Fort Hill :Good coaching..scouting..preparation...blahblahblah
- Thread starter mountainmoe
- Start date
That’s why they win. Why else would it be. Do you really think they’ve had the best players the last seven out of eight years. Duh. It looks like tonight they are running into a team that’s better prepared and coached. It’s called football
It is interesting that moe would make such a comment when he predicted FH would win with a potential running clock earlier in the week.
Let's face it, I don't think there was one FH person that thought they could lose, which makes no sense except they haven't seen fh play a road game in the playoffs so long they forgot what home field advantage really means.
For gods sake take the starters out, all of them!!!!
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I hope they win worse than 55-8 at this point, Appel needs to know how it feels to be on the other end of one of those.
I didn't think that FH could lose for these reasons. Catoctin Has made the playoffs 8 times in 16 years and Only Won that 1 title in 2009
I watched a few of their games and they are always a passing team. I've never seen them show that they could run the football as a major part of their offense.
I've never seen any Team Dominate FH on both sides of the ball like I'm seeing Tonight.
The Teams that have beat them over the years has dominated the game by throwing the ball all over the field. Martinsburg, Cathedral Prep, Friendship, Brunswick and Teams that they beat in close games like The Florida Team. The only Team over the past 20 years that dominated the line of scrimmage like this was Allegany against FH
This is Unreal to Watch, it proves that this Catoctin Team is Very good, I just wonder why they aren't very good other than every 5-6 years and then they are really bad most years.
I also want to say I've never seen a FH Team give up so easily and instead of trying to get back into the game play it to try to keep the score down.
and at 41-0 This is The Biggest Lost in Fort Hill High School History
Obviously Catoctin is Clearly the Better Team This Season and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they Win Easily next week as well, it will be fun to watch on NFHS https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/
I watched a few of their games and they are always a passing team. I've never seen them show that they could run the football as a major part of their offense.
I've never seen any Team Dominate FH on both sides of the ball like I'm seeing Tonight.
The Teams that have beat them over the years has dominated the game by throwing the ball all over the field. Martinsburg, Cathedral Prep, Friendship, Brunswick and Teams that they beat in close games like The Florida Team. The only Team over the past 20 years that dominated the line of scrimmage like this was Allegany against FH
This is Unreal to Watch, it proves that this Catoctin Team is Very good, I just wonder why they aren't very good other than every 5-6 years and then they are really bad most years.
I also want to say I've never seen a FH Team give up so easily and instead of trying to get back into the game play it to try to keep the score down.
and at 41-0 This is The Biggest Lost in Fort Hill High School History
Obviously Catoctin is Clearly the Better Team This Season and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they Win Easily next week as well, it will be fun to watch on NFHS https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/
Ya know a lot of times a coordinator is the heart and soul of a team. Those same coordinators sometimes make horrible head coaches. If you have an entire season to work on youth and inexperience and this is your final game you put forth, there is obviously something wrong.
We need an offensive coordinator very badly, and Appel can focus more on the defense, that is my two cents.
Don't know if anybody caught the announcers say Catoctin coaches knew every single defense to call based on how FH lined up....well duh, who doesn't know it? It's do you have the athletes to stop it and can you actually believe they really are that predictable and not be fooled into thinking they couldn't possibly keep running the same plays over and over!
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Catoctin doesn't have people moving into the school district to play football. I know its something you all aren't used to it but generally 1a schools have a fluctuation of talent. Some years up some years down. And their RB has now gone over 2000 yards and rushed for more than 30 tds, they are a balanced offense.
Yes, 97% of 1A teams will get beat by FH because they can't match up with their OL so they can run those same plays over and over with impunity. But when they do go up against a team that can match the OL FH doesn't adjust offensively.
There are times when your line is not going to dominate, and when that happens you could see tonight you have a problem. I'm not going to mention anybody in particular but there are a few players who need to put on some weight, get over their fear of being hit, and run like you are angry, not scared! Then when there is no hole you just hit the pile and drive it back!
is that the new excuse being thrown around for FH's success over the years? It joins trick lighting and shitty away locker rooms as false narratives.
So you're saying if I kid wants to go to Fort Hill and lives in Cumberland but not in FH district, he doesn't find away to get there?
Its not taking anything away from their success, but there is a reason them and Dunbar have won every state championship since 2009.
The reason FH and Dunbar win so much is because they are top notch programs. They do it right. They have occasional down years, as opposed to other teams who make it to the finals once every ten years. I'm not talking about Dunbar as I don't know their roster...but when you look at FH, you don't see very many kids from out of district. These are mostly homegrown kids who have played in the feeder systems since they were 7. It's not as pervasive as people seem to think with kids transferring in here and there to play for FH.
I mean it's no secret that Dunbar uses the rules to their advantage, being a magnet school and all. Again, its not taking anything away from what FH has done and does. It just appears sometimes on this board that if a kid wants to play football but not at Allegany he finds his way to Fort Hill. And this isn't anything I've seen recently just in the years of reading this board.
The reason you were hearing that on this board is because people want to down play Fort Hills success. Kids from across town move into Fort Hills district very rarely. In reality a lot of people hate Fort Hills coach. Some of it is due to his success and some of it is due to his comments after the game. He has become extremely bitter over the years. These kids are in a program from peewee league all the way through high school. They run fort Hills plays and are extremely dedicated to the program.
I’m going to try and make it to your finals game against Dunbar. I hope you guys can win it. Catoctin took a page right out of Fort Hills program. Better coaching and line execution.
Just to elaborate a little more. Fort Hill can use three or four running backs every year The line is so dominant And the execution is so crisp that teams In 1a cannot stop them. It’s the combination of average kids that are very dedicated with great technique and excellent coaching. Unfortunately for Fort Hill when they run into a better line there is no Plan B.
Just glancing through the thread.... and for sure, assholes have to bring up politics, particularly the 'orange man bad' - like as though one doesn't get a bullshit barrage of it from everywhere.
Does it make you feel good? Are you announcing that you are part of the better-person-crowd? Did you take time from pumping memes in Facebook and Twitter to come over here and place an emotional splooge like The Good Soldier Schweik for the resistance?
Take it back to the places you already pollute and let us argue about football. You should be embarrassed that you let someone live in your head this long between elections.
To deny that there has been a generational shift to FH is to deny the truth. FH has not obtained its ongoing talent like they pick the daily lottery numbers. This has absolutely nothing to do with hating FH's success. As far as Appel is concerned, he is his own worst enemy. He could have been beloved by everyone in town and everyone who ever heard of him. If he weren't the beneficiary of being in 1A with his current pool of talent he couldn't keep a job coaching.... just my opinion.
Sure looked like it.... but I hesitate to climb into the minds of the young.
Something else, did you ever notice when somebody comes in to run the wildcat it's not usually your starting rb...it can be but it's just much more common to take somebody who doesn't touch the ball a lot that you want to get a touch because they are fast/elusive/tough...not somebody who has already shown most of the game a lot of trepidation.
Lag I'm with you. When people start calling him the greatest fh coach ever it makes me cringe. There is no way these people watch Charlie Lattimer coached teams. If he had hung around more than a year or two after the playoffs started he would have racked many titles up. Mike Calhoun gets shit for non-football stuff but if he had been in 1a with the teams he had he would have racked up several more titles. FH was a little fish in a big pond and he couldn't get past those bigger/faster/more talented teams...except once. He is the only FH coach to ever beat Dunbar, and that has to count for something. I'll take several of his teams that didn't win titles over several of Appel's title teams any day. He wasn't afraid to pass the ball, he wasn't afraid to make adjustments, or call timeouts.
As far as Alco goes can you imagine what Refosco would have done last night if his team had been performing like FH did. How about Gilmore? Do you think either of those two would not have marched out on the field and ripped the whole team a new one? Next they would have yanked them all out one by one and replaced them until they found what was working...oh the good old days when coaches were tough and crying was for the cheerleaders.
For the most part a team is a reflection of their coach. If a team quits or has that mentality the coach has usually quit or has that mentality. Time and time again I've seen FH not make adjustments, nor adapt. Then the next day FH apologists will come on and say, "well they would have lost any way so it would have made no difference to change the game plan" or "it worked this far" or "that's FH, always has been always will be". To me that's a quitters mentality. They're some of the dumbest most asinine comments you'll read. What separates good coaching from great coaching is not winning the games you're supposed to but winning the games you're not supposed to. For the most part that only happens if a coach has a willingness to adapt to adversity.
One of the best posts on this subject! I can't believe people are actually saying the kids quit without any explanation for why they would quit. Wouldn't a coach pull a kid out if he quit. The whole "they didn't have heart" or "they quit" only makes sense if you say they were not willing to get the prize for winning - having to play Dunbar again.
More from the Allegany whiners club. Go ahead and name the players who jumped ship to Fort Hill from Allegany.
You won’t do it because you can’t. I’m sure you will complain and then say that you’re too classy to name names but the facts are the facts. Cumberland has a bunch of whiny losers that can’t stand success so you have to try and tear down someone who has won ninety percent of their games. Meanwhile you take up for the Allegheny coach who lost to a bunch of players at Silver Oak who never played high school football. That’s actually called bad coaching. Duh
Mike Calhoun sucked. He alienated half of the players that played for him. I know I was one of them. By the time we were seniors. Half of the talent we had did not play football. That’s just one of the reasons coach Apple is the best for Hill coach of all. It’s been said many times that the best athletes at fort Hill play football that’s a testament to the coach. Maybe Calhoun learned his lesson after he left Fort Hill but when he was here he was a prick.
I played on Calhoun's lone state title team. And i agree with most of what your saying was he a prick no question he was but he was a good coach. But his 2A state title team was loaded with talent wasn't his coaching that won that title it was his players.
As I have always posted, it's a "generational shift."
Perhaps you need to get your own red-jackets onboard with your own mythology:
"Maybe Braddock's best 8th grade player can make up the difference. He has already changed schools to play football for the dark side. I hear the ones who quit Hansel last year are following suite to the Hill. That is the world we live in today. - brianh1974"
You could have this well known Cumberland icon step in and still get a full bench at FH, because you don't historically have to play to get a ring... generally speaking, that is.
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I never bought into the great coaching meme about FH. I simply never thought that Catoctin would produce such a well conditioned and well coached team. Catoctin exposed the up-in-the-booth genius myth of Appel. FH's offense and defense wasn't just uninspired, it was minimalist and totally unmotivated. When FH couldn't roll over Catoctin with simple running plays, they couldn't pass block either. Catoctin's main running back wasn't exactly Ty Johnson, but FH couldn't get outside to stop him and when they did get close they tried to reach and arm tackle.
It's all well and good to paper over this disaster with historic wins. But the fact remains, what teams has FH played over the years in 1A to get that record. Rolling over lesser teams while not even fully playing your bench is like a 'Cain Mutiny' version of rolling bearings in your hand and knowing who is hiding the strawberries.
I know this post will get me wrath, but I have posted this much and more negative stuff about Allegany. The young men who play football for FH are good young men. It's just that, when their myth is exposed by a team that has no generational shift of talent and no history of continued championships - and you think you are going to stomp them into a mud puddle - and you find out that they are just as talented and two steps ahead of you in coaching - you lose your identity in one huge bath of reality.
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." (Who shot....) True, but you can't paper over this one. It's all Appel. Hansel's Alco team fought like junkyard dogs the entire Homecoming game even though they knew going in they didn't have a chance; Appel's team fought like junkyard dogs against Catoctin until they knew they didn't have a chance - which was almost immediately.
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I do want to point out that Todd Appel when he was first named Head Coach, in 2008 Season came in a played a Very Good Schedule for 3 Seasons, a Schedule I'm sure everyone loved.
in 2008 11-2 lost to Dunbar by 1, in 2010 at 9-4 lost in finals to Dunbar by 6
These kinds of Schedules were very tough for a 1A School.
Check these out.
2008 SEASON RECORD: 11-2 COACH: Todd Appel
Sept. 5 Baltimore City College WON 14-6
Sept. 12 at Keyser LOST 7-13
Sept. 19 Dunbar (Wash. DC) WON 1-0 (FORFEIT)
Sept. 26 Cambridge - South Dorchester WON 36-28
Oct. 10 at Jefferson WON 38-6
Oct. 17 Frederick Douglass WON 14-12
Oct. 24 at Northern Garrett WON 42-7
Nov. 1 Mountain Ridge WON 24-21
Nov. 8 at Allegany WON 26-22
Playoffs
Nov. 14 Boonsboro WON 35-0
Nov. 21 Allegany WON 21-14
Nov. 28 Joppatowne WON 28-0
Dec. 6 Dunbar (Balt.) LOST 19-20 Championship
2009 SEASON RECORD: 11-1 COACH: Todd Appel
Sept. 5 at Surrattsville WON 37-15
Sept. 11 Keyser WON 29-8
Sept. 18 Mount St. Joseph WON 22-12
Sept. 25 Martinsburg WON 41-14
Oct. 3 Silver Oak Academy WON 49-6
Oct. 9 Jefferson WON 55-7
Oct. 17 Southern Garrett WON 35-0
Oct. 23 at Thomas Johnson WON 12-0
Oct. 30 at Mountain Ridge WON 51-7
Nov. 7 Allegany WON 17-7
Playoffs
Nov. 13 Smithsburg WON 45-0
Nov. 20 Allegany LOST 14-35
2010 SEASON RECORD: 9-4 COACH: Todd Appel
Sept. 3 Surrattsville WON 35-0
Sept. 11 at Keyser WON 24-0
Sept. 17 Mount St. Joseph LOST 7-10
Sept. 24 at Martinsburg LOST 10-42
Oct. 1 MATHS WON 42-0
Oct. 8 at Jefferson WON 59-0
Oct. 15 at Southern Garrett WON 25-0
Oct. 23 Thomas Johnson LOST 17-21
Oct. 29 Mountain Ridge WON 20-16
Nov. 6 at Allegany WON 47-21
PLAYOFFS
Nov. 12 Smithsburg WON 42-6
Nov. 19 at Mountain Ridge WON 25-0
Nov. 27 at Dunbar (Balt.) LOST 14-20 Championship
in 2008 11-2 lost to Dunbar by 1, in 2010 at 9-4 lost in finals to Dunbar by 6
These kinds of Schedules were very tough for a 1A School.
Check these out.
2008 SEASON RECORD: 11-2 COACH: Todd Appel
Sept. 5 Baltimore City College WON 14-6
Sept. 12 at Keyser LOST 7-13
Sept. 19 Dunbar (Wash. DC) WON 1-0 (FORFEIT)
Sept. 26 Cambridge - South Dorchester WON 36-28
Oct. 10 at Jefferson WON 38-6
Oct. 17 Frederick Douglass WON 14-12
Oct. 24 at Northern Garrett WON 42-7
Nov. 1 Mountain Ridge WON 24-21
Nov. 8 at Allegany WON 26-22
Playoffs
Nov. 14 Boonsboro WON 35-0
Nov. 21 Allegany WON 21-14
Nov. 28 Joppatowne WON 28-0
Dec. 6 Dunbar (Balt.) LOST 19-20 Championship
2009 SEASON RECORD: 11-1 COACH: Todd Appel
Sept. 5 at Surrattsville WON 37-15
Sept. 11 Keyser WON 29-8
Sept. 18 Mount St. Joseph WON 22-12
Sept. 25 Martinsburg WON 41-14
Oct. 3 Silver Oak Academy WON 49-6
Oct. 9 Jefferson WON 55-7
Oct. 17 Southern Garrett WON 35-0
Oct. 23 at Thomas Johnson WON 12-0
Oct. 30 at Mountain Ridge WON 51-7
Nov. 7 Allegany WON 17-7
Playoffs
Nov. 13 Smithsburg WON 45-0
Nov. 20 Allegany LOST 14-35
2010 SEASON RECORD: 9-4 COACH: Todd Appel
Sept. 3 Surrattsville WON 35-0
Sept. 11 at Keyser WON 24-0
Sept. 17 Mount St. Joseph LOST 7-10
Sept. 24 at Martinsburg LOST 10-42
Oct. 1 MATHS WON 42-0
Oct. 8 at Jefferson WON 59-0
Oct. 15 at Southern Garrett WON 25-0
Oct. 23 Thomas Johnson LOST 17-21
Oct. 29 Mountain Ridge WON 20-16
Nov. 6 at Allegany WON 47-21
PLAYOFFS
Nov. 12 Smithsburg WON 42-6
Nov. 19 at Mountain Ridge WON 25-0
Nov. 27 at Dunbar (Balt.) LOST 14-20 Championship
Very true and most of us saw it all happen. No doubt psychologically damaging to lose to Dunbar twice and get knocked out by Alco in between. Then, Dunbar suddenly wasn't there and now Allegany isn't there.... and Appel can play like Bear Bryant did up on his platform on the practice field.... only, Appel can be up above everyone during the game, calling stuff that the other coach already knows what he is going to call before Appel figures out the 1 or 2 things he can do in his limited repertoire. Definately humiliating. No wonder Appel says what he does after losing.
