FORT HILL ANNOUNCES 2016 FOOTBALL SCHEDULES

[TDHelmick]

The 2016 Fort Hill Football schedule is complete as the Sentinels add their final 10th varsity opponent (see link):

FORT HILL 2016 SCHEDULE

Also included are the freshman and JV schedules. Keep in mind these are all subject to change in regards to dates and times as Greenway Avenue Stadium is shared for soccer and football for both FH and Allegany. So there is sometimes a need to adjust those dates and times to make it all fit.

FH still needs one more Queen City Quad opponent.

You can also access the schedule from the FortHillFootball.net home page.

 

[bigsavage]

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"Within the last few years"? Every time I ask somebody to name a good team Fort Hill played it's always about 10 years ago, lol - FH played Douglass in 2007 and 2008, winning by 2 and by 5 points. Both games were played at Greenway, of course it never occurred to anybody to play a home and home series - then you wonder why you can't get teams to play you, lol
Click to expand...
Please explain how to get a home and home series with a PG County team when they cannot travel to Cumberland without compensation.

18 TDHelmick, Feb 15, 2016
sentinel-nurse likes this.


So let me get this straight Fort Hill can find the money to pay for a 3-7 Fairmont Heights PG county team to come to Greenway but no funds are available to pay for one of the better PG County teams??? Gotcha!

 

[TDHelmick]

The Schedule Debate
And we're off...

What PG County team that is open October 7 did you have in mind?

It's a trick question, there aren't any.
Fairmont Heights became available when Forestville folded as October 7 is the date they were set to play.

We actually had a PA team the same size that went 10-2 last year looking for that date. We inquired and they told me there was no way they were playing a team that won 40 out of their last 41 games.

 

[bigsavage]

umm ok... how convenient another Capital Christian on the schedule yaaaaaa!

 

[mccoke]

Bigsavage can have his opinion. We people with a grasp on reality know the scheduling mess Todd has to deal with year in and year out. Walk a mile in TH's shoes BS! You might feel differently!

 

[bigsavage]

Mccoke you're exactly right I can have my opinion thank you for such an insightful post

 

[TDHelmick]

There is no one in the state of Maryland or West Virginia open for October 7. That's not an opinion.

 

[BoyznBlue]

This schedule will get them another 1A title, but this isn't a very competitive schedule for the three time champions.

 

[GREEN75]

And Allegany has a competitive schedule !!! LMAO !

 

[BrianH1974]

Nice job on the schedule!!!

FH is going to win its 4th title in a row. In 2017 they will compete to be the only school in Maryland football history to win 5 in a row.

FREAKING AWESOME!
FH Football is finally where it was always destined to be since the playoffs were formed in 1974.

 

[sentinel-nurse]

Omg! I want to blow this thread up-- some of u people are downright ridiculous!!!
Nothing is NEVER good enough!! FORT HILL has had an awesome team
And outstanding coaches for years. FORT HILL beats quality football teams year in and year out BUT to all u haters those teams then " aren't really that good".; And yes I realize some teams aren't top notch!!
Todd Helmick-- thanks for all u do for our beloved football team , and our community.

 

[Waggle Pass]

This schedule will get them another 1A title, but this isn't a very competitive schedule for the three time champions.

Why? Because there's no PG or MoCo 4A's? Because there's no Good Council, Gilman or De Matha?

 

[mccoke]

BS and BnB will never be happy until Fort Hill schedules themselves out of the playoffs.

 

[Waggle Pass]

I see FH is scrimmaging Tuscarora. Didn't they have week 6 open at one time? Or did they fill it by the time you contacted them?

 

[bigsavage]

To say we're unhappy that FH didn't schedule Gilman, Dematha or GC or that we won't be happy until they schedule themselves out of the playoffs is the typical straw man argument and over dramatization by the Todd Helmick attack dogs once you don't agree with a schedule he puts out... With all the talk about how good the 3 time defending champion is going to be this year it's a bit of a let down to see Silver Oak, Capital Christian and Fairmont Heights on the schedule.. I would have liked to seen more than one half way decent team on the schedule. Does that mean I want them to schedule 3 private powerhouse schools or does it mean I want them to schedule themselves out of the playoffs??? No, not at all. But if that argument helps you deflect attention away from how atrocious the schedule is compared to the level FH is playing at then by all means have at it... One of the great American qualities is that we can be entitled to our opinions whether or not any one agrees... Likewise, you guys are entitled to your straw man arguments and over statements no matter how disingenuous they are...

 

[glamourbyjim]

Omg! I want to blow this thread up-- some of u people are downright ridiculous!!!
Nothing is NEVER good enough!! FORT HILL has had an awesome team
And outstanding coaches for years. FORT HILL beats quality football teams year in and year out BUT to all u haters those teams then " aren't really that good".; And yes I realize some teams aren't top notch!!
Todd Helmick-- thanks for all u do for our beloved football team , and our community.

I totally agree with this. Allegany and Fort HIll have both "had their day" over the years. And we all know the years and the glories. Right now Fort Hill is enjoying a great deal of success. I just hope all the FH supporters understand how special these years, players, and coaches really are.

 

[BoyznBlue]

I totally agree with this. Allegany and Fort HIll have both "had their day" over the years. And we all know the years and the glories. Right now Fort Hill is enjoying a great deal of success. I just hope all the FH supporters understand how special these years, players, and coaches really are.

Fort Hill has been a successful team for a long time. Since 2006 only three teams have won 1A titles: FH, Dunbar and Catoctin. Dunbar and Catoctin are now in 2A. FH can win 1A for the next 10 years because they don't have to play competitive teams in the playoffs. Last year for example, Forestville was in the semifinals with a losing regular season record. As three time champs, I thought they would look to play a better regular season schedule but they decided to play CC again that could barely field 12 players and a Fairmont Heights team which is the worst team in PG County. This is a good schedule to get another title, but as I've said 100 times before, this is not a schedule the better Maryland teams play.

 

[towpath94]

haters in the building

I'd like a tougher schedule but also understand the variables and issues that are in play with scheduling. Many others do not.

 

[Waggle Pass]

Fort Hill has been a successful team for a long time. Since 2006 only three teams have won 1A titles: FH, Dunbar and Catoctin. Dunbar and Catoctin are now in 2A. FH can win 1A for the next 10 years because they don't have to play competitive teams in the playoffs. Last year for example, Forestville was in the semifinals with a losing regular season record. As three time champs, I thought they would look to play a better regular season schedule but they decided to play CC again that could barely field 12 players and a Fairmont Heights team which is the worst team in PG County. This is a good schedule to get another title, but as I've said 100 times before, this is not a schedule the better Maryland teams play.

5-5 is a losing record? But wait, 7 of Forestville's games were against PG county schools so didn't that make their schedule "competitive"? Or are you saying now that PG county football isn't competitive?

Fort Hill's only concern is being the best in 1A since that is what they are classified as. Only you and maybe a couple of others concern themselves as to how that looks against schools in larger classifications.

 

[eaglesinsider]

I see FH is scrimmaging Tuscarora. Didn't they have week 6 open at one time? Or did they fill it by the time you contacted them?

Tuscarora was never open Week 6. They were briefly open Week 5. They had a home game vs. Chester (Philadelphia, PA) but were worried Chester would cancel since Tuscarora's game at Chester last year got cancelled. They got it worked out with Archbishop Curley so when Chester pulled out, Archbishop Curley was already lined up to replace them.

 

[BrianH1974]

Dunbar made a living off winning 1A titles with the best players they could get from all of Baltimore. That goes for football as well as bball. Alco built a reputation winning 8 state titles being the biggest school in a lower classification. Finally FH is now making a living off of a lower class 1A. Yep, yep, yep, Boyz gets it. Well almost gets it. Truth is that 1A has always been just that, 1A. It's not a new concept as Boyz wishes it to be.

The problem with savage is that he will never get it. He has self interest in being entertained with out any pokers in the fire. He spouts off as if he knows something from his basement computer when he knows nothing about scheduling and the extreme difficulty FH has been handed. What part don't u get? Did you not just see in a previous post that no team in MD or WV was open Oct 7? What part about that can't you grasp? Its as if you believe a magic scheduling fairy Flys down into FH and hands them teams to play from 2+ hours away. What a dumbarse.

Funny part is FH still plays the toughest schedule in Class 1A and in most of 2A as well. DOLP!

 

[bigsavage]

Brian do you have anything better to contribute than 4 yr old insults? You sound like a preschooler... Get out of your feelings with the insults hiding behind a computer.. You and I both know you would be the first one holding the door open for me and buying me a cup of coffee at the new loves truck stop in real life, so just stop with computer Rambo insults

 

[BrianH1974]

Let's keep it simple.
It's been stated no one in MD or WV is open Oct 7? What should FH do?

 

[BoyznBlue]

5-5 is a losing record? But wait, 7 of Forestville's games were against PG county schools so didn't that make their schedule "competitive"? Or are you saying now that PG county football isn't competitive?

Fort Hill's only concern is being the best in 1A since that is what they are classified as. Only you and maybe a couple of others concern themselves as to how that looks against schools in larger classifications.

Forestville was 5-5 with a win over Gwynn Park by forfeit that would have been a sure loss. And like every county, PG has good and not-so-good teams, Forestville didn't play any PG "football" schools.

As long as Fort Hill's concern is about being the best 1A team in the state, as I have said before, I don't have a problem with the schedule. My comments are directed towards the people who say FH should be ranked among the best teams in the state. This schedule is clearly intended to get another 1A title and I salute the players and coaches for doing so. But don't play this schedule and whine about not getting respect and about the scouts not recruiting your players.

 

[TDHelmick]

All it took to get this board active again was to start another schedule debate. LOL

I don't think people fully grasp the situation FH, and to a lesser extent Allegany, has been placed in regards to getting a 10 game schedule. And that's not even taking into account the stupid Maryland playoff structure. Sure, some people say they know but they truly do not know the full extent in the least. I have exhausted a great deal of time since December hounding MD, WV, VA, PA, DC, DE, OH and even NJ and Canada for games to play. That goes from checking every open dates board daily in addition to sending out over 300 emails and soliciting the help of people like eagleinsider, Ed Forshey and the guy who runs the Eastern/Western PA open dates board. I'm telling everyone that October 7 was a monster of a time trying to get filled. Nobody was open. And if they were it was likely from 4 or more hours away. I am literally in discussion with teams from Ontario. We couldn't get the Canadians here for that date but are still trying to work it out for them to attend the Quad. It takes money to make stuff like that happen.

For bigsavage, I have told you a dozen times that I do not put the schedule together. I find games and the head man himself says ya or nay. It's his dog and he has to train it. Just assume the man knows what is best for him and his program after 24 years of coaching on the Hill. But back to what most of you are not grasping...it's absolutely brutal to find games...BRUTAL. Take whatever it is you think you know about it and multiply that by 20. Teams have to have an opening when you do. There is no formula that fixes that part of the equation. Then you have to get them to drive 2+ hours over the mountains when they have teams to play in their own back yard most of the time. Catching Fairmont Heights was a gift from the football gods. Not because they are a 1A school, but because we had nobody. In fact, I really thought this might be the year FH fields a 9 game schedule to start the season. It was that bad. I guess some of you will never understand these things unless you try it. But don't be unintelligent about it by thinking you know the answer that some PG County or Montgomery County or Frederick County school, etc. was available and willing. That's just a very, very, very poor assumption reflecting a severe case of grasping at pretend straws that don't exist.

The DC public schools don't come here to play FH 3 or 4 games a year and there is no league involving WV schools anymore and teams like Southern are struggling with numbers to compete. The people who lived FH football in the 90s had it easy.

 

[bigsavage]

Let's keep it simple.
It's been stated no one in MD or WV is open Oct 7? What should FH do?

Keeping it simple i don't believe Fairmont heights, the worst team in PG county was the only game FH could find... When PG schools were brought up they couldn't travel bc of expenses but somehow FH finds a way to bring up one of the worst teams in PG county.. I don't drink the kool aid and buy all the excuses... When it looked like Bridgeport had an open date FH schedulers were already making excuses as to not play them... These are my opinions... This doesn't mean I want 3 power house privates, doesn't mean, I want FH to schedule themselves out of the playoffs.. Doesn't mean I don't think FH doesn't have the toughest 1A schedule which isn't saying much. It doesn't mean I don't think Alco or Hancock's schedule doesnt suck... The topic of this thread is Fort Hill's Schedule... All those other points are straw man arguments that have nothing to do with what I'm addressing... If anyone wants to talk about alco's schedule or hancock's schedule start a new thread and we can talk about how bad they suck too... My point is at the level FH is playing at it would be nice to see more than one half way decent team... But it doesn't matter if FH is a 3 defending time state champion winning 40 out of 41 games. The fact remains year in a and year out they play a schedule like they've lost 22 straight games in a row... And go out of their way to avoid tough competition and schedule cream puffs. That's their perogative and being that this is a public message board it's my perogative to voice my opposition...

 

[BrianH1974]

Forestville was 5-5 with a win over Gwynn Park by forfeit that would have been a sure loss. And like every county, PG has good and not-so-good teams, Forestville didn't play any PG "football" schools.

As long as Fort Hill's concern is about being the best 1A team in the state, as I have said before, I don't have a problem with the schedule. My comments are directed towards the people who say FH should be ranked among the best teams in the state. This schedule is clearly intended to get another 1A title and I salute the players and coaches for doing so. But don't play this schedule and whine about not getting respect and about the scouts not recruiting your players.

Agreed except who is complaining about not getting any respect other than from a poster like you? 1A recruiting is the same everywhere. Even in Florida, Texas and Cali.

 

[TDHelmick]

And just to prove my point about the difficulty of scheduling...FH still has not been able to fill a 9 game JV schedule where playoffs, size and competition mean nothing. And that's on top of the fact they play Alco and Mountain Ridge twice. Let that one sink in.

 

[GREEN75]

Looks like a great schedule Todd. Once again, thanx for all your time and effort. Did u try Martingsburg for the Quad Scrimmage? The Blind Owl !

 

[eaglesinsider]

The only schools in the state not in a league are: Allegany, Fort Hill, Mountain Ridge, Northern Garrett, Southern Garrett, Boonsboro, Clear Spring, Hancock, North Hagerstown, Smithsburg, South Hagerstown, Williamsport, Westminster, Brunswick, SEED, Silver Oak, Eastern Christian, Capitol Christian, Maryland School for the Deaf, Riverdale Baptist and Avalon

Every other school has between 4 and 10 guaranteed games each year. Scheduling isn't easy, it has to fit into both schools' existing schedule, make financial sense, keep a good home/away balance and with MPSSAA schools it has to make sense with the playoff formula as well. Most 3A/4A schools don't want to play 1A/2A schools because of the loss of playoff points.

Finding 3 replacement games (Brunswick for Clearfield, Hollidaysburg for Chestnut Ridge and Fairmont Heights for Archbishop Curley/BYE Week) in an off cycle scheduling year (most MPSSAA and MIAA schools sign 2-year home-and-home contracts after reclassification, so in this case for the 2015 AND 2016 seasons) is incredibly hard.

Almost every school in the state will play the exact same schedule as last year, just with home and away flipped. The only reason Fairmont Heights was even a possibility was because Forestville closed and created 10 openings on schedules that weren't there before. The only other even potential Week 6 openings that I have are Lake Clifton, a 1A Baltimore City school that could barely field a team last year and New Town, a 1A Baltimore County school that couldn't go .500 in an awful league.

Ask Good Counsel how hard it is to find games in an off cycle scheduling year. They lost 3 games as well and their replacement games are ALL on the road, meaning that GC will play SIX STRAIGHT WEEKS on the road to open the season before their home opener in Week 7. They only have 3 total home games.

I can't imagine the complaining on here if Fort Hill played "quality" opponents on the road six weeks in a row and only had 3 games at Greenway.

All-in-all Todd did a great job of getting you guys 10 games without an absurd number of road games. At the end of the day, it's about the kids, and I believe that each HS football player should have the opportunity to play a full 10 game season. Fort Hill gets their 10 games this year.

 

[TDHelmick]

Looks like a great schedule Todd. Once again, thanx for all your time and effort. Did u try Martingsburg for the Quad Scrimmage? The Blind Owl !

Martinsburg is not available for the Quad. It's hard getting WV schools for the Quad because they have a regular season game the following Friday. The Quad pushes kids and they get after it live. By the end of every Quad I see tongues hanging out and hands on hips. Although I'll never forget Coach Lawrence Smith making his Dunbar Poets run gasers on the Greenway turf after the Quad was over in 2011. But yea, WV coaches tell me that the Quad is a bit much to be doing on a Saturday before their first game. That's why we lost Morgantown a few years ago. They got banged up and that was it.

 

[TDHelmick]

Lake Clifton picked up Green Street Academy for Oct. 7, another new school in Bmore. New Town has told FH "no thank you" on a few occasions the past few years. And that was even when the New Town head coach was a Frostburg State teammate of one of the FH assistant coaches.

Massillon (OH) was open October 7.

 

[Waggle Pass]

Lake Clifton picked up Green Street Academy for Oct. 7, another new school in Bmore. New Town has told FH "no thank you" on a few occasions the past few years. And that was even when the New Town head coach was a Frostburg State teammate of one of the FH assistant coaches.

Massillon (OH) was open October 7.

Yeah, but would Massillon still qualify as "competitive"?

 

[GREEN75]

Good news! Stadium concessions the same low prices as last year !!

 

[eaglesinsider]

Lake Clifton picked up Green Street Academy for Oct. 7, another new school in Bmore. New Town has told FH "no thank you" on a few occasions the past few years. And that was even when the New Town head coach was a Frostburg State teammate of one of the FH assistant coaches.

Massillon (OH) was open October 7.

Green Street Academy? Huh, even my Baltimore City contacts hadn't given me a heads up about that one. Guess it's another schedule to track down then.

 

[BoyznBlue]

Agreed except who is complaining about not getting any respect other than from a poster like you? 1A recruiting is the same everywhere. Even in Florida, Texas and Cali.

Incorrect. I'm not sure how long you've been coming to this board, but complaining about FH not getting any respect downstate is a common refrain on this board. But like I said, if you aren't one of those people I wasn't referring to you.

 

[BoyznBlue]

How many years will the "Nobody will play us" excuse be acceptable? I think this excuse is really exaggerated. I've covered sports in Maryland for over a decade and I talk to many people involved with high sports. When the promoter was doing the "I-95 Kickoff Classic" that had the top Maryland schools playing each other, he said he reached out to FH on several occasions and that they turned down every game.

 

[Waggle Pass]

Incorrect. I'm not sure how long you've been coming to this board, but complaining about FH not getting any respect downstate is a common refrain on this board. But like I said, if you aren't one of those people I wasn't referring to you.

Common refrain on this board? By who? One maybe two posters at most. You love to generalize. The other 98% of the people here like myself could care less what downstate thinks.

 

[Waggle Pass]

How many years will the "Nobody will play us" excuse be acceptable? I think this excuse is really exaggerated. I've covered sports in Maryland for over a decade and I talk to many people involved with high sports. When the promoter was doing the "I-95 Kickoff Classic" that had the top Maryland schools playing each other, he said he reached out to FH on several occasions and that they turned down every game.

World of difference between scheduling someone opening week as opposed to say October 7th.

 

[TDHelmick]

I type super fast (82 words per minute) so I'll ramble again...

It seems Boyz is the one who is upset over the fact FH gets ranked high in the state poll every year. Apparently most of the folks "down state" have a great admiration and respect for the FH program based on this poll. No one I can recall on this board (or in the stands) feels disrespected other than to debate the strength of schedule issue. All this despite being the toughest ranked schedule in all of Class 1A and most of 2A (too funny). It's like I type the same thing over and over for the last 8 years with this debate. FH is a Class 1A school. As much as certain people wish it wasn't so, it is so. NEWSFLASH: Class 1A is no worse off than it was 30 years ago. The only competition these type of posters want is 3A and 4A powers as it was 30-40 years ago when FH failed to win state titles. At least bigsavage is somewhat reasonable. I buy what he is saying to a degree. He is not suggesting to load up on these 3A and 4A powers. It would have been great to see how FH could have manned up with another team like Urbana for example for just one more tough game. I get that so no disrespect on that opinion. If the regional playoff system wasn't what it is you would see those type of opponents when possible (see what happened to defending champ Douglass PG last year). I will say again...take whatever it is you think you know about the difficulty for FH scheduling and multiply that by 20. THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND OR WEST VIRGINIA OPEN FOR OCTOBER 7. Read that statement again.

As for the I-95 Kickoff Classic run by great world shakers like Tony Kennedy and Lamar Smith (Tony was so enjoyable to hang out with at Homecoming last year)...they get what FH is doing. Which is trying to win a state title first, then taking care of financial burdens. First, Week 1 is the easiest week to fill as Waggle pointed out because teams in a league have not started league play yet. Second, the I-95 Classic doesn't pay out. Our fans travel there and pay and they keep the dough. That means FH would have to travel to Baltimore on their own dime with no return game. If Boyz is willing to fork out the $4000 or more in lost revenue I'll set it up like we have to do to get Dunbar here. If not you have no idea what you are talking about. You hypocritically have pointed the finger at FH for getting two year home deals with teams like Douglass PG (of which FH at least paid them) then turn around and ask why FH won't travel somewhere on their own dime with no return game? You cannot preach to FH about how bad that is then turn around and ask FH to do the same thing and for free to boot. Seriously? I hope you don't run the books for any business. I tried for years to get the Dunbar Poets to sign a two year home-and-home deal even up. DUNBAR WILL NEVER COME HERE WITHOUT BEING PAID!!!! Then they require a return game as well!!! Do you comprehend what I just said? Hell, FH has played Dunbar five times and four of those games have been in their own back yard. This philosophy applies to everyone that is legit, not just Dunbar. I tell you what, you want to be fair, then get a better PG County school to do a two year home and home even up with no money exchanged. Otherwise you cannot run your mouth about it. We both know that won't happen. We live in the mountains miles away where few schools exist. That doesn't mean it's our responsibility to lose money and accommodate teams "down state" just to get certain people's proverbial respect about the schedule. C'mon Eddie, open your eyes.

But Tony Kennedy is right. I like talking with him because he fights the good ole boy networks like I spend my time doing. I don't work under a BOE contract and I think that scares the network heads sometimes because I'm not under their control. But they don't have to pay me either. But mostly because Tony says different out-of-the-box things that leaves you scratching your head and that make no sense. But then when you think about it you realize he is right. His Crab Bowl might be the only legit all-star game I know (more later on that). But he allows people up here to see things from a different perspective, which is a good thing. For one, and he will tell you this, kids in the city are more concerned about getting D1 offers then they are winning state titles. It puts the individual goal over team goals. There most certainly is a reason why this area doesn't produce D1 kids very often...it's because we are thinly populated small ball and so the competition is small ball. Sure a player here may record 160 tackles, but how many will he produce playing against other players of his caliber or better? So college coaches know this and hence our kids fly way under the radar despite the lofty highlight and stat resumes. But I counter that by saying college coaches need to evaluate based on what they see, not what they hear. That's why local recruits getting to summer camp is everything. Now that our local kids have grasped this concept the scholarship results are getting better. And this is why 1A and 2A isn't so competitive in the DC or Baltimore areas as Boyz has pointed out in the past. If you are a legit talent, they go to the bigger or private schools outside their school district. In Cumberland they are loyally born and breed red & white or blue & white, they are concerned with state titles...a more team oriented goal as opposed to the individual goal. And that translates to a priority of winning games and running a wing-T offense, not scholarships. Plus, there are not other bigger/private schools to go play for in this area even if they wanted to.