eliminated Fort Hill last year?

"We'll take either of them right now," said Calhoun. "We're tickled to be in the semifinals. If we play like we're playing now - mistake-free football - we can win this whole thing."

Fort Hill is 9-2 and has now won seven in a row.