CUMBERLAND — Fresh off a 54-0 win over Madonna, Southern brings its red and white to Cumberland to take on the Queen City’s red and white, winners of two straight to start the year.
Fort Hill, which has outscored its opponents 92-8 this fall, hopes to keep its dominance going this evening when it hosts the Rams. Kickoff at Greenway Avenue Stadium is 6 p.m.
The Sentinels opened the year with a 48-0 shutout over Northern, their fourth straight shutout over the Huskies.
Fort Hill followed it up with a 44-8 rout over Belmont Charter last Saturday, with the lone points allowed coming in garbage time.
“We’re really happy with the way our defense is playing right now,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said. “We’re aggressive, we’re getting to the football, we’re turning the ball over. All the things we praise to our defense, they’re doing so far. We’re happy to see the early results.”
The Sentinels have been led offensively by Neek Taylor, who is just under 300 yards with six touchdowns on the year.
After rushing for 123 yards on just four carries against Northern, the senior tailback needed only 10 carries to net 176 yards and three scores against the Tigers.
“Neek’s been our home- run guy,” Alkire said. “He had I think three scores on four carries in Week 1. He had more carries in Week 2, but it’s mostly been big plays from him. We haven’t had a whole lot of fluency on offense so far. It’s mostly been big play or bust.
“We’ve had one drive over eight plays. It’s been great to have a home-run guy and he’s certainly been that guy.”
Both teams enter Greenway tonight on a short week. With Allegany hosting Mountain Ridge Friday night, Fort Hill hosts the Rams earlier in the week and with just three days to practice after the Sentinels’ Saturday win over Belmont Charter.
“They’ve responded pretty well,” Alkire said of his kids preparing on a short week.
“They’re excited to go out there and play right away. They’re essentially playing two games in five days. That’s what the kids want to do: play games. The kids know that if things go well for us, maybe we’re not out there on Friday banging around at practice and we’re able to do something a little more fun. The kids have handled it well and they’re looking forward to getting out there.”
While the Rams played Friday night in their victory over Madonna, it also has given them a short week to prepare for a team they haven’t defeated on the field since 2001 — Southern was given a forfeit win in 2024 when the Sentinels had to forfeit their 49-0 victory after fielding an ineligible player in that game.
“They understand it’s Fort Hill week,” Southern head coach Dave McLaughlin said of his team preparing on a short week.
“Everyone knows what you get when you play Fort Hill — they have speed, they’re strong, they’re physical, they’re well- coached. You know Wing-T is coming at you.
“We’ve done our best to try and get our game plan put into place as far as scout offense and defense, but with the quick turnaround, we have only about two and a half days to practice. It’s a tall order, no doubt about it.”
Hayden Williams led the way offensively against Madonna with three scores on runs of 13, 47 and two yards after Lucas Lantz opened the scoring with a 73-yard scamper. Pierce Ramos had two second-half touchdowns on 32- and 73-yard dashes.
“I just want us to compete, McLaughlin said.
“It’s one of those games where you’ve just got to compete and battle and not back down.
“We’ve got to get over that hump. There’s a write-up I gave my kids at the beginning of the year from a former coach and the gist of it is that you don’t just need to work hard, you need to compete.
“We’ve done the hard work. We’ve put in the time in the weight room and on the practice field. Now we just need to compete.”