To sum up this football season in a nutshell, I go back to the night before Fort Hill was set to host Cathedral Prep back in late September. While talking with one of the FH coaches, who shall remain nameless, I asked him what he though of our chances against them. He replied, "Our defense just isn't there."
Granted the FH offense at Catoctin had 5 turnovers and a 12 yard punt, which led to a shut out. But I have been saying it all year that this defense was susceptible. Susceptible to both the run and pass. There was no way to tell just how far the defense had improved since that 48-14 beat down to Cathedral Prep because FH had no measuring stick. After the CP game, FH just played a full array of super bad teams. Last night was the first time FH faced a legit team since CP. In the end we can say it again...The defense just isn't there.
Catoctin was calling plays and they all gashed FH. Up the gut, off tackle, on the perimeter and throwing the ball. There was zero pass rush. Give credit to Catoctin, they were quicker, more physical and had a great game plan. But the Cougars were able to do that because they possessed balance. Something FH just never has offensively.
There is no way to point fingers at any one player and even if you could that is not something I would ever do on a social media platform. This was a team effort win or lose. This wasn't a case of FH just needing one great player here or there. They had holes in many spots. When you look out on the field when FH is on defense, there wasn't one single player who played full time on that side of the ball the year before. This team was as short on experience as possible...all 11 starters were gone. They also lost 8 starters on offense. On top of all that gone were both the long time offensive and defensive coaches. FH could not overcome it. At the same time, fans should be proud of these kids for fighting through it and getting to 11 wins. Fortunately at Fort Hill, it's a state championship or bust these days. So it hurts, the seniors hurt, and it should. That is the way winning programs should react.
People asked me what happened at Catoctin, the narrative was pretty simple. FH got the ball first deep in their own end of the field, went 3 and out and punted for 12 yards. A few plays later and 7-0. FH gets the ball, a few plays later fumble, scoop and score and 14-0. The next drive starts moving the ball into Catoctin territory, fumble. A few plays later 21-0. FH gets the ball again, fumble. The first four possessions were 12 yard punt, fumble, fumble, fumble. At that point FH was out of any game plan or rhythm.
Was Catoctin 41 points better than FH? No, but on a night like this yes. Five turnovers will do that. But let's be clear...take away the turnovers and even the home field advantage and Catoctin still beats FH soundly. They were the better team no question. They owned FH on the line of scrimmage, both sides of the ball.
It's easy to put blame on coaches any time you lose. I can't do that. There was no out coaching what Catoctin had on FH. The Sentinel offense was definitely a let down. The defense though was not a surprise. We all knew Catoctin was going to score points before the game started. FH could not match them especially with all the turnovers.
The only disappointment I would put on FH coaching was the very end of the 2nd quarter. Down 28-0, FH had the ball around the Catoctin 45 yard line after a good kickoff return and 15 yard penalty. With 1:30 left and 3 times outs I told my friend sitting beside me that FH doesn't have a 2 minute offense. They will run the QB to the sideline to get the play call, use every second of the play clock and hand it off. They did just that. Even worse, they made no effort to score either a field goal or a touchdown. Didn't use one single time out. Just let the clock run out. Look, it was 28-0 at that point. Catoctin was getting the ball to open the 2nd half. You have to come up with something there, if a FG at least, to give the kids some type of momentum even if very little. Instead, I think the FH staff just chucked it in at that point. The team followed suite. I don't think it would have mattered, but the attitude there summed up the lost cause. This one was over by halftime.
My X's and O's hangs ups with FH are not about the Catoctin game. They are just the same ole, same ole that last through out the entire season dating back eight years. When you play super poor teams where you know 100% beforehand you can name the score...if you are not going to work on the passing game at all then don't try to pass the ball in the tight games either. FH averaged about 2 passes a game this year. So when it comes time to pass the OL can't pass block, the QB looks like a deer in headlights and the receivers don't know how to run routes. FH is a running team, we all get that, we all want that. But you have to at least practice throwing the ball at some point in a real game. The passing route tree at FH is extremely dysfunctional. Not only do the receivers not sprint crisp routes, they are all going 15-20 yards deep and usually bunched up. Is there ever a chance for a short pass somewhere? Never, no screens, no dump pass, no swing pass, nothing in the flats. FH ran the wildcat with Stubbs on one series at Catoctin. That was only the 2nd time all year they tried it. If you plan on using that you have to at break it out more in the regular season. Same with shot gun where Danny King fumbled on the 2nd possession and Catoctin scooped and scored.
I'm not going to bang the schedule debate again at length. I felt FH had a good schedule to start this year. It just turned out that Morgantown, Hedgesville, Southern (all playoff teams last year) went into complete meltdown. Mountain Ridge and Alco the same. People can say that FH didn't play anybody outside of CP and maybe a mediocre Hollidaysburg and that is true. But neither did Catoctin nor Dunbar - the two teams playing for a title next week. This is 1A. Get it? On the same token, all this talk about how great Cathedral Prep was...well they were top of the line compared to any other opponents Class 1A teams played. But they were not the Green Bay Packers. They beat FH 48-14 because....the defense just wasn't there.
I personally thank every single FH senior player for their effort and for continuing to carry on the tradition. Great bunch of human beings who will go on to be successful. The good news for the FH faithful is this...Fort Hill will be back to competing for a state championship next year. Count on it. That is what they do. Much more experience and speed coming back. Expect nothing less.
To all the Catoctin people that may read this...go give Dunbar hell. You have a really nice team with a great coach. They get after people. Congrats and good luck in Annapolis. On top of that, thumbs up to the stadium and fans as well. I wish FH had a student section like that. Great community support. Thurmont and Cumberland have way more in common than both sides realize.
Granted the FH offense at Catoctin had 5 turnovers and a 12 yard punt, which led to a shut out. But I have been saying it all year that this defense was susceptible. Susceptible to both the run and pass. There was no way to tell just how far the defense had improved since that 48-14 beat down to Cathedral Prep because FH had no measuring stick. After the CP game, FH just played a full array of super bad teams. Last night was the first time FH faced a legit team since CP. In the end we can say it again...The defense just isn't there.
Catoctin was calling plays and they all gashed FH. Up the gut, off tackle, on the perimeter and throwing the ball. There was zero pass rush. Give credit to Catoctin, they were quicker, more physical and had a great game plan. But the Cougars were able to do that because they possessed balance. Something FH just never has offensively.
There is no way to point fingers at any one player and even if you could that is not something I would ever do on a social media platform. This was a team effort win or lose. This wasn't a case of FH just needing one great player here or there. They had holes in many spots. When you look out on the field when FH is on defense, there wasn't one single player who played full time on that side of the ball the year before. This team was as short on experience as possible...all 11 starters were gone. They also lost 8 starters on offense. On top of all that gone were both the long time offensive and defensive coaches. FH could not overcome it. At the same time, fans should be proud of these kids for fighting through it and getting to 11 wins. Fortunately at Fort Hill, it's a state championship or bust these days. So it hurts, the seniors hurt, and it should. That is the way winning programs should react.
People asked me what happened at Catoctin, the narrative was pretty simple. FH got the ball first deep in their own end of the field, went 3 and out and punted for 12 yards. A few plays later and 7-0. FH gets the ball, a few plays later fumble, scoop and score and 14-0. The next drive starts moving the ball into Catoctin territory, fumble. A few plays later 21-0. FH gets the ball again, fumble. The first four possessions were 12 yard punt, fumble, fumble, fumble. At that point FH was out of any game plan or rhythm.
Was Catoctin 41 points better than FH? No, but on a night like this yes. Five turnovers will do that. But let's be clear...take away the turnovers and even the home field advantage and Catoctin still beats FH soundly. They were the better team no question. They owned FH on the line of scrimmage, both sides of the ball.
It's easy to put blame on coaches any time you lose. I can't do that. There was no out coaching what Catoctin had on FH. The Sentinel offense was definitely a let down. The defense though was not a surprise. We all knew Catoctin was going to score points before the game started. FH could not match them especially with all the turnovers.
The only disappointment I would put on FH coaching was the very end of the 2nd quarter. Down 28-0, FH had the ball around the Catoctin 45 yard line after a good kickoff return and 15 yard penalty. With 1:30 left and 3 times outs I told my friend sitting beside me that FH doesn't have a 2 minute offense. They will run the QB to the sideline to get the play call, use every second of the play clock and hand it off. They did just that. Even worse, they made no effort to score either a field goal or a touchdown. Didn't use one single time out. Just let the clock run out. Look, it was 28-0 at that point. Catoctin was getting the ball to open the 2nd half. You have to come up with something there, if a FG at least, to give the kids some type of momentum even if very little. Instead, I think the FH staff just chucked it in at that point. The team followed suite. I don't think it would have mattered, but the attitude there summed up the lost cause. This one was over by halftime.
My X's and O's hangs ups with FH are not about the Catoctin game. They are just the same ole, same ole that last through out the entire season dating back eight years. When you play super poor teams where you know 100% beforehand you can name the score...if you are not going to work on the passing game at all then don't try to pass the ball in the tight games either. FH averaged about 2 passes a game this year. So when it comes time to pass the OL can't pass block, the QB looks like a deer in headlights and the receivers don't know how to run routes. FH is a running team, we all get that, we all want that. But you have to at least practice throwing the ball at some point in a real game. The passing route tree at FH is extremely dysfunctional. Not only do the receivers not sprint crisp routes, they are all going 15-20 yards deep and usually bunched up. Is there ever a chance for a short pass somewhere? Never, no screens, no dump pass, no swing pass, nothing in the flats. FH ran the wildcat with Stubbs on one series at Catoctin. That was only the 2nd time all year they tried it. If you plan on using that you have to at break it out more in the regular season. Same with shot gun where Danny King fumbled on the 2nd possession and Catoctin scooped and scored.
I'm not going to bang the schedule debate again at length. I felt FH had a good schedule to start this year. It just turned out that Morgantown, Hedgesville, Southern (all playoff teams last year) went into complete meltdown. Mountain Ridge and Alco the same. People can say that FH didn't play anybody outside of CP and maybe a mediocre Hollidaysburg and that is true. But neither did Catoctin nor Dunbar - the two teams playing for a title next week. This is 1A. Get it? On the same token, all this talk about how great Cathedral Prep was...well they were top of the line compared to any other opponents Class 1A teams played. But they were not the Green Bay Packers. They beat FH 48-14 because....the defense just wasn't there.
I personally thank every single FH senior player for their effort and for continuing to carry on the tradition. Great bunch of human beings who will go on to be successful. The good news for the FH faithful is this...Fort Hill will be back to competing for a state championship next year. Count on it. That is what they do. Much more experience and speed coming back. Expect nothing less.
To all the Catoctin people that may read this...go give Dunbar hell. You have a really nice team with a great coach. They get after people. Congrats and good luck in Annapolis. On top of that, thumbs up to the stadium and fans as well. I wish FH had a student section like that. Great community support. Thurmont and Cumberland have way more in common than both sides realize.
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