District 5-1A previews: North Star-Windber, Meyersdale-Northern Bedford meet in rematches
North Star is playing its best football in a decade. The Cougars have bought into what coach Bob Landis and his staff have instilled the past four years, and now the program is reaping the rewards.
The Cougars enter the postseason for the first time since 2017 and will host Windber in the District 5 Class 1A semifinals at 7 p.m. on Friday.
"This is uncharted territory for these guys," said Landis. "We haven't been in the playoff for years. We are going to lay everything out and explain to them that the regular season game is behind us and we are going to play a really good Windber football team."
North Star (7-3) earned a 41-20 road win over Windber on Sept. 22.
Senior quarterback Connor Yoder, who owns every North Star signal-caller record, has completed 103-of-194 passes for 2,090 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 picks. He has rushed for 459 yards and six scores.
Meanwhile, junior athlete Ethan Smith is having the most stat-popping season of any Somerset County player. He has 26 catches for 831 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 459 rushing yards and six scores. Defensively, Smith has 43 tackles, seven forced fumbles, three recoveries and three interceptions.
The Cougars have complementary pieces to go along with Smith and Yoder, including tight end Ethan Eller, as well as wideouts Garrett Tunstall and Glendon Griffith. North Star averages 376.5 yards and 30.1 points per game.
The Cougars will be tested against the Ramblers. This is as healthy as the team has been in weeks. Windber can whip the ball around with senior quarterback Tanner Barkley. The Ramblers have one of the top receivers in the county in junior Evan Brady. They can also run the ball with their running backs-by-committee led by R.J. Tallion.
"The biggest challenge is that you're not just gearing up for one thing, now," Landis said of the Windber offense. "You used to worry about alignments and getting enough people at the point of attack to stop the run game. You still have to do that, but now you have to worry about the coverage on the back end. They create unique challenges."
Windber has battled through adversity all season long. The Ramblers lost standout running back Luke Hostetler for the season in Week 4. They've had to shuffle their lines around, play without their starting quarterback. Yet, somehow, Windber found a way to finish 7-3 and have an opportunity to play for its second straight District 5-1A championship if the Ramblers can knock off the Cougars.
The task at hand will not be easy for Windber coach Matt Grohal and company.
"They are a great football team," Grohal said of North Star. "They've got weapons and playmakers all over the place. If we can contain No. 2 (Smith), he's outstanding and had a great year for them, four (Eller), five (Yoder), 18 (Tunstall) and 22 (Griffith) ... I could go on and on, but we've got to slow them down, offensively. We've got to slow Yoder down a little bit to have a chance to win the game."
Barkley has thrown for 1,172 yards, 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his first season at the helm. Meanwhile, Brady has 50 catches for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tallion has 67 carries for 395 yards and nine touchdowns. Finishing promising drives will be a point of emphasis.
"We have to have long, sustaining drives," Grohal said. "A lot of what we did the first time around, we controlled the ball for a long time, then we turned it over. We're pretty balanced. If you want to take our off tackle play away, we've been able to throw the ball pretty well.
"I go back 10 to 12 years ago when we had the Tomlinsons and Matt Barkley. It was the same scenario. If you stop our vertical threat on the outside, you have to double it, and it's going to open up some other opportunities."
Rip's pick: North Star 35, Windber 28
Meyersdale meets top-seeded Northern Bedford
Meyersdale turned in its best season since 2019, finishing 6-4. However, the Red Raiders have not beat a team with a winning record and have suffered lopsided setbacks in their four losses.
In its Week 6 contest against Northern Bedford, Meyersdale fell 43-6.
The Red Raiders are led by senior running back Ian Brenneman, who has 129 carries for 610 yards and six touchdowns. Spencer Whitfield has chipped in 420 yards and four rushing scores.
Meyersdale is unlikely going to be able to run the ball with any type of success against the veteran defensive line of Northern Bedford, which will force the Red Raiders to put the ball in the air.
Sophomore quarterback Lance Jones has stepped in and played admirably this season, throwing for 863 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 picks. Malachi Carr has 18 catches for 273 and four touchdowns, while Whitfield has 10 grabs for 209 and four scores.
Defensively, the Red Raiders will have a tall order in front of them against Eion Snider, Adam Johnson, Aaron Bowers, Ben Gable and the unbeaten Black Panthers.
Brenneman leads the defense with 87 tackles. Whitfield has 78 tackles and Conner Shuck has tallied 74. Carr has picked off seven passes.
Regardless of what happens Friday night, Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson is proud of what he's seen from his program this season.
"We're up for the challenge to play a team that hasn't lost to this point," Donaldson said. "We are going to ride the momentum of the past three weeks. Every player on the team has never played in a playoff game. We are excited for the challenge.
"I am proud of the effort. They've earned a playoff berth and worked hard for this. We are thankful for the opportunity."
Rip's pick: Northern Bedford County 49, Meyersdale 14
Rip's picks: Last week: 5-1; Overall: 47-7
Note: WQZS 93.3 Sports will broadcast the Windber at North Star game. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 p.m. with kickoff set for 7.
Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on X (Twitter) @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Pair of rematches headline District 5 Class 1A football semifinals
