CUMBERLAND — Two-time defending Class 1A state champion Fort Hill was the unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the area poll by a panel of local sportswriters.
Fort Hill, which finished 13-1, defeated Mountain Ridge (12-1), 16-14, in the title game in Annapolis on a last-second field goal by Quinn Cohen for its ninth state crown.
After garnering its first unbeaten regular season in school history, Mountain Ridge checked in at No. 2 with 21 points. Allegany (7-4), which returns much of its production and has 17 seniors on the squad, is third with 18 points.
Frankfort, fresh off an 11-2 season that ended with a home Class AA state semifinal game, is fourth with 14 points, and its county rival Keyser, a 5-5 team last year, is fifth with six points.
No other area schools received a vote for the poll.
The preseason football Area sportswriter poll was voted on by Jeff Landes, Jordan Kendall and Alex Rychwalski (Cumberland Times-News); Chapin Jewell (Mineral News-Tribune), Nick Carroll (Hampshire Review) and Trevor King (Garrett County Republican). The poll encompasses Allegany, Garrett, Mineral, Hampshire, Grant and Hardy counties.