Mike Mastovich | Windber, Meyersdale rematch set in District 5-1A semifinal

Somerset County rivals Meyersdale and Windber each will follow the familiar approach, noting that a new season begins Friday night during their District 5 Class 1A semifinal contest.

Week 10 stat leaders

Both programs enter the game at Meyersdale determined to shrug off somewhat deceptive late-season slumps.

Third-seeded Windber (6-5) dropped three of its final five games, including last week to undefeated Mount Union (42-14). The Ramblers beat Meyersdale 33-30 at Windber Stadium during Week 4.

Meyersdale (6-4) has three losses in its final four regular-season games after falling in a tight Week 10 bout at Juniata Valley (29-27) in the Inter-County Conference.

“I really like where we’re at,” Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson said. “The tail end of the season, definitely over the weekend, and on Monday, we hit the reset button. All playoff coaches are telling their kids this, and the kids are understanding it, but everybody is 0-0 at this point.”

Meyersdale sustained two season-ending injuries in Week 4, as two-way contributors Cooper Porter and Chris DiPasquale went down. The Red Raiders regrouped, with their late-season setbacks coming on the road against Northern Bedford County and Juniata Valley, and at home against 8-2 Wilmington.

“We took care of business enough to get the home game, which obviously we wanted that,” said Donaldson, whose squad won four of five home dates this season. “We’re getting ready for Friday night.”

Windber won four of its first five games on the field (the Ramblers also had a forfeit loss to North Star). But losses to Wheeling Central Catholic, at Berlin Brothersvalley and to Mount Union hurt during the stretch run.

The Ramblers missed one of the area’s top playmakers, sophomore back Ike Serenko, who was out of the lineup in Weeks 9 and 10.

“Our guys are excited about the opportunity to travel to Meyersdale and play a really good opponent,” Windber coach Frank Tallyen said. “Practice all week has been really good.

“We’re pretty healthy going into this week.

“The kids’ emotions and spirits are high. We’ve had a couple good days of practice and we’re excited for the opportunity to play Meyersdale, a very good opponent.”

Windber has seven consecutive wins over Meyersdale, with the Red Raiders’ most recent victory in 2019.

“We’ve had some good games the past couple of years,” said Tallyen, in his first full season as head coach and a longtime assistant coach of the Ramblers. “I’m looking for another good one on Friday night.”

Since the teams began playing regularly in 1984, the Ramblers are 27-16-1 against the Red Raiders.

The programs split four District 5 playoff games, with Windber winning in 1989 and 2005, and Meyersdale finishing on top in 2006 and 2013.

“Despite what may have happened the past couple weeks with the tail end of our schedule and the opponents we saw, no excuses,” Donaldson said. “Here we are. It’s playoff time.”

Meyersdale senior quarterback Spencer Whitfield has passed for 1,015 yards and 13 TDs, while also rushing for 650 yards and 15 TDs.

“Spencer Whitfield is a great football player, a great kid and he’s still that, just watching him on film,” Tallyen said.

“He’s a fantastic football player and a good leader. We’ve got to account for him.”

Red Raiders junior back Caleb Sines has 1,019 rushing yards and nine TDs. He gained 184 yards and had a touchdown during the Week 4 game at Windber.

“Sines is a really tough running back,” Tallyen said. “He started hurting us in the second half of the game we played at Windber. We’ve got to account for him and figure out a way to stop the run.”

Windber senior Dylan Woodruff has 38 catches for 562 yards and seven TDs.

Sophomore quarterback Tyler Tallyen has thrown for 1,256 yards and 12 TDs, with an 18 of 26 outing that included 201 passing yards and two TDs against Meyersdale.

“Windber is very diverse on offense,” Donaldson said.

“They can make you pay with their run game or their pass game. You have to match their physicality up front.

“We got a taste of it in Week 4 when we played them. They’re a very fast team.

“You’ve got to have keys and guys in place on defense. We’ve got to play defense our way.”

Serenko ran for 111 yards and three touchdowns in the Week 4 win over the Red Raiders. He has 705 rushing yards and 12 TDs.

“He’s a dynamic player for us and he really is a great leader,” Coach Tallyen said. “He has big-play capability on offense. We’re excited to have him back.”

Top-seeded Conemaugh Township (8-2) will host fourth-seeded Northern Bedford County (5-5) in the other District 5-1A semifinal.