FROSTBURG — For Mountain Ridge to get over the hump in Annapolis, it’ll have to compete on the line of scrimmage, avoid a slow start and match Fort Hill’s intensity.
That’s a tall order, and one no team has been able to do this season. Mountain Ridge, making its third straight Class 1A state championship appearance, is up to the challenge.
Kick-off between No. 2 Mountain Ridge (11-1) and No. 1 Fort Hill (12-0) is slated for noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
“It starts up front,” Mountain Ridge head coach Ryan Patterson said. “You have (Carter) Hess, he gets a lot of the attention, but then there’s plenty of other guys that need mentioning.
“They work like clockwork. They’re so well-coached. They block the exact person they’re supposed to block on every play. No wasted movement.”
Mountain Ridge is 34-3 over the past three seasons, and the previous two have ended with losses of 51-31 and 16-14 to Fort Hill in Annapolis.
The two Allegany County opponents have developed into the premier small school rivalry in Maryland, having met eight times in the past four years.
Fort Hill enters Saturday riding a 20-game winning streak and ranked No. 9 in the state media poll. The last team to topple the mighty Sentinels? Mountain Ridge, which rolled to a 30-8 triumph in Frostburg Oct. 7, 2022.
This Fort Hill team feels different, and it starts up front, an area the Sentinels dominated in their meeting with Mountain Ridge earlier this year, a 37-14 romp on Oct. 6 in Cumberland.
Patterson believes having his starting center Cooper Lindeman (6-foot, 285 pounds) back will help his offense’s timing. Lindeman missed the first meeting with a knee injury, and Hess lined up over the backup center and had a field day with 11 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks.
Star Mountain Ridge quarterback Will Patterson (2,737 total yards, 40 total touchdowns) was running for his life, and the Miners were held to just 43 yards of total offense.
Patterson scarcely had time to get the ball out to his top targets Andrew Ketterman (587 yards, seven touchdowns) and David Miller (405 yards, six scores).
“Our backs have to get involved,” said Ryan Patterson, referencing Austin Frost (535 yards, seven TDs) and Garrett Michaels (379 yards, five TDs). “We have to use some counter action to take advantage of their aggressiveness. Keeping backs in to do certain things. We’re going to ask a lot of them.
“Having our original center back in there will also help speed us up and let us get to the line of scrimmage faster.
“There’s an old adage, that if you’re getting a stalemate (on the line) you’re losing that play. But against them, if you maintain a stalemate, it’s almost like you won the play.”
Limiting a fast Fort Hill start will also be key.
The Sentinels have utterly dominated first halves this season, outscoring their 11 opponents 344-35 before halftime — an average of 31.3 to 3.2.
No opponent has scored during the first half in Fort Hill’s last five games, when New Oxford scored two touchdowns, the most of any team this season, to trail 28-14 at the intermission on Oct. 20.
The Miners fell behind 28-7 at the half in Week 6.
“We definitely need to stay in the game,” Patterson said. “There’s not going to be a 28-point comeback I don’t think. (Fort Hill is) going to keep coming. They’re going to keep fighting. It’s just what they do. They’ve done it for 100 years.”
Patterson has been displeased with Mountain Ridge’s intensity at times, but the Miners made a statement last week, blitzing Perryville to lead 33-0 at the half.
“Our kids had an emotional energy last week that carried us,” he said. “Man I hope we find it again. They call (Annapolis) Cumberland East, and they’re going to come out high as a kite and ready to rock and roll from the kickoff. We’re going to have to meet that and sustain it into the second half.”
For the first time during Mountain Ridge’s three-year run to Annapolis, the Miners will go down the night before and stay in a hotel.
Patterson and his staff had elected to go down the day of previously to avoid possible distractions an overnight stay might entail, but the noon kickoff made it an easy decision this time around.
Now comes the hard part, finding a way to stop Fort Hill. If the Miners can do so, it’ll be an upset for the ages.
On any given Sunday, or Saturday, in this case.
“There’s nothing to lose at this point in time. We’re going to try to win the game,” Patterson said.