CUMBERLAND ¬– Vikings players, coaches and fans got a look Friday night at what makes Fort Hill High School the football powerhouse of Maryland’s Region 1A, when Cambridge-South Dorchester fell to the Sentinels in the state semifinals, 38-20.
The Vikings had won region 1A East with dominating wins over Eastern Shore schools throughout the season. Fort Hill is heading to the state championship for the third year in a row, having won the title the last two seasons.
With all 20 of their points coming in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game in Cumberland, the tally ended up a bit more even, though Fort Hill dominated throughout the game.
On the Sentinels’ first possession, with about two minutes gone, the home team scored on a throw from midfield. Their next three drives all ended in touchdowns, leading to a score of 28-0 halfway through the second quarter.
A field goal ended the scoring in the first half for the Sentinels, after which the Vikings put together a drive that generated their first first downs of the game.
Fort Hill scored for the last time in their first drive of the second half. Close to the end of the third quarter, Majestic Jones caught a pass from Blake LaBelle for the Vikes’ first touchdown. Two more trips to the end zone and a successful 2-point conversion on a LaBelle keeper produced the final score.
The Vikings reached the Final Four in the Region 1A state championship playoffs after Cambridge-South Dorchester High School beat the SEED School on Nov. 17, 46-8.
The Sentinels were undefeated in their 11 games prior to meeting C-SD and had compiled a points for/against ratio of 400/124 similar to C-SD’s 444/116.

Fort Hill will face Mountain Ridge in the State Championship on Dec. 2 at noon in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Both schools are from Allegany County in Western Maryland, Fort Hill in Cumberland and Mountain Ridge in the neighboring city of Frostburg.

Mountain Ridge defeated Perryville on Friday, 40-14.