4. North Star (10-2) vs. 1. Berlin-Brothersvalley (10-1) Friday 7:00 Somerset High School
North Star and Berlin will be meeting for the second time this season, but the stakes have been raised with a championship on the line. Berlin won 28-19 way back in week five. North Star has improved each and every week, and they will be looking to make it three straight district championships. Berlin has been the team to beat in the WestPac all season long. The perfect season was ruined by Windber in week ten, but the Mountaineers got their revenge last week and advanced to this week's title round.
North Star has used a balanced attack on offense to reach the title game. Tony Straiser is the star of the offense, and it all works around him. Straiser has caught 44 passes for 802 yards and 8 touchdowns. He can use his athletic frame to run the ball and it even forced him into playing some quarterback this season. He is a game breaker, and one one of the better athletes in the area. Joey Berkebile has been taking the majority of the snaps at quarterback. He is a junior and a first year starter. He will need to play a solid game for the Cougars to advance yet again. The running tandem of Thomas Miller and Shawn Costas is consistent, and they can carry the offense when need be. The Cougar defense has been solid all year long. The trio of Shane Supanick, Levi Albright, and Brady Shroyer have combined for 22 sacks. Albright also has over 100 tackles, and has four interceptions along with two fumble recoveries. He is a true sideline to sideline player. Brantley Rice leads the team with six interceptions.
Berlin had a tremendous run in the regular season. They stumbled once to Windber, but came out with a 40-20 victory last week over the Ramblers. Berlin has used a lethal running game and strong defense to roll out a 9-1 record. The Mountaineers rely on the shifty running of senior tailback, Drew Glotfelty. Glotfelty has 28 touchdowns this season with 22 of them coming on the ground. He has 1,770 yards rushing on the season, including 272 yards coming against Windber last week. He is the key to everything Berlin does on offense, and will need to be on his game Friday night. Blake Miller is an underrated quarterback, and he can add a passing element to this game. He has thrown 12 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. Braden Fochtman is only a freshmen, but is coming up huge in the running game. Luke Bonus has caught four touchdowns, and is always a deep threat. Berlin has forced 28 turnover this season, and it is a big part of their defense. Stew Trulick and Mitchell Walker anchor the defensive front, and they have seven sacks apiece. Nick Stockwell leads the Linebackers.
Berlin and North Star have battled it out, and they are the last two teams standing in District Five. North Star needed double overtime, but they found a way back to the title game. Berlin has been that model of consistency all year long, and they followed through with a championship appearance. The game will be a lot about the battle of Tony Straiser and Drew Glotfelty. They are the premier athletes in the game, and their respective teams need them to be making things happen all night. I am going with Berlin. They have a good group of athletes, and the running of Drew Glotfelty will be there. It will be a close game, but North Star is more than capable of winning the game.
Mountaineers 28 Cougars 20
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