Fort
Hill pulls out 12-7 thriller over Allegany
STEVE
LUSE
Cumberland Times-News
November 7, 1993
CUMBERLAND
- With
the terrible muddy conditions on the Greenway Avenue
Stadium making both teams very equal it became obvious
that one big play could make the difference in the annual
Homecoming battle between Fort Hill and Allegany Saturday
afternoon.
Brandon
Walker scored his second touchdown with 1:22 left and
Shannon Trimble followed with an interception to finally
nail down the victory as the Fort Hill High Sentinels
edged Allegany 12-7 in the down-to-the-wire thriller.
But
the big play the Sentinels needed to keep their post-season
playoff hopes alive came with 4:42 left in the game
when Allegany was called for roughing Fort Hill punter
Ryan Shaffer.
The
Campers, who played outstanding defense the entire game,
had forced the Sentinels into a fourth down with seven
yards to go punting situation at their own 45-yard line.
The snap on the punt sailed over Shaffer's head but
the gutsy junior was able to run down the ball and still
get off the kick before being hit by the Allegany defenders.
The
penalty gave Fort Hill a first down at the Allegany
40-yard line with the Campers still clinging to a 7-6
lead.
"Now
they know how I felt in 1991 (a 20-17 Fort Hill loss
on a controversial call)," said Fort Hill coach
Mike Calhoun. "The rule is if a punter re-establishes
himself as a punter you can't rough him. He had clearly
re-established himself as the punter."
"It
was a great heady play on his (Shaffer's) part,"
added the Sentinels' coach. "It took a lot of poise
to get himself together and get that punt off."
Following
the Allegany penalty it became Walker time.
Walker,
who entered the game with 1,266 yards rushing and 23
touchdowns, was handed the ball eight straight plays
as the Sentinels plowed their way to the seven-yard
line.
Fort
Hill quarterback Gavin Palumbo, who struggled with the
field conditions all day, then went two yards on a sneak
to set up a fourth-down situation with less than a yard
to go at the five. Instead of attempting a field goal
that would have given the Sentinels a two-point lead
Calhoun elected to go for the short yardage.
Walker
was given the ball again and this time went outside,
around the left end, for the five yards and the touchdown.
The touchdown not only gave Fort Hill the win, but also
earned the 5-11, 187-pound senior Offensive Player of
the Game honors.
"The
difference in the game was the roughing-the-kicker penalty,"
said Walker, who finished with 161 yards on 27 carries.
"That got us fired up and we drove it down their
throats."
On
Allegany's first play after the Fort Hill kickoff, Trimble
picked off a long B.J. AuMiller pass and returned the
ball 63 yards to the Campers' 27-yard line. Palumbo
then knelt down to run out the clock on the Fort Hill
win.
"It
was everything I though it was going to be," said
Calhoun. "I knew it was going down to the wire...Let
me tell you something: Allegany is a good team. Let's
give Allegany some credit for playing a great game."
The
Sentinels, ranked No. 1 in the Times-News area
poll, lifted their record to 9-1 and were still waiting
word Saturday night on whether they officially nailed
down one of the Maryland Class 2A playoff berths. Damascus
claimed the West Region championship with a 21-6 victory
over Blair Friday night and Fort Hill was hoping to
get one of the four at-large spots. The Sentinels were
seventh entering the Homecoming clash.
Allegany
showed that it may have had one of the better Class
2A teams in the state but concluded the campaign with
a 4-6 record against the toughest schedule the school
has ever faced.
The
Campers' defense led by Defensive Player of the Game
Gabe Darber, did an outstanding job of slowing down
a Fort Hill offense that was averaging 42 points a game.
And until that final drive it appeared Allegany's big
play was going to be the difference.
Allegany
threatened early on its second possession and moved
to Fort Hill 17-yard line as Michael Fields broke loose
on a big 35-yard run. But Campers gave up the ball on
a fumble as Aaron Goetz recovered for the Sentinels
at the 26-yard line.
Fort
Hill moved to the Allegany 16-yard line on a 43 yard
run by Walker, but turned the ball over on downs when
Darber sacked Palumbo for a two-yard loss.
The
Sentinels got the ball back at the Campers' 33-yard
line after a seven-yard punt return by Trimble and a
15-yard personal foul penalty for a late hit.
Four
straight carries by Walker moved the ball to the 19-yard
line and Palumbo hit Noel Adams for 11 yards and a first
down at the eight-yard line.
After
an incompletion and a one yard loss by Palumbo on a
roll out play, Walker went nine yards up the middle
for the touchdown with 6:58 left in the second quarter.
Two
five-yard penalties forced the Sentinels to try a 30-yard
kick for the extra point and Shaffer's attempt sailed
wide.
Allegany
coach Jack Gilmore then pulled out the bag of tricks
that he is always reluctant to use and put the Campers
in an offensive formation that had three receivers on
one side and another man in motion that resulted in
five receivers being out for a pass.
After
an incomplete pass on the first play from the formation,
AuMiller found Munjo Walker wide open down the middle
on third down. The play ended up covering 80 yards and
Tate Humbertson's kick gave Allegany the 7-6 lead with
5:27 left in the second period.
Jason
Shook intercepted a Palumbo pass for Allegany in the
third quarter and the teams traded fumbles in the middle
of the fourth quarter with D.J. Jenkins recovering one
for Fort Hill and Matt Gilmore getting the ball right
back for the Campers.
Darber,
a 5-10, 170-pound senior, had 11 tackles to lead the
Allegany defense. Fields also had some big plays and
finished with nine tackles.
Leading
the Fort Hill defense that held Allegany without a first
down in the second half was senior linebacker R.J. Stafford,
who had nine tackles. Walker also had a strong defensive
game with six tackles.
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