ANNAPOLIS — Fort Hill’s quest for a state-record fifth consecutive state championship has entered its final chapter.
Just one school stands between the Sentinels and immortality, and it’s a challenging obstacle. Four time-reigning Class 1A champ Fort Hill (9-3) battles defending Class 2A/1A champion Patuxent (9-3) for the 1A crown on Saturday at noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Patuxent has established a reputation as a streak-stopper, ending Dunbar’s 51-game winning streak with an 8-6 upset in Annapolis last season.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said. “It’s two really good programs and two programs that have won state championships in the last calendar year. We’re excited to be able to show the talents that we have against an opponent that is a championship-caliber team.
“We’ve been down there a lot as a coaching staff, as a program, but we have a lot of kids that haven’t gotten to participate in a state championship game. … There’s a lot of excitement for everybody to be able to go out there and show what kind of program we are.”
Fort Hill’s program needs little introduction, having won nine of the past 11 state championships and 11 overall. The Sentinels are third all-time in titles behind Dunbar (13) and Damascus (12).
Since the start of the 2013 season, Fort Hill has a 151-12 record on the field (146-17 officially due to five forfeited games last year). The Sentinels have won 21 straight playoff games under Alkire.
Fort Hill’s 35-0 victory over Northern last year tied the state’s longest consecutive championship streak with its own 2013-16 squad under Todd Appel and Urbana (1998-01).
“No one’s ever done it before, but it’s really just another game,” Alkire said of the possible record. “This is the first championship for this group of kids, and that’s something we need to remember as well. This team hasn’t won a state championship before, so they have to go out and prove it.”
Patuxent, which also won the 2015 Class 2A championship, hails from the small town of Lusby in Calvert County.
The Panthers have eyed a potential matchup with Fort Hill since the Southern Maryland squad was reclassified to Class 1A this year.
“As soon as we went to 1A, it was, Fort Hill’s our new Dunbar, so we have to figure out how to match their level,” Patuxent head coach Steve Crounse said. “They execute at such a high level. I really enjoy watching them because of how they execute. It’s going to be a tall task for us.”
Fort Hill and Patuxent have met three times previously, with the Sentinels holding a 2-1 edge.
Fort Hill won 35-3 in 1998 and 8-0 in 2002, and the Panthers were victorious 20-8 in ‘01.
SMAC Supremacy
Crounse’s Panthers knocked out Fort Hill’s rival Allegany, 42-0, in the state quarterfinals and rebuffed an upset bid from Boonsboro in a 35-27 semifinal victory.
Patuxent’s region final rout of Washington, 48-0, was the team’s first game against a Class 1A opponent all season.
The Panthers are a member of the highly-respected Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, a league that boasts four teams playing for state championships this week.
At least two SMAC squads have competed for state titles in each of the past five seasons.
How deep is the league? SMAC champion Calvert, which Patuxent defeated 21-14 in Week 8, is not one of those four programs that have advanced to Annapolis.
Fort Hill has faced Western Maryland opposition in all four of its championship games during the streak, defeating Mountain Ridge thrice from 2021-23 before its victory over Northern in last year’s final.
The Sentinels have an opportunity to prove their worth against one of the state’s most respected programs over the last decade.
Big Red Redemption
The Panthers could be running into a buzzsaw in the form of a Fort Hill team that has dominated its past seven opponents.
The Sentinels fell to Bridgeport, 49-14, in Week 5 to start 2-3 for the first time since 2001 but have rallied with seven romps in a row by a margin of 398-56 (56.9-8.0 average) — the latest a 56-19 rout of Perryville in the state semifinals.
“Nobody likes to lose, and the kids do take it to heart,” Alkire said. “They had every opportunity to lay down and let their season kind of fade away. But they’re a resilient group of kids that have that championship mentality, and they knew what they wanted, they knew what their goals were and they knew that they were going to get better.
“They had patience with us, we had patience with them and it’s all kind of worked out for us here in the last couple weeks.”
Chasing History
Not only is Fort Hill chasing history as a team. Two individuals, fullback Braelyn Younger and quarterback Noah House, can etch their names in the record books with strong performances Saturday.
Younger racked up 276 yards and four touchdowns last week against Perryville, becoming the sixth Fort Hill player to score 30 touchdowns and third to eclipse 2,000 yards in one season.
For the year, the fullback has 182 carries for 2,105 yards and 31 total touchdowns. He has 2,411 all-purpose yards to lead the area.
Younger currently sits third in area history in single-season rushing behind only Fort Hill’s Jabril Daniels (2,276, 2024) and Josh Page (2,274, 1996).
Daniels and Allegany’s Karson Robinette (2017) share the city single-season touchdown record of 34, a feat Daniels achieved twice (‘23, ‘24).
Frankfort’s Travis Lynch holds the area record with 35 (1997).
“Just watching the Younger kid, I mean, he’s going to be the best back that we would have faced all year,” Crounse said, “and actually, for me, probably (one of the best) in the 33 years I’ve been coaching. He’s pretty good. He runs hard for sure.”
House is just the sixth Fort Hill passer to top 1,000 yards in a campaign. The senior enters the championship game with 1,181 yards and 13 touchdowns to just one interception.
House is nearing school-record marks set by Gavin Palumbo, who threw for 1,274 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1993.
Scouting Patuxent
Patuxent has a pass-first spread offense, with 61% of its total offense coming through the air.
Senior wideout Evan Jones, who holds offers from Maryland and Virginia Tech, is the Panthers’ top offensive threat with 754 yards and 11 touchdowns on 67 receptions.
Jones has seen his workload in the backfield increase after Patuxent’s feature back, Antoine Wilkins, was lost for the season to a collarbone injury.
Jones had 16 carries for 80 yards and two scores against Boonsboro and has 402 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground for the season.
“He’s their guy,” Alkire said. “They want to get him the ball any way they can. If they feel that they can get him the ball in the backfield, that’s what they’re going to do. If they feel that they can get the ball to him better out as a receiver, that’s what they’re going to do.”
Patuxent freshman quarterback Brayden Watson has been highly efficient, completing 73% of his passes for 2,349 yards and 28 touchdowns to six interceptions.
Another receiver, Peyton Johnson (599 yards, eight touchdowns), has an offer from Division 2 West Liberty.
“I think we need to get a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” Alkire said. “Making him make quicker decisions than what he might be used to. Making him get the ball out a little bit earlier than what he’s used to try to disrupt him a little bit. I think that’s the biggest key for us defensively.”
Fort Hill’s Christian Riley and Dylan Leatherman lead the team with 4.5 sacks each.
The Sentinels’ defense had no interceptions during the regular season, but it has seven in the postseason from six players, including five pick-sixes in the past two weeks.
Fort Hill’s opponents are completing just 34% of their passes (45 for 134).
“Even without the interceptions, I’ll take that,” Alkire said. “They’ve done a great job at keeping the ball out of receivers’ hands. A lot of that has to do with getting a pass rush too. It’s a team-oriented defense. When guys are covering people and we’re able to get pressure on the quarterback, it’s a good recipe for success.
“We’re making plays at the right time. We’re peaking at the right time.”
Up front, Patuxent is led by senior left tackle Teagan Cox (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) and senior center Jahkiye Dixon (6-3, 300).
Cox transferred in from St. Mary’s Ryken this year.
Dixon wrestled for last year’s Class 2A/1A heavyweight (285 pounds) state championship, finishing as runner-up.
Fort Hill’s Carter Hess, now at Fordham, lifted the 2A/1A heavyweight in 2023.
Wing-T vs. Pax ‘D’
Fort Hill is averaging 292.5 yards per game on the ground and 9.6 yards per carry.
Carson Bender, the team’s second-leading rusher at 501 yards and seven scores, left last week’s Perryville game with a collarbone injury. He’s questionable to play Saturday but hasn’t been ruled out.
Fort Hill’s Jameson Powell-Morris leads the team with 410 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Fort Hill’s offensive line of left tackle Austin Zembower (6-0, 255), left guard Dakota Shambaugh (6-1, 190), center Casey Martz (6-1, 218), right guard Lanndyn Ritchey (6-1, 187) and right tackle Gavin Rose (6-3, 196) all have experience from the team’s championship season last year.
Aiden Warnick (5-8, 197) filled in at left guard against Perryville once Shambaugh exited with an injury.
They’ll have to contend with a Patuxent defense led by its nose tackle, Dixon, who has 16 tackles for loss and five sacks this season.
“That nose guard is a disruptive force, 300-plus pounds,” Alkire said. “We’re going to have to rely on our offensive line, that’s going to be smaller, to come off the ball with aggression and move people. But that’s kind of the reason for the Wing-T to be able to match up with guys that are much larger than us.
“It’s going to be up to us to be able to call a good game and to keep that defense on their toes and keep guessing where the ball’s going.”