Hostetler saves the day for Windber in narrow win over Meyersdale
MEYERSDALE — Trailing Meyersdale by four late in the fourth quarter, Windber got a timely sack from Lucas Oleksa, ultimately resulting in a short field to work with.
On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, senior Luke Hostetler barreled through for the go-ahead touchdown.
Meyersdale mounted a drive to put Keegan Fisher in field goal range. However, his 35-yard attempt fell just short, and Windber escaped with a 19-17 win on Friday.
"What a game," said Windber coach Matt Grohal. "Meyersdale played a heck of a game. I'm just so proud of my guys. They battled and clawed for four quarters and found a way to win."
Cole Mash opened the scoring for the Ramblers in the first. He took a handoff around left end and raced 62 yards to paydirt. Jonas Krause added the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 1:02 left in the first.
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Meyersdale (2-2) answered with a 10-play drive, capped by a Lance Jones to a wide-open Connor Brenneman 12-yard touchdown on fourth-and-6. Fisher tacked on the extra point and the game was tied with 5:39 remaining in the half.
Windber drove deep into Meyersdale territory, but Jones came up with a fumble recovery at the 12-yard line.
The Red Raiders drove down to the 5-yard line and settled for a Fisher 22-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead at the break.
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Meyersdale was opportunistic once again, following a Windber turnover deep inside its own territory. Spencer Whitfield pounced on a fumble and the Red Raiders took over at the 30. A play later, Jones found Matt Hainsworth across the middle for a 30-yard touchdown strike. Meyersdale led 17-7 with 7:34 left in the third.
"They capitalized on our mistakes," Grohal said. "This is as good of a team as we are going to play all year. We have to play better ball security."
Windber responded with a 12-play, 64-yard drive to trim the deficit. Hostetler plunged in from a yard out. The PAT was no good and the Ramblers trailed 17-13 with 1:09 remaining in the quarter.
Hostetler finished with 120 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns.
The Red Raiders made a big defensive stand to spoil a potential go-ahead drive with 6:25 to go. The Ramblers could not convert a fourth-and-8 from the Red Raider 13.
However, Oleksa delivered a sack on Jones, moving Meyersdale back to its won 3-yard line. A 23-yard punt left Windber with 1:48 and a short field to work with.
Meyersdale valiantly mounted a drive to give Fisher a chance to win it, but, ultimately, Windber found a way to pull through and move to 3-1.
"We came out in the second half and our leaders stepped up," Hostetler said. "We faced some adversity in the third quarter, but we stuck together as a team and fought through it."
Jones threw for 132 yards and two scores. Whitfield paced the Red Raiders with 116 yards on the ground to go along with 54 receiving yards.
"I think of some of the greats during my tenure ‒ Braden Fochtman, John Shuster and Ethan Smith ‒ (Spencer) Whitfield is right up there with them. He's special."
While it was not the result Meyersdale coach Ryan Donaldson wanted, he learned a lot about his Red Raiders.
"We lost two games by a combined three points ‒ I like exactly where we are at. We grew up tonight," he said. "It's a tough loss but I am very confident in where we stand because of the way we battled tonight. We are going to be just fine moving forward."
Windber travels to North Star (3-1) and Meyersdale entertains Tussey Mountain (1-3) on Friday.
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: Windber stretches win streak to five over Meyersdale in nail-biter
