The 2005 Allegany Campers were the area’s first 14-0 team and the school’s eighth state champion.
The undefeated season was Allegany’s state record 11th.
That was 20 years ago, and 20 years later, the 2005 Allegany Campers stand as their most recent to lift a state championship.
Teams said to have no holes are often marked by their lack of weaknesses.
Tom Preaskorn’s Allegany had strengths at seemingly every position.
Offensive Player of the Year Jeff Link and Tyler Wharton in the backfield, freak athlete Donavin Vinson — known for his circus catches and blistering speed — at split end, Player of the Year Bryan Hansel at tight end and Logan Reiter at quarterback.
The offensive line of center Aaron Kline, guards Eric Shank and Justin Warnick, and tackles Eddie Davis and Brennan Pyles matured from being a possible weakness to a bonafide weapon by the time Allegany bludgeoned Ben Tate’s Snow Hill, 41-20, three months later for the Class 1A title.
And that’s not even mentioning a Hansel-led defense that didn’t allow more than 20 points in any game.
The defensive line had muscle in Warnick and John Hawkins and the scrappy Junior Blake, who wreaked havoc at 165 pounds. Behind them they had linebackers Hansel, Reiter, Link and Wharton, with Doug Hamilton and Vinson patrolling the secondary.
Allegany proved it could win close games, beating Fort Hill (21-14) and Berkeley Springs (6-3) in overtime and Northern (21-20) and Beall (19-13) by single digits — and Beall again, 15-13, for the region title.
By the end it didn’t need to, pounding Brunswick, 35-6, in the semifinals and Snow Hill by 21 points — 41-6 before the final two minutes — in the final.
Here’s how Allegany’s 2005 season unfolded:
Allegany 26, Frankfort 14
SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Link rushed for 195 on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns and Wharton gained 71 yards and garnered the go-ahead 28-yard score, and Hansel was all over the field for an Allegany defense that recovered four fumbles, intercepted a pass and had six sacks.
Hansel recorded 13 tackles, three sacks and recovered a fumble. Wharton, Vinson and Jacob Lewis also had recoveries.
Preaskorn was pleased with the heart his Campers showed overcoming mental errors, penalties and ball security issues.
Allegany 54, Moorefield 6
MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Vinson, Link and Lewis scored two touchdowns each in what was the first meeting in 47 years between Allegany and Moorefield.
Wharton finished as the Campers’ leading rusher with 139 yards on 12 carries. Link finished with 96 yards.
Vinson hauled in a 33-yard pass from Reiter for a score, and he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 89 yards for a touchdown.
Allegany 19, Beall 13
CUMBERLAND — Allegany converted a fake punt as part of a drive that ate up the final seven minutes and 57 seconds to rebuff Beall in a key early-season Class 1A West Region matchup.
The two would link up two months later for the region title.
Vinson made a highlight-reel catch on a Reiter pass for a 57-yard touchdown, and Wharton broke loose on a 62-yard scoring run for the two biggest plays of the game for the Campers (3-0).
Wharton ended with 125 yards, and Link rushed for 76 yards on 14 carries, including the other Allegany touchdown on a four-yard run.
Junior fullback Pat Winebrenner led Beall’s Wishbone offense with 115 yards on 15 attempts.
Beall fans were given hope with Bruce Kelly broke free for a 51-yard touchdown with 7:57 left, but he Mountaineers didn’t get another chance.
Allegany’s Jeremy Shook recovered a fumble, and Kelly intercepted a pass.
Allegany 21, Northern 20
CUMBERLAND — Allegany won a battle of unbeatens in a narrow contest decided by extra points: Link converted all three of his and the Huskies had trouble.
Wharton and Link both topped 100 yards, with Wharton tallying 121 and one score and Link 103 to go along with his two touchdowns.
Northern’s Tyler Warn was the game’s leading ground gainer with 183 yards on 21 carries.
Northern missed its first extra point and had a two-point try denied after pulling within 14-12 in the third quarter. Casey Kamp made it a 21-20 game with an 11-yard keeper and two-point run, but the Campers (4-0) got a first down and ran the clock out.
Northern went on to finish 7-2 but was surprisingly out-pointed by 6-4 Fort Hill for the fourth and final spot in the region playoffs in the 11th hour.
Fort Hill slipped into the field because an extra bonus point was awarded when Baltimore’s Douglass was forced to forfeit its season, giving an additional win to Southside Academy, which had lost to the Sentinels.
The change gave Fort Hill a 5.50 rating, 0.08 ahead of Northern at 5.42. The Sentinels left the field at Homecoming believing it had been knocked out of the playoffs.
Allegany 40, Hampshire 13
CUMBERLAND — Hampshire geared up to stop Allegany’s potent rushing game, but the Campers took to the air for a rout.
Reiter completed 5 of 11 passes for 192 yards, including a 70-yard scoring strike to Hansel and three connections for Vinson for 90 yards.
Allegany (5-0) still racked up yards on the ground with 268 on 40 totes, led by Junior Blake’s 82 yards and 43-yard jaunt, and Link’s 80 yards on 10 carries with touchdowns of 16 and 25 yards. Wharton went four yards for the other TD.
The linebacking core of Hansel, Wharton and Link with Blake up on the line held Hampshire to just 187 yards of total offense. Vinson, Shawn Helmstetter and Reiter had interceptions.
Hampshire’s Jeremy Shackelford stopped Allegany twice with an interception and a fumble recovery. Justin Rhodes returned a kickoff 90 yards for the Trojans’ final score.
The victory marked the first time fans took notice of Allegany’s offensive line improvements, which would come to fruition late in the season and become an integral part of the Campers’ unbeaten championship run.
Allegany 56, Avalon 6
CUMBERLAND — Allegany scored touchdowns on its first eight possessions, taking no more than four plays or 1:45 of clock to do so on their first seven drives to improve to 6-0.
The first scoring drive lasted two plays, 42 yards and 46 seconds; the second, two plays, 38 yards and 31 seconds; the third, two plays, 24 yards and 27 seconds; the fourth, two plays, 54 yards and 35 seconds; the fifth, three plays, 24 yards and 1:03; the sixth, three plays, 53 yards and 1:23; and the seventh, four plays, 73 yards and 1:45.
Link scored three touchdowns and was perfect on eight extra point attempts. Vinson caught a touchdown and intercepted a pass.
Allegany 22, Keyser 6
KEYSER, W.Va. — Three different players scored touchdowns to lead Allegany to its seventh straight win of the season during Keyser’s Homecoming at Stayman Field.
Wharton, Hansel and Vinson scored the touchdowns, while Reiter threw a pair of touchdown passes to guide Allegany to a 22-0 halftime lead.
The second half featured just a 35-yard Derrick Harman touchdown run in a half that was played through a steady rain initially and then a downpour.
Allegany 6, Berkeley Springs 3 (OT)
CUMBERLAND — After stunning Beall, 15-9, Berkeley Springs nearly pulled a second upset in as many weeks on a cold night at Greenway Avenue Stadium.
Allegany lost the battle up front, but the game entered overtime after a scoreless opening 48 minutes.
In the Kansas tiebreaker that is used in Maryland, each team gets the ball at the 10-yard line to start their possession.
Allegany got the ball first, and Berkeley Springs’ Jeremy Lake intercepted a pass at the two-yard line to end the series.
Instead of attempting a field goal that would have won the game after driving to the five, the Indians attempted to pass the ball to the end zone, and Link came up with the interception.
Berkeley Springs’ Alex Moretz kicked a 25-yard field goal on the ensuing possession.
Allegany won the game on the next play when Link ran 10 yards for a touchdown. Blake, Hansel, Pyles and Warnick provided the blocking through a big hole on the left side of the line.
Both teams had multiple chances to score during regulation.
Berkeley Springs drove to the Allegany 18 on its first possession and went to the 15 the next time it had the ball. Both drives ended on turnover on downs.
Allegany went to Berkeley Springs’ 15-yard line on its second possession but turned it over on downs. Wharton had a run inside the 10-yard line that was brought back by a penalty.
Allegany 56, Sidwell Friends 7
CUMBERLAND — In one final tune-up before Homecoming, Allegany was anything but friendly to the Sidwell Friends Quakers of Washington, D.C.
Allegany was sharp in all three phases.
Vinson got the ball rolling on special teams by opening the scoring with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Vinson caught five passes from Reiter for 71 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake led all rushers with 127 yards and two TDs.
Hansel, Wharton and Shook all intercepted Sidwell Friends passes.
Allegany, No. 23 in the Maryland State Football Poll, rolled into Homecoming 9-0, looking to complete its first undefeated regular season since 1988 when it went 10-0 in the regular season and 13-0 overall.
The ‘88 team won the fourth of the school’s eight state football championships.
Homecoming Allegany 21, Fort Hill 14 (OT)
CUMBERLAND — Link scored the go-ahead touchdown, Hansel came up with a big sack in overtime, and Allegany completed a 10-0 regular season with a victory over its hated rival.
An overflow crowd of 8,000 strong was treated to just the second Homecoming game decided by the Kansas tiebreaker. In 1980, the Campers won the game 13-10.
Link was named Offensive Player of the Game after running for 127 yards and two touchdowns and kicking all three extra points. Wharton scored the other Alco TD on an eight-yard run.
Hansel was named Defensive Player of the Game.
Allegany’s offensive line provided outstanding blocking for rushing attack that rushed for 227 yards on 43 runs.
Fort Hill’s Scott Rice scored both of Fort Hill’s touchdowns.
The uber-talented Vinson removed his game jersey and shoulder pads and went into the stands at the end of the first half, eventually making his way to the locker room at the break — at which point the Campers trailed 6-0.
On the first pass Reiter targeted him during the second half, Vinson caught a pass from Reiter that covered 51 yards. The drive ended with Wharton’s eight-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 14 with 10:02 left in the fourth.
Vinson was pivotal during Allegany’s playoff run, hauling in five touchdown receptions.
Allegany got the ball first after Fort Hill won the coin flip and elected to go on defense. The Campers went right to Link for a five-yard gain, and he took a pitch from Reiter and got outside for the final five yards.
On third-and-seven on Fort Hill’s possession, Hansel sacked Jeff Lee for a loss of eight. On the next play, Doug Hamilton batted down a Lee pass intended for A.T. Zembower in the end zone to end the game.
Fort Hill head coach Barry Lattimer wished Allegany, “all the luck in the playoffs,” after the game. He likely didn’t share that sentiment hours later when his Sentinels found out they’d be the Campers’ first-round opponent.
West Region Semifinal Allegany 38, Fort Hill 16
CUMBERLAND — Allegany didn’t have a point at the break against its rival a week prior. Just six days later, offensive line coach Scott Bauer burst through the doors of the halftime locker room and proclaimed:
“That’s how you play football. They’re done!” (Some words that shouldn’t be printed may have been sprinkled in)
He was right, it was 24-0 Allegany, and it would be 31-0 after a 12-play drive opened the second half. That series paled in comparison to the 15-play, 92-yard odyssey that iced the proceedings.
Allegany more than doubled up the Sentinels in time of possession, 33:44-14:16, had 20 more first downs and out-gained the opposition, 441-138.
Link had a game for the ages. He scored two touchdowns, passed for the first score on a halfback option pass to Vinson, kicked two extra points and booted a 35-yard field goal.
He rushed for 174 yards on 28 carries, Vinson caught four passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns, Wharton rushed for 90 yards and a score, and Blake added a TD.
“You have a great team and you have to play probably the next best team in the state right away, right off the bat,” Preaskorn said, “but I felt also that our kids had that confidence after that game that they could perform to their capability.
“I think it helped us play them right back-to-back again because they had that belief they can beat Fort Hill, which I think lacks sometimes.”
The rout secured a rematch with Beall for the right to represent the West Region in the state semifinals. The second edition was even closer than the 19-13 result in Week 3.
West Region Final Allegany 15, Beall 13
CUMBERLAND — Backup quarterback Jacob Lewis orchestrated a go-ahead drive to send 12-0 Allegany past Beal in a physical, bone-chilling struggle for a second straight region championship.
Lewis came off an ice cold bench with 7:19 left in the first quarter after Reiter exited with a concussion. He hooked up with Hansel for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 5:17 to play to give Allegany the cushion it needed.
“I’ve probably said it 100 times in my life. If we don’t beat Beall, they win a state title in probably the same fashion we did,” Hansel said. “They were really good. It felt like you were leaving a boxing match after.”
Beall’s Jimmie Kline made his return after missing the first Allegany game. Kline made his presence known, scoring the game’s first touchdown with 10:53 left in the second quarter.
Allegany took its first lead on a fourth-and-three from the Beall 18. The Campers ran unbalanced and Lewis tossed right to Link, who sprinted to the corner of the end zone.
Blake barreled in the two-point run for an 8-7 lead.
Lewis connected with Hansel on a pop pass for a touchdown that made it 15-7 with 5:17 left in the third on Link’s kick.
Beall quarterback Logan Thomas, who rushed for 107 yards on 15 carries, scampered to the end zone from the Allegany 15 with 3:03 remaining in the game.
Allegany denied Beall’s two-point attempt when Hansel brought down Pat Winebrenner in the backfield.
“That was difficult being on the sidelines for that,” Reiter said. “Beall was probably the stiffest opposition we had all year. I mean, they just seemed to hit you hard and keep driving. They were pretty unstoppable at times.
“And so when I was sidelined for it, it’s just kind of a little bit of hopelessness. Sitting on the sideline like I should be out there with those guys because I know it’s difficult. Another testament to that cohesive team that we pulled it out.”
State Semifinals Allegany 35, Brunswick 6
CUMBERLAND — Allegany showed why it was the state’s No. 1 seed, racing to the locker room to escape the 15-degree wind-chill and book its ticket to Baltimore.
Vinson and Reiter didn’t mind the cold, linking up four times for 123 yards and three touchdowns. Link rushed for 149 yards, all in the first half, which included a 97-yard flash early.
Reiter missed most of the Beall game with what was reported as a “serious headache,” and he completed all five of his passes in the semifinals.
The 13-0 Campers tied a school record for wins a season with the 1988 team, which went unbeaten in 13 games en route to the Class 2A state championship.
Allegany advanced to play Snow Hill in the Class 1A final at M&T Bank Stadium after the Eagles knocked off Dunbar, 20-18, in the other semifinal.
State Championship Allegany 41, Snow Hill 20
CUMBERLAND — Snow Hill had the best football player on the field, there’s no debating that, but Allegany proved itself the best football team to complete a 14-0 season in dominating fashion.
Auburn University head coach Tommy Tuberville visited the Snow Hill locker room after the game to see his prized recruit Tate.
Tate finished his high school career with a then-Maryland record 5,920 rushing yards (now fourth) and 78 touchdowns, but he was held below 100 yards by Allegany’s ferocious defense until his final two carries.
The locker room Tuberville entered was a dejected one. It was 13-6 at halftime, and it was 41-6 before a pair of garbage-time touchdowns in the final two minutes.
Hansel intercepted a pass in the championship game along with Vinson and Hamilton, while Shook recovered a fumble.
Allegany’s offensive line produced an utterly dominant display that allowed the Campers to rush for 245 yards on 50 carries.
Link carried 20 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yard pick six, Wharton had 80 yards on 17 carries and Reiter completed 3 of 5 passes for 57 yards an a touchdown to Hansel.
Allegany became the first area team to go 14-0. Preaskorn played on Allegany’s 1980 12-0 title team.
The championship was Allegany’s eighth, it’s last.