No. 1 Fort Hill faces No. 4 Edmondson in state semis
Nov. 26—CUMBERLAND — Fort Hill might still cruise against Edmondson-Westside to another 1A state title game appearance, but one thing is certain: It won't be as easy as last week.
The top-seeded Sentinels ran just nine plays in the opening half to lead Joppatowne, 42-0, en route to a 54-0 rout. It was obvious the Mariners weren't in the same stratosphere.
That won't be the case when No. 4 Edmondson comes to Greenway Avenue Stadium. The Red Storm are huge and athletic, but more importantly, they're well-coached.
It will be a war of attrition tonight at 7 p.m., and Fort Hill (10-0) will be ready for whatever Edmondson (7-3) throws at it.
"They're pretty talented," Sentinels head coach Zack Alkire said. "They're really athletic and we're going to have to play well to win. I think we'll do that.
"They're gonna be a team that's tough-nosed. They're going to be a team that's well-coached. Their coach has been there for a number of years there and in Baltimore City. They're not going to be a team that doesn't have any clue.
"People think it's destined to be us and Mountain Ridge in the championship, but we have to come out to play or we're not going to be there."
Edmondson is coached by Corey Johnson, who's accumulated a 102-54 record in his career and 63-29 on the Red Storm sideline.
A member of Baltimore City's Division 1, Edmondson has had some success in years past, most recently advancing to the 1A state semifinals in 2016. That season, the Red Storm fell to Havre De Grace, 31-14, who would go on to lose to Fort Hill, 35-14, in the 1A state title game — the Sentinels' third straight crown.
Johnson also toppled Dunbar back-to-back times to begin his Edmondson coaching career, so his Edmondson team won't be scared of top-notch competition.
With that being said, the Red Storm haven't faced anything like Fort Hill, who has outscored opponents 412-107 so far this year. The first task for the Sentinels will be wearing down Edmondson's big offensive linemen. Alkire is confident they can do it.
"They're really big up front," he said. "They have a guy that weighs 370, another at 340. The smallest guy is 225. They're going to be big, but those guys go both ways. Our hope is we're going to come off the ball and make them work a little bit harder and eventually wear them down."
Against Joppatowne last week, Blake White and Tavin Willis had field days. White ran for 151 yards and two TDs on just three carries, and Willis scampered for 105 yards and a pair of scores on four totes. That big-play potential will still be present again tonight.
Edmondson may have shown its hand against run-first teams in its game versus Colonel Richardson last week. The Colonels run a double tight formation, where they keep all 11 guys up tight — a formation comparable to the Wing-T.
The Red Storm were aggressive stacking the box in their 42-20 quarterfinal win. Their big bodies will likely key on White up the gut, and their ends will line up wide to shut down the sweep.
"They're going to be really aggressive, pack the box," Alkire said. "Their plan against Wing-T teams is to stop the sweep. We were really big on sweep for the first time this year last week. They're gonna put their three big kids up the middle to try and stop Blake, ends to stop sweep. The off-tackle hole is going to be the key."
If Edmondson can slow down Fort Hill, it'll be the first team to reliably do it so far this season. The Sentinels have amassed 3,222 rushing yards and 46 touchdowns on 421 carries for a 7.7 yards per carry average.
On defense, Fort Hill will have some athletes to contend with, namely 6-2, 218-pound senior running back Bryan Berry and big receiving target Antwan Bennett, standing at 6-5, 180 pounds.
Edmondson feature back Cahari Ferguson, who jumps off the screen on film in earlier games this year, has been absent from the field the last couple of contests.
"The kid that has been really big the last two weeks is (Berry)," Alkire said. "They've had a lot of success with (Berry) and (Darrien Gaither). (Berry) runs with that kind of aggressive nature. He's not going to be brought down with arm tackles. (Gaither) is shifty, has that breakaway speed."
At quarterback, Edmondson has employed a two-quarterback in recent weeks, with sophomore Abraham Tarley (5-6, 145 pounds) providing a running threat, and senior Ibrahim Karim (5-11, 215) a better throwing arsenal.
Neither can spin the pigskin like Fort Hill quarterback Bryce Schadt, and though Tarley may be a better mover, both are one-dimensional compared to the Sentinels' gunslinger.
"They do have that big receiver, they try to get the ball to them," Alkire said of Bennett. "We hope that with our press coverage that we're going to be able to keep him off the ball."
If Fort Hill can take care of business, it'll book a trip to the state title for the 15th time in school history. In 14 previous trips to the championship, it has won seven titles.
Fort Hill would also secure a likely matchup of Area teams, with No. 2 Mountain Ridge facing No. 3 Perryville in the other semifinal tonight for a right to play for the 1A crown in Annapolis next Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.
