Inside Maryland High School Football: A Wild Finish in Cumberland and More Forfeits

Rise and Reclaim is alive and well in Cumberland, Maryland, as the Fort Hill football team continued its redemption tour with a heart-stopping 43-42 victory over Bridgeport (W.Va.) on Friday.

Four Touchdowns in Less Than 8 Minutes

The game featured four touchdowns in the final 7:36, a successful two-point conversion in the closing minute, and a missed field goal on the final play in one of the most dramatic finishes this season.

The victory marked the second straight week Fort Hill avenged a 2025 loss as it continues its quest to reclaim its position as the state’s top 1A program. Fort Hill won four straight state championships before falling in last year’s state final, prompting the “Rise and Reclaim” motto for 2026. Fort Hill took a big step in that direction last week with a 35-21 victory over Hollidaysburg (Pa.). But Bridgeport was a different kind of monster.

Last year, Bridgeport handed Fort Hill a 49-14 thrashing in West Virginia, Fort Hill’s most lopsided regular-season loss since 2012. Friday’s rematch at Greenway Avenue Stadium carried historical significance, marking Bridgeport’s first game outside West Virginia after 1,098 consecutive in-state contests dating to 1921. The Sentinels again found themselves in trouble Friday, falling behind 21-7 before Bridgeport scored on a 70-yard play in the closing seconds of the second quarter to take a 28-14 halftime lead.

Fort Hill rallied to tie the game at 28 in the third quarter, setting up a wild finish.

Bridgeport took a 35-28 lead with 7:36 remaining, but Brady O’Neal answered 62 seconds later with a 78-yard touchdown pass to Carson Bender. Bridgeport again surged ahead, 42-35, before a three-minute Fort Hill drive was capped by Neek Taylor’s 7-yard scoring run, making it 42-41. There was no hesitation about going for two.

“When we started the next drive [down 42-35], everyone knew we’d be going for two,” Fort Hill coach Zach Alkire said.

After Bridgeport burned a timeout, Fort Hill called a quick pitch to the left. The wing got just enough of a block to give Taylor the room he needed to barely cross the goal line, putting Fort Hill ahead 43-42 with 51 seconds remaining.

Bridgeport quickly moved into field-goal range, aided by a defensive pass-interference penalty. An encroachment penalty moved the final attempt from 44 to 39 yards, but the kick had the distance and sailed just wide right, sending Fort Hill to 5-0.

“The sideline went nuts,” Alkire said. “Kids running off the field, hugging. There was a lot of excitement, and we needed that.”

100 Wins, 46 Years in the Making

Washington defeated Nandua (Va.), 20-10, in a contest that could easily be overlooked among the more than 100 games played by Maryland high schools this past weekend.

For Washington, however, it was anything but ordinary. The victory marked the program’s 100th varsity win — a milestone 46 years in the making.

Washington launched its first varsity football team in 1980 and lost its debut 42-0 to James M. Bennett. That proved to be a sign of things to come.

Except for the COVID-19 pandemic season in 2020, Washington has put a varsity team on the field every year since 1980. During that time, Washington has had only two winning seasons: 7-4 in 1989 and 8-5 in 2003. Yet the program has persevered despite finishing at or near the bottom of the Bayside standings for much of its history.

Perhaps the times are changing for this tiny school, which has about 600 students in grades 8-12.

Alec Meintzer inherited the program in 2023 while it was mired in an 18-game losing streak. That streak eventually reached 38 games before Washington broke through with a 16-6 victory over North East-Cecil last season. The win sparked something bigger: Washington finished 5-5, its first non-losing season since 2003.

Meintzer stepped down after the season, and Tremont White has taken over. This year’s team is officially 2-2, as the MPSSAA ruled that a scheduled season opener at Northampton (Va.) was a no-contest since the game was not played.

Now Washington has a chance to reach 3-2 for the first time since 1998 when it faces Arcadia (Va.) on Friday. The Jaguars defeated Arcadia, 36-16, last season.

Forfeits, No-Contests Becoming an Unwanted Trend

The Maryland high school football season has reached the halfway point, and an unusual number of games have disappeared from the schedule because of forfeits, no-contests, or teams dropping games altogether.

The latest came this past weekend in Prince George’s County. According to one of the head coaches, an altercation in the handshake line after the Oxon Hill-Potomac game in Week 4 resulted in both teams forfeiting their Week 5 contests. The two teams will also play their remaining games this season on Saturdays.

According to one of the head coaches, an altercation in the handshake line following the Oxon Hill-Potomac game in Week 4 resulted in both teams forfeiting their Week 5 contests.

It is the latest in a growing list of unusual circumstances that have taken games off the schedule this season.

North Point and Westlake forfeited their season openers in Charles County because of what was termed out-of-season contact violations. Maryland School for the Deaf received a forfeit victory when its scheduled opponent disbanded the week of the game. Annapolis Area Christian has forfeited two games because of a lack of healthy players.

Weather has also played a role. Northampton (Va.) canceled its scheduled game at Washington because of what was described as “extreme heat,” while weather-related no-contests cost Flowers and Wise games from their schedules.

The situation has been particularly interesting at Edmondson-Westside. Through five weeks, the team has played only two games. One scheduled game was a forfeit, and two others were never played after Hancock and Benjamin Franklin dropped their football programs before the season.

This past weekend, Sidwell Friends, which rejoined the Mid-Atlantic Conference this season, forfeited its league opener at St. James on Saturday, citing not enough healthy players.

Meanwhile, Central Maryland Christian, down to 18 players, has reduced its regular-season schedule to four games.

While the reasons are varied, the result is the same: fewer opportunities for players to compete and an increasingly unpredictable high school football schedule.

Crofton Remains Unbeaten

Crofton was featured early this season after what was then considered an upset victory over Old Mill.

Now, the Wildcats have established themselves as the team to beat in Anne Arundel County. Crofton is the county’s lone 5-0 team and one of just 21 undefeated teams remaining in the MPSSAA.

Dominic Jackson delivered the latest heroics, scoring on a 3-yard run to lift Crofton to a 20-17 overtime victory over Chesapeake-AA.

The teams tied at 14 after regulation. Gary Windsor gave Chesapeake-AA a 17-14 lead in the first overtime with a 27-yard field goal, but Crofton answered with a touchdown to complete the comeback and remain unbeaten.

Got Your Number

Northwestern-PG edged Bladensburg, 22-20, over the weekend, marking the third consecutive year the Wildcats have beaten the Mustangs.

While the streak is notable, it is even more remarkable that Bladensburg is the only team Northwestern-PG has beaten since 2019.

Since midseason 2019, Northwestern-PG is 4-2 against Bladensburg but 0-53 against all other opponents. The Wildcats’ last victory over anyone other than Bladensburg came on Oct. 12, 2019, when Northwestern-PG thrashed DuVal, 47-6.

Another Blowout Week

Of the 112 games involving Maryland high schools over the weekend, 38 – 33.9 percent – ended with a running clock. Dunbar had the largest rout, beating Lake Clifton, 82-0, while Elkton blanked North East-Cecil, 68-0, and Wise defeated DuVal, 71-6.

The trend has been remarkably consistent all season, with roughly one-third of each week’s games decided by 35 or more points. The numbers point to a growing lack of middle ground in Maryland high school football, with more games becoming either highly competitive or decided long before the final whistle.

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