NBC adds another District 5 title to its resume
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
SOMERSET -- Nothing really went right for Northern Bedford in its District 5 Class 1A championship game against Windber a year ago, and though the Black Panthers opened the 2023 season with a resounding win over Southern Huntingdon, the misfortune continued with a slew of injuries.
But through that adversity, a team identity was born, and it was paid off Thursday night at Somerset Area High School when Northern Bedford avenged last season's loss with a 27-7 victory over the Ramblers to bring home the District 5 championship.
"Our motto this year on our shirts was 'nobody cares, work harder,'" Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. "Really, that is it. It doesn't matter. Whatever is going on with you or anybody else, nobody cares. Work harder, get better and when it's your opportunity to make a play, get in there and make a play."
The championship was the Panthers' third in four years.
"It's a veteran team that has been to four district title games in a row," Black said. "The seniors have won three of them. They know how to win football games. It's something they have learned since youth football. They have always been a good football team full of football players that are tough."
One of the players injured in that first game of the season, Adam Johnson, had a huge game Thursday. The senior tailback had 166 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries.
"It's amazing," Johnson said. "It is what we have worked for all year. Dreams come true. It's an amazing feeling. It's been a rough season with injuries, but we kept trying to get better each week. We kept (losing to Windber) in our heads all year, worked hard in the offseason, knew we had something to work for and took advantage of our opportunity."
Play of the game: Windber trailed by only five at halftime, 12-7, but went three-and-out on its first possession of the second half and an 18-yard punt set Northern Bedford up with a short field. Two Johnson running plays later, the Panthers stretched the lead to 20-7.
"We did as well as we could have in that first half," Windber coach Matt Grohal said. "That's exactly where we wanted to be getting the ball coming out of the half. Then we go three-and-out, have a crappy punt and then it kind of just got away from us a little bit there, but my kids never quit for four quarters."
Player of the game: Johnson, who also ran in a two-point conversion and caught a pass for 3 yards.
"He was awesome. I could have fed him a little more," Black said. "I got antsy trying to put the game away."
Unsung hero(es): Northern Bedford quarterback Eion Snider threw for just 36 yards, but he ran for several key first downs and opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter on a designed run, something Northern Bedford avoided in last week's semifinal win over Meyersdale.
"Last week, he had a bad bruise on his leg, and he couldn't run," Black said. "He had taken a big shot against Glendale, and he wasn't himself last week. This week, he was back to 100 percent and able to do his thing. He's an outstanding running quarterback and a dual-threat guy. I'm proud of him."
Most vital statistic: Despite leading just 12-7 at the half, Northern Bedford dominated the line of scrimmage just as it did in the regular-season win over Windber, doubling the Ramblers on the ground, 140 yards to 70 yards in the first two quarters.
Windber short-handed again: Northern Bedford won the regular-season matchup, 35-6, and Windber was without starting quarterback Tanner Barkley and running back R.J. Tallion, leaving top receiver Evan Brady as the quarterback. Barkley and Tallion played Thursday, and Taillon finished with 91 yards rushing and a touchdown. But Brady was among some Windber players who did not attend Thursday's game for the Ramblers. One of the leading tacklers for Windber in that first game, Bryce Chicarell, was also among the players not at the game.
"I told my kids, I was so proud of the effort," Grohal said. "They don't need gold medals to be champions. My kids are champions. We'll be back here next year. You can write that down. Give all the credit to Northern Bedford. They are a very good football team that is well coached. I'm proud of the guys who were here and their effort."
Black said Northern Bedford stuck with its game plan with Windber missing some players.
"It didn't change anything," Black said. "Windber is a good football program. They run what they run, the single wing formation. Just being honest, there were a lot of kids who were here from both schools, and I'd prefer not to talk about it. It's not a game story. I would rather talk about all the kids who were here and did their thing. A lot of kids on their team were tough, and they battled, and our kids did a really great job."
Tallion: "We gave it our all honestly. We stopped them as many times as we could. We just couldn't stop them forever. They are a really good team."
Grohal on Tallion's effort: "He's one of the true leaders on this team. That's how he plays every down, every practice rep. He was our fullback to start the year, and we had to thrust him into that position. He missed a couple games with a concussion, and then we finally got our pieces back against Juniata Valley and played really well that week and last week until there was more adversity for our program. But we fought through it and hung in there. If we lost 54-0, I would be upset. But the kids battled for four quarters, and that's all you can ask."
Notable: Somerset's choir performed the Star Spangled Banner from the press box before the game. ... Ashton Detterline scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for the Black Panthers in the fourth quarter to cap off a 99-yard drive. ... In the two games Windber played against Northern Bedford this season, it completed a total of just two passes for 3 yards.
Records: Windber (8-4); Northern Bedford (12-0).
Next week: Northern Bedford will play the winner of the game between defending PIAA Class 1A champion Steelton-Highspire and District 12's Belmont Charter next weekend at a District 5 site in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Windber 0 7 0 0 — 7
Northern Bedford 6 6 8 7 — 27
First Quarter
NB--E. Snider 14 run (run failed), 4:50.
Second Quarter
NB--Johnson 4 run (pass failed), 11:28.
W--Tallion 3 run (Costa kick), 4:08.
Third Quarter
NB--Johnson 9 run (Johnson run), 9:26.
Fourth Quarter
NB--Detterline 1 run (Kochara kick), 10:34.
TEAM STATISTICS W NB
First downs 12 13
Total yards 143 281
Rushes-yards 47-140 30-245
Yards passing 3 36
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 2-4-0 4-7-0
Punts-avg. 4-31 3-41.3
Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 4-40 6-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Windber, Tallion 26-91, Oleksa 17-51, Richards 3-7, TEAM 1-(-9). Northern Bedford, Johnson 14-166, E. Snider 9-54, Bowers 1-9, Detterline 3-9, Gable 3-7.
PASSING–Windber, Barkley 2-4-0-3. Northern Bedford, E. Snider 4-7-0-36.
RECEIVING–Windber, Oleksa 2-3. Northern Bedford, Gable 1-19, Dibert 1-12, Johnson 1-3, Bowers 1-2.