Stingy defense leads Meyersdale past Glendale for 2-0 start
MEYERSDALE — Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson was perfectly content with chewing up the clock and leaning on his running game to wear down Glendale.
But when the Red Raiders needed a play, the ball was put in the hands of sophomore quarterback Lance Jones, who connected with senior receiver Tristin Ohler for a pair of touchdowns to lead Meyersdale to a 14-6 victory on Friday night.
While Meyersdale wasn’t nearly as efficient as it was in a 39-20 win over Curwensville in Week 1, it was just enough offense for the Red Raiders to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2019.
“I’m proud of our efforts tonight,” Donaldson said. “Our defense ‒ hats off to them ‒ those guys kept us in this game and won it. There were positives on both sides of the ball.”
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The Red Raiders limited the Vikings to just 34 yards rushing on 28 attempts. Meyersdale also forced Glendale into 11 negative run plays, including seven in the first half.
Meyersdale senior running back Ian Brenneman racked up 94 yards rushing on 23 carries.
“We wanted to tire them out and be able to run the ball once we figured out that it wasn’t going to be what we expected at the beginning of the game,” Donaldson said. “Hats off to Coach Trexler and his guys. Those guys battled. That’s a tough ball team over there. We just kept at it. We stuck to the game plan, especially in the second half.”
Following a 25-yard punt return by freshman Spencer Whitfield, the Red Raiders had premium field position at the Glendale 25-yard line.
Three plays later on a second-down-and-6, quarterback Lance Jones found an open Tristin Ohler, who shrugged off an arm tackle before diving into the end zone to make it 7-0 with roughly a minute to go in the first.
After forcing another punt from the Vikings, the Red Raiders capped a near six-minute drive when Jones found Ohler again for a 33-yard touchdown with a little more than four minutes before halftime.
While Meyersdale was far from efficient through the air, Jones, who completed just three passes, was perfect on the two throws he needed to make to provide the winning margin.
“Lance is a gamer,” Donaldson said. “His football intelligence is through the roof. We love having him at quarterback. He’s done a really good job for us.”
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This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Ohler, Jones, defense shine for Meyersdale in triumph over Glendale
