CUMBERLAND — Two of the winningest high school football programs in state history take the field at Greenway Avenue Stadium on Friday night.
Dunbar, wielding a record 13 championships, makes the trek to Western Maryland to battle 11-time champion Fort Hill in a 6:30 p.m. kick-off.
It’s not a rivalry in the traditional sense, the teams having met only seven times and once in the regular season, but five of those contests decided championships — four going the way of the Poets.
For the first time, however, Fort Hill gets Dunbar on its own turf. The Sentinels (1-0) are out for revenge after a defeat to the Poets (0-1) in Baltimore a season ago.
“We found out last year that playing on the road is more difficult than at home, especially in big games,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said. “I expect it to be a big-time atmosphere. The kids are going to be excited to play in it.”
Dunbar is ranked No. 8 in the Baltimore area by the Baltimore Sun, third among public schools and first among Baltimore City publics. The Poets are No. 20 in this week’s state media poll.
Fort Hill, No. 1 in the area poll, entered the state poll at No. 24 to set up the Top 25 matchup.
Dunbar defeated Fort Hill, 26-13, at Morgan State last year, and Dunbar didn’t lose again until the Class 2A/1A championship game, an 8-6 upset loss to Patuxent.
That defeat snapped a 51-game Dunbar winning streak and also signaled the end of coach Michael Carter’s tenure. The Poets introduced former Washington Redskins player Courtney Bridget as the new head man before the season.
Bridget knows all too well what Fort Hill brings to the table, having been a star defensive back on the 2008 Tavon Austin-led Dunbar team that won a 20-19 classic over the Sentinels in the Class 1A championship game.
He lost his first game at the helm, 7-6 to Virginia power Stone Bridge in a lightning-shortened contest last week, but Dunbar’s ferocious defense was again on display.
Dunbar held Stone Bridge to only 33 yards of offense and four first downs in defeat.
Fort Hill’s offensive line looked like fish out of water in Baltimore last year, but those players are all returning starters. Alkire expects a different showing from that unit in the rematch.
“They’re going to have a lot more confidence going into the game,” Alkire said of his line, which paved the way for 403 rushing yards in a 27-0 victory over Northern in the season-opener last week.
“Not only were they thinking about a really good Dunbar team, they were thinking about what they needed to do, overthinking. They have experience with a year under their belt, now it’s just a matter of executing. They’re able to just go out and play.”
The Sentinel line will have its hands full with several disruptive athletes along the defensive front.
Dunbar is anchored by defensive end Savion Williams (6-foot-2, 220 pounds), who holds seven Division 1 offers and finished last season with 19 sacks.
He lines up opposite of All-Met first teamer Eugene Cummings (6-2, 225), who racked up a mere 11 sacks and has an offer from Morgan State.
Behind them is aggressive linebacker Jabari Torbit (6-2, 220), an All-Met second-teamer who has four D1 offers.
Torbit jumped a route for an interception and ran it back 80 yards for a touchdown against Fort Hill in 2024, the nail in the coffin with Fort Hill trailing just 12-7 at the time.
Fort Hill was able to rush for 203 yards against the Poets last year, but two costly turnovers and big plays on the other side ended the Sentinels’ 22-game winning streak.
“Last year we moved the football pretty well against them,” Alkire said. “We didn’t finish the job. We have to finish drives and cut down on mistakes.”
Fort Hill won’t be lacking for weapons in the backfield if the holes present themselves.
Against Northern last week, Braelyn Younger had 281 yards from scrimmage on 13 touches, rushing for 261 yards and two scores. Carson Bender had nine carries for 83 yards, and Chase Lamb had two rushes for 62 yards and a TD.
On the other end, Fort Hill’s defense has to limit big plays.
Dunbar doesn’t kick field goals and can struggle in the red zone, but the Poets didn’t have to in beating Fort Hill last year, scoring touchdowns of 80, 64 and 53 yards.
“The biggest key for us is we have to play team defense,” Alkire said. “We need to make sure that all of our gaps are covered, and we’re not being overly aggressive.
“They’ve got a ton of kids that can do really good things. It’s the same story with them, if you can stop the big play, you give yourself a chance.”
Dunbar is 0-1 in Cumberland all-time, falling to Allegany in a 49-42 thriller to open the 2017 season.
If Fort Hill is able to win, then it would mark the team’s first victory over the Poets since 1997 when the Mike Calhoun coached Sentinels won 22-6 for the Class 2A championship in College Park.
“One of the key messages all week long to the kids has been, ‘Forget about the name on the front of their jersey and remember the name on yours,’” Alkire said.