MEYERSDALE — Junior Caleb Sines rushed for 110 yards and scored two total touchdowns as second-seeded Meyersdale avenged a regular season loss to third-seeded Windber 21-14 in a District 5-1A football semifinal, Friday, Nov. 6.
“This feels really good, especially to get them back after they beat us in the regular season,” said Sines. “To get Cooper (Porter) back against the team that hurt him and see him score a touchdown, this feels really nice. Now, we are just going to try and do what we did last year.”
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Porter has not played since the first half of the Week 4 matchup against the Ramblers, sustaining a knee injury in the contest. He returned Friday night and made an impact. Porter played defense for much of the contest, but when senior Spencer Whitfield suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter, Porter stepped in on offense.
He rushed for 34 yards on eight carries and scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 5:52 left in the game to extend Meyersdale’s lead.
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“That was pretty unexpected,” Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson said of Porter’s return. “He got the green light, and it was defense first then we had to use him on offense. What he was able to do on offense, defense … it’s pretty special to have him back.”
Whitfield did not play quarterback for the second straight week, after suffering a broken pinky finger on his throwing hand in Week 9. He still contributed with 57 rushing yards and his veteran leadership.
Meyersdale (7-4) led 8-0 with 1:30 to go in the first quarter, following a 6-play, 53-yard drive capped by a Sines 2-yard surge. He added the two-point conversion as well.
Windber (6-6) pulled within a point on its next play from scrimmage. Sophomore running back Ike Serenko, who returned after a 2-game suspension, raced 62 yards to paydirt. Rather than attempting a two-point conversion, the Ramblers elected for a PAT from Jonas Krause and trailed 8-7 with 1:12 left in the quarter.
Windber’s Ike Serenko crosses the goal line for a 62-yard touchdown run during a District 5 Class 1A semifinal football game against Meyersdale, in Meyersdale, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026.
Things stayed that way until the third quarter, when Windber sophomore Trey Tallion took a counter play 39 yards for the go-ahead score. The Ramblers led 14-8 with 8:34 left in the quarter.
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Windber senior Dylan Woodruff picked off Meyersdale sophomore quarterback Ryder Reese to spoil the Red Raiders best drive of the night, deep in Rambler territory.
“It was a good football game on both sides,” Windber first-year coach Frank Tallyen said. “At any point, it could have gone either way. I am very proud of our guys how they performed. They fought to the very end like all season long. Their effort and how hard they played as a young group really impressed all of us.”
Meyersdale running back Caleb Sines scores on a 12-yard touchdown reception as Windber’s Tyler Tallyen looks on during a District 5 Class 1A semifinal football game, in Meyersdale, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026.
However, Meyersdale got the ball right back, when senior Gavan Steinberg picked off Tyler Tallyen, setting up a first-and-goal at the 7-yard line. On third-and-goal, Reese found a wide-open Sines, who snuck out of the backfield for a 12-yard touchdown and a 15-14 lead following Keegan Fisher’s PAT with 1:31 to go.
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Meyersdale’s defense came up big with a three-and-out, highlighted by a Stylz Friend sack of Tallyen to end the quarter. The Red Raiders marched 51 yards on the ground, as Sines and Porter churned out yards, before Porter put the exclamation point on his return with a TD run, helping seasl the victory.
Meyersdale meets fourth-seeded Northern Bedford County in the District 5 Class 1A championship game at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13. The Red Raiders fell to the Black Panthers 28-21 in Week 7.
Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on X @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Meyersdale tops Windber for return trip to District 5-1A title game
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
