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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
Northern Bedford County will be back in Somerset Saturday night to try and defend its District 5 Class 1A crown it won a year ago, but there are some big differences in this year's matchup with 2022 champion Windber.
The Panthers graduated a special group of seniors, and the Ramblers brought back an impressive offensive and defensive line and dominated the regular season meeting in a 35-6 win in which NBC's only score came on a defensive touchdown.
"They played a lot better than us up front," Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. "Their offensive line really pushed us around, and we have to be better. Our defensive line has to play better. Our linebackers have to play better. We can't allow them to run for 7 yards a carry. No one is going to win a football game if that's the way it's going. We will be challenging the defensive line and linebackers this week."
Windber outrushed Northern Bedford, 282-99, and outgained the Panthers overall, 394-171.
"We kept them out of the end zone, and that's always a plus," Windber coach Matt Grohal said. "We played really good defense. They have a bunch of weapons all over the place, and we were able to slow them down a little bit. They moved the ball, but when they got in the red zone, we played much better defense. I know Coach Black will have a great plan, and we'll have to make adjustments on the fly, but we're excited for the opportunity to play those guys again and see if we can pull off another district championship."
Tonight's game at Somerset will kick off at 6 p.m., and the winner will take on Pittsburgh City League power Westinghouse.
"I think our group is confident," Black said. "As we started to play better as the season went on, they have wanted this opportunity, and if we got it, they were ready to give it everything we had. We played them at Somerset in 2017 and 2023 and won both of those. Wherever the location was going to be was good for us, but we just want to play a better game than we did a couple weeks ago."
Windber has also improved throughout the season after an eye-opening 7-0 loss to Glendale in the first week despite losing star running back Luke Hostetler to injury after four games for the second straight year.
"It's crazy, after we lost to Glendale, not to take anything away from Glendale, but we played very poorly," Grohal said. "I thought we got a little better each week until we lost Luke again Week 4. We were flat against North Star, but from Week 5 on, we played tremendous defense. I don't think we have allowed a touchdown, and offensively, we have been clicking pretty well. You always want to be playing our best football at the end of the season, and I think that's where we're at."
R.J. Tallion, who played in last year's district final, has filled in for Hostetler and carried the ball 21 times for 151 and three touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass against Northern Bedford in the regular season game.
He's rushed for 1,163 yards and 21 touchdowns this season and averaged 7.8 yards per carry.
"There's nothing we really hold back," Black said. "We constantly evolve offensively and defensively. We have had an alignment that we have used against them for years. It works. We have to trust in it and get better at what we need to do. At the end of three quarters, they had 21 points. They piled on in the fourth quarter."
Despite winning the game 35-6, Windber lost three fumbles and did not force a turnover against NBC in the first matchup. It's been an issue that Grohal would like to see the Ramblers clean up.
"If we can cut out the turnovers, I would feel a lot better about ourselves," Grohal said. "I know our plus-minus turnover ratio is in the negative for the season. Somehow we have been able to overcome those turnovers, but on both sides of the ball, even special teams, we are playing really well right now. Heading into a district championship week, I feel really confident in all three phases of the game."
Win or lose, Northern Bedford's 9-2 mark entering tonight's game means the Panthers have outperformed many people's expectations.
"This is a group that whenever they were in junior high, they were right around .500 or just under," Black said. "Their legacy continues to be having trust in the process and for some of these guys, it was waiting until they were seniors. Some of the other guys have been playing a long time, but no matter what happens, they have stamped their legacy. It's a group that a lot of people really thought was a four-to-six-win team.
"They have added themselves to the record book with nine already. If we can get one more, we'll be district champions. That would be something that they would have forever, and they would continue taking our program in the direction we want it to be."