By Nate Ritchey

nritchey@altoonamirror.com

LOYSBURG — Northern Bedford went into the half against Meyersdale up two scores.

The Black Panthers’ offense wasn’t exactly clicking on all cylinders in the opening half, and they were looking to turn things around coming out of the locker room.

NBC did just that as it got contributions from all facets — offense, defense and special teams — in putting up 21 points in the second stanza.

The Panthers turned the close contest at the half into a mercy-rule affair with the three touchdowns in less than a five minute span in what was ultimately a 35-14 victory over the Red Raiders on Friday night in District 5 Class 1A semifinal action at Panther Community Stadium.

“They (Meyersdale) geared up to stop the run, so we had a couple of pass plays that we were trying to dial up. We went for them there in the first half, and they weren’t working,” Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. “In the second half, they worked quickly. We got good field position and took advantage of it. Aaron (Bowers) had a really nice punt return to set up one of them. … Then (he) brought a lot of momentum there in the third quarter (with the interception return too).”

Sequence of the game: Leading 14-0 at the half, Northern Bedford kicked off to Meyersdale to open the second half. The defense forced a three-and-out and a punt that Bowers fielded and returned it 40 yards to the MY 23. A 5-yard facemask penalty tacked on an additional 5 more yards, and the Panthers were in business at the Meyersdale 18. On first down, quarterback Eion Snider found Ben Gable on the right side of the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 21-0 at 10:06 of the third.

Gable: “We knew we just needed to keep their (Meyersdale) confidence down. And, we knew that we needed to stop them the first drive (after the half), and if we answered that we would have a lot of momentum and it would have been hard for them to stop us.”

Player of the game: Gable had just two catches on the night but the senior made both of them count for points. In addition to the 18-yarder, he hauled in a 27-yard pass that Snider threw to the back of the end zone. Gable had to set his feet to establish position in the field of play, and then reach out over the end line to haul the ball in for the score that put Northern up 33-0 with 5:22 to go in the third. Gable then caught the two-point conversion pass from backup quarterback Vaughn Schleinkofer to kick the running clock into effect with a 35-0 lead.

Gable: “We knew that he (Snider) struggled the first half. But he just came back and put it where it needed to be, and we had success from there. … Well, I didn’t think I was open and was really surprised when I saw the ball. So, as I was tracking, I wasn’t expecting to get it but I just came down with it — I don’t know how really.”

Unsung heroes: Bowers and Snider. In addition to the big momentum-swinging punt return, Bowers intercepted Red Raider QB Lance Jones on the ensuing drive after NBC went up 21-0. The junior returned the pick 25-yards untouched to give his team a 27-0 edge with 8:14. Bowers also uncorked his only punt of the night 47-yards in the second quarter that backed Meyersdale up at their own 11. He also caught one pass for 16 yards.

Bowers: “I got a good bounce right to me. I picked it up, made the first guy miss and saw a lane on the outside and just hit it. … They ran that play (on his interception return) earlier in the game, and the coaches said it was pretty open. So, I was looking for it, read it right away and just did my thing.”

Snider, who missed practice all week due to a hit he took in the season finale, misfired to a few open receivers in the first half, but bounced back in the second half with the only two throws he needed. He finished by completing 5-of-8 passes for 112 yards and the two touchdown passes to Gable. He also ran the ball four times for 31 yards, including the game’s opening score when he powered across the goal line from 1-yard out on a third-and-goal with 8:06 on the first quarter clock.

Black: “We had some stuff open in the first half and were just missing it. Eion took a shot last week and wasn’t really able to practice all week. Our trainer is phenomenal — give a shoutout to Mrs. (Katina) Gibbner. She kept working with him, and she came in with him on Monday when we weren’t here at school just to help him get to the point where he could play tonight. I think him not practicing he was a little bit rusty, and I told him, ‘don’t worry about it. Just throw the ball and we’ll score and let’s get out of here.'”

Most vital statistic: Northern Bedford was extremely efficient in the third quarter as they only ran two offensive plays that both resulted in touchdowns. Meanwhile, Meyersdale had 24 plays with the final one accounting for its first points of the night on a Spencer Whitfield 5-yard TD run with 4.3 ticks left in the quarter.

Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson: “We were not satisfied for being down 14 at the break. But we felt like with us getting the ball, and taking 14-0 into the halftime, we could figure some things out. We tried that after halftime. The problem is, Coach Black’s team is very, very good. We knew that if we didn’t put something together there right when we got the ball after halftime that it was going to be even harder the last 24 minutes.”

Notable: The two teams met back in Week 7 with Northern Bedford claiming a 43-6 victory on the road. … Adam Johnson, who ran the ball nine times in the first half for 29 yards, gave the Panthers their second touchdown when he easily scored from 1-yard out with 3:18 left in the first half. … Black was able to unload his bench following the 35-0 lead, which allowed the two scores by Meyersdale. … Malachi Carr came up with an interception of Schleinkofer on the first play of the final stanza that led to the Red Raiders second touchdown when Tucker Lapp scored on a 12-yard run at 5:24 of the fourth.

Records: Meyersdale (6-5); Northern Bedford (11-0).

Next week: Meyersdale’s season is complete; Northern Bedford will play Windber on Thursday night at Somerset Area High School for the District 5 Class 1A championship at 7 p.m.

Donaldson: “I’m very proud. I just told them that they turned the corner based on what has happened to us in the past. They’ve never been to a playoff game. They’ve enjoyed and were thankful for the opportunity. We came up short — we battled tonight. I’m proud of every single one of them.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Meyersdale 0 0 7 7 — 14

Northern Bedford 7 7 21 0 — 35

First Quarter

NB–Snider 1 run (Kochara kick), 8:06.

Second Quarter

NB–Johnson 1 run (Kochara kick), 3:18.

Third Quarter

NB–Gable 18 pass from E. Snider (Kochara kick), 10:06.

NB–Bowers 25 interception return (kick blocked), 8:14.

NB–Gable 27 pass from E. Snider (Gable pass from Schleinkofer), 5:22.

MY–Whitfield 5 run (Ohler kick), 4.3.

Fourth Quarter

MY–Lapp 12 run (Ohler kick), 5:24.

TEAM STATISTICS MY NB

First downs 14 9

Total yards 240 203

Rushes-yards 35-147 24-84

Yards passing 93 119

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 12-22-1 6-10-1

Punts-avg. 3-21.0 1-47.0

Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 6-43 4-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Meyersdale, Brenneman 17-50, Schurg 3-16, Whitfield 12-76, Lapp 1-12, Jones 1-(-8), Ohler 1-1. Northern Bedford, Johnson 9-29, E. Snider 4-31, Detterline 5-23, Gable 2-1, N. Snider 2-0, Clark 1-1, TEAM 1-(-1).

PASSING–Meyersdale, Jones 12-21-1-93, Whitfield 0-1-0-0. Northern Bedford, E. Snider 5-8-0-112, Schleinkofer 1-2-1-7.

RECEIVING–Meyersdale, Carr 7-69, Brenneman 3-9, Schurg 1-0, Sellers 1-15. Northern Bedford, Johnson 1-13, Pittman 1-38, Bowers 1-16, Gable 2-45, N. Snider 1-7.