At the outset of the scholastic season, Windber junior back R.J. Tallion had been comfortable – and effective – in his role as a lead blocker in the Ramblers' run-heavy offense. But injuries eventually pushed Tallion into the role of a featured runner in the Ramblers' deep backfield. "I was just hoping I could fill in his footsteps," Hostetler said of fellow Ramblers junior Luke Hostetler, the area's leading rusher when he was lost for the season due to an injury in Week 4.

"Luke is an amazing runner," Tallion said. "I was always just the lead blocker, which I was very good at. I just try my hardest." His hardest was good enough for 170 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in third-seeded Windber's 41-20 District 5 Class 1A semifinal victory at second-seeded North Star.

The win puts the defending district champion Ramblers (8-3) back in the title game against undefeated, top-seeded Northern Bedford County (11-0) on Thursday at Somerset Area High School. The championship game will be a rematch of 2022's title contest. This will be the Ramblers' third straight title game appearance, including a runner-up in District 5-8 Class 2A in 2021.

"We were so physical tonight," Windber coach Matt Grohal said. "We owned the line of scrimmage. These guys just worked their tails off for us this week." The Ramblers rushed for 379 yards on 43 carries.

In addition to Tallion, Windber senior Colin Marx, back from an injury, rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries. Junior Bryce Chicarell had 79 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Even offensive lineman-turned-fullback Eddie Richards ran for big chunks with 39 yards on six carries. "The line blocked very well. They were just making wide holes and I was just trying to do my best getting through them," Tallion said.

North Star (7-4) closed the program's first winning season after posting nine straight losing records. The Cougars hosted their first district playoff game since 2012. "Things to build on for sure," North Star coach Bob Landis said. "This group of seniors, four years ago they were freshmen when we came in as a staff and they really bought into what we were trying to do. "We had our bumps, definitely, but I'm glad they can leave here their senior year with a winning record."

Windber set the tone early. North Star lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage.The Ramblers' Chicarell ran the next play 36 yards into the end zone, and Bryson Costa's extra point set a 7-0 score after only 20 seconds of game clock elapsed. North Star four-year starting quarterback Connor Yoder answered by hitting Glendon Griffith on a 71-yard touchdown pass. Yoder's point-after attempt hit the right post setting a 7-6 score 1 minute, 26 seconds into the game. The remainder of the quarter included interceptions by North Star's Yoder and Bryson Durst, and Windber's Lucas Oleksa. The Ramblers stopped the Cougars on downs at the Windber 14-yard line late in the opening quarter. Then, Tallion capped a 10-play, 86-yard march with his 6-yard score at 7:25 of the second.

Once again, North Star answered via Yoder's 72-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Smith. Yoder's two-point conversion run tied the score at 14-all with 5:20 left in the half. Windber quarterback Tanner Barkley hit Oleksa on a screen pass and he ran for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Ramblers a 21-14 halftime advantage. "They're really good and to hold them to 20 points, we needed some help. We needed some turnovers," Grohal said. "We got the one right off the get-go and capitalized with some momentum. "Oleksa had a pick. Evan (Brady) had a huge pick when they were coming down to potentially tie it.

"We were able to capitalize on their mistakes much like they were able to do against us in Week 5." North Star beat Windber by an identical 41-20 score on Sept. 22 at Windber Stadium. Windber opened the third quarter with a 10-play drive ending in Marx's 34-yard touchdown run to make it 27-14 at 8:37. North Star's Yoder ran 10 yards for a score to cut the gap to seven points at 4:02 of the third. Yoder completed 9 of 29 passes for 262 yards, two TDs and two picks.He ran for 95 yards and a score. Brady made an interception to halt another North Star drive, and the standout receiver caught a 13-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to make it 34-20.On second-and-goal at the Windber 4, North Star lost a fumble and the Ramblers followed with a 11-play drive finished off on Tallion's 54-yard score with 1:35 on the clock.

"I think in the first matchup, they had the turnovers and tonight, we had some issues," Landis said.

"These guys are a handful," Grohal said of North Star. "They're a great football team. That's the best game we've played all year by far. It's a good time to be peaking."