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MEYERSDALE -- Northern Bedford coach Garry Black isn't so much worried about all the losses his young team has unfortunately been accustomed to this year.
However, Black has been focusing on getting better each week and keeping his team's energy level and engagement in wanting to succeed just as high as the years the wins were aplenty.
The last several weeks, the Black Panthers have knocked on victory's door, and Friday night at Meyersdale was no different.
Unfortunately, a few fourth-quarter turnovers spelled trouble for NBC as the Red Raiders capitalized on the second to hand Northern Bedford a close, but gutsy, 19-18 loss on the road.
"I said all year, I could care less what our record is. We're going to see these guys (Meyersdale) again in four weeks. I can promise you there is teams they'd rather play than us. We're a good football team -- (the record) can say 0-7, it sucks for my kids, and I don't need wins for me personally. I just want them to do things the right way. I've said it at the beginning of the year, we just want to get better every week. We just took a team that is (now) 6-1, and where we were, and we just took them to the wire. And a couple of (second half) fumbles from winning the game. I am completely confident in our group moving foward."
In addition to preparing for one of the top teams in the Inter-County Conference's South Division, Northern was riding an emotional few days after the deaths of teammate and friend Quinton Morrow from a nearly two-year battle with cancer, as well as longtime coach of many sports in Barry Crawford.
However, Black didn't want to put too much pressure on his team to try and win the game for those two. Instead, he told them to just play hard and represent Northern Bedford football the right way.
"They (Northern Bedford) played hard -- they played Northern Bedford football. They can be really proud of themselves. I believe that they represented what they needed to represent tonight."
"He (Morrow) loved football. It's not something you expect to happen, so we're in a spot where a kid loses his life. That's way different and way bigger than football. I'm sure they (Northern Bedford) wore that on their sleeves tonight. I don't know that I have the right words to put it into words because I don't think there's something you can say there. Other than, we loved him. I told them that I'm not going to put the pressure on them but we are going to go play the game the right way tonight."
Play of the game: With Meyersdale facing a third-and-9 from their own 28, and needing a first down to run out the clock late in the contest, quarterback Lance Jones, who had minus-13 rushing yards up to this point, reeled off a 59-yard game-clinching run. The senior threw off a NBC tackler, shook off an ankle tackle from another Panther defender and then race down the left sideline before being dragged down from behind by Northern Bedford's Rooster Foor. Three kneel downs later, the Red Raiders finished off a homecoming win.
Jones: "You've got to have a next-play mentality. You can't let the the previous plays get you down. You've got to focus on the next play -- that's the beauty of football. We had good blocks on the edge and I just kept running hard."
Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson: "At halftime, we said that we have 24 minutes left -- it's a 0-0 ball game. You're going up against a tough team with a lot of momentum. We're just fortunate to get on the winning side of it at the end."
Player of the game: Jones' rushing stats (46 yards on eight attempts) look better due to the late run, but it was his passing that played a key part in opening up the field for the rest of the runners to gain yardage. He completed 10-of-11 passes for 173 yards and was intercepted in the third by NBC's Connor Donaldson on a ball that was tipped. He also tossed an 83-yard TD pass to Hainsworth, who got behind the Panthers' secondary, to put Meyersdale up 13-12 with 8:52 left in the second stanza.
Game-winning sequence: In the fourth stanza, following a Trace Baker lost fumble for Northern that was recovered by the Raiders' Gavin Kalp, Meyersdale took possession at the NBC 25 and moved the ball 24.5 yards just outside the goal line. On a first-and-goal, Jones tried to power his way up the gut and did, but the Red Raiders were whistled for a 5-yard penalty due to pushing the runner from behind. Now, with a first-and-goal from the NBC 6, Caleb Sines was knocked back for a 1-yard loss, then Jones hit Carter Vogt on a 6-yard pass down to the NBC 1. On third down, Sines was held for minimal gain to only inches away from the end zone. On fourth down, Jones was able to power his way across for the game-winning score with 7:41 left in the fourth.
Jones: "That's battling adversity and then trusting your guys for the next play. Just keeping your head down and sneaking it in (across the goal line)."
Unsung heroes: Baker, making his first start at quarterback, went 7-of-18 for 118 yards through the air and gained 54 yards on the ground on 11 attempts. On NBC's second drive of the first quarter, the sophomore connected with Zach Bowers for two passes totaling 69 yards, including a 29-yard strike where Bowers caught it while being sandwiched between two defenders to make the score 6-0 at 4:21 of the first. Baker then called his own number from 1 yard out with 4:24 left in the opening half to put Northern up, 18-13.
Ben Clark ran the ball 21 times for 147 yards, and made good on a 5-yard score less than a minute into the second frame to put the Black Panthers up 12-7.
Black: "It's something we haven't done (score consistently early in the game). Trace Baker, this is his first start at quarterback, and he wasn't ready to do this earlier in the year. This is the benefit of JV games which too many teams are cancelling -- too many teams are cancelling important things for kids. JV games have allowed him to get ready for this moment."
Most vital statistic: In the first half, Northern Bedford scored on 3-of-4 possessions, while the second half saw three chances that led to two lost fumbles and a turnover on downs.
Coach Donaldson: "We knew we were going to get their (Northern Bedord) best -- a well-coached team like that. You throw the record away because we knew what they were capable of doing. On our part, you can call it a trap game after our big win last week (at Berlin Brothersvalley)."
Notable: Sines, who came up with an interception of Baker on the last play of the first half, recorded a TD on a 6-yard run with 6.8 seconds left in the first quarter. … Trey Bolyard came up with the first fumble recovery for Meyersdale in the third quarter. … Jordan Free and Knox Dibert tallied one sack each for Northern Bedford. … During the coin toss beforehand, the four NBC captains -- Clark, Nolan Snider, Dustin O'Brian and Carter Watson -- carried out Morrow's No. 65 jersey with them to midfield. … The Meyersdale public address announcer asked for a moment of silence before the national anthem for Morrow and Crawford.
Coach Donaldson: "Coach Black, his staff, his kids -- they had some difficult times to get through this week. The entire Meyersdale football community sends our thoughts and prayers out to these guys and the families."
Records: Northern Bedford (0-7); Meyersdale (6-1).
Next week: Northern Bedford hosts North Star next Friday; Meyersdale entertains Brownsville the same night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northern Bedford 6 12 0 0 -- 18
Meyersdale 7 6 0 6 -- 19
First Quarter
NB--Bowers 29 pass from Baker (kick blocked), 4:21.
M--Sines 6 run (Fisher kick), 6.8.
Second Quarter
NB--Clark 5 run (pass failed), 11:16.
M--Hainsworth 83 pass from Jones (kick failed), 8:52.
NB--Baker 1 run (run failed), 4:24.
Fourth Quarter
M--Jones 1 run (run failed), 7:41.
TEAM STATISTICS NB M
First downs 18 13
Total yards 343 316
Rushes-yards 38-225 31-143
Yards passing 118 173
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7-19-1 10-11-1
Punts-avg. 1-35.0 3-29.3
Fumbles-lost 5-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-15 6-85
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Northern Bedford, Clark 21-147, Love 1-(-2), Baker 11-54, Donaldson 1-(-2), Bowers 2-13, Snider 1-14, TEAM 1-1. Meyerdale, Whitfield 7-26, Jones 8-46, Sines 13-44, Cad. Snyder 2-13, Porter 1-14.
PASSING--Northern Bedford, Baker 7-18-1-118, Clark 0-1-0-0. Meyersdale, Jones 10-11-1-173.
RECEIVING--Northern Bedford, Bowers 3-79, Donadlson 3-26, Clark 1-13. Meyersdale, Cad. Snyder 2-17, Steinberg 1-1, Hainsworth 1-83, Sines 3-47, Vogt 3-25.