Fort Cherry survives scare from scrappy Cornell to reach Class A semifinals

By: Antonio Rossetti
Friday, November 8, 2024 | 11:32 PM

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After an early scare, top-seeded Fort Cherry advanced to the WPIAL Class A semifinals Friday night with a 27-20 victory over No. 9 Cornell.

The Rangers went down 12-0 in the first quarter after Cornell had two straight drives that ended in touchdowns from Khylil Johnson on a 56-yard run and Walter Clarit from a yard out.

Nonetheless, the Rangers, powered by quarterback Matt Sieg and a feisty offensive line, rallied for 27 unanswered points.

Sieg led the charge, running the ball 30 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Sieg also completed 7 of 16 passes for 65 yards and another score.

Sieg pointed out the offensive line’s role in his 265 all-purpose yards in the game.

“The offensive line was huge,” Sieg said. “They came out, they punched us in the mouth a little bit. The way we were able to fight back and kept pushing throughout the whole game, we wore them down. Definitely credit the offensive line for opening holes and moving people. It’s what we do.”

Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry lauded Sieg’s performance on both sides of the ball, as he also made multiple touchdown-saving tackles.

“We’re going to continue to hang our hat on that kid,” Garry said. “I try not to outcoach myself sometimes. You got the best player on the field, you just have to get the ball in his hands, and we’re going to continue to do that. He always, always, always shines in the brightest moments.”

The Rangers held the Raiders scoreless for 33 straight minutes, keeping them out of the end zone in two straight quarters.

“It’s testament to the kids,” Garry said. “They didn’t hang their heads. They kept fighting. They listen to the things we preach. We have to play a four-quarter game. Sometimes you get punched in the mouth, that happens, but they battle back and didn’t hang their heads about it.”

Garry added that Cornell was physical and athletic, but the Rangers were up for the test.

“We haven’t been down since the state championship, and that’s definitely a new territory for us,” Sieg said. “The way that we were able to bounce back, I think that says a lot about us as a team.”

Senior lineman Brody Krah and the defensive line played a huge role in shifting the momentum toward Fort Cherry.

“Getting fourth-down stops is a big part of the game,” Krah said. “It’s a tone setter.”

Garry added that the Rangers were well prepared for what the Raiders had in store on fourth down. He also noted how the offense converted key third and fourth downs when they needed to.

“They just were laser-focused with a lot of those little details,” Garry said. “We know on fourth down, we have to make sure that we’re paying attention to what everyone’s doing on the field. Us converting some of those fourth downs as well, executing in big moments, just speaks to the experience that our kids have.”

The Rangers turned those stops into scores. Sieg dominated by finding holes and hitting them, but Krah is just as impressed with the Penn State recruit’s leadership.

“He’s just great,” Krah said. “He treats everybody the same. He just has a warm heart.”

As for the Raiders, they finished with nine wins. Coach Ed Dawson is proud of his players.

“This is the most resilient team I’ve ever coached,” Dawson said. “They are family, they love each other, they play hard, and they give everything they have every day. There’s not too many 22-man rosters that’ll go out and compete the way that we do. You saw tonight, there’s fight in our kids. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get them over the hump tonight.”

A hungry and motivated Raiders team struck first after forcing a three-and-out.

Johnson, who tallied 90 yards on four carries, broke multiple tackles and took one to the house for a 56-yard touchdown run. A missed extra point kept it at 6-0.

On a reverse run, Damarr Williams carried 33 yards into Fort Cherry territory. Sieg made a key tackle to run him down.

Johnson almost broke another touchdown, running for 21 yards to the Fort Cherry 14 where Sieg made another important tackle.

On fourth-and-5 at the Rangers 9, MJ Stuckey found Mikey Keyes over the middle, getting it to the 1-yard line.

Clarit punched it in over the middle to take a 12-0 lead.

The Raiders forced their third straight three and out. Johnson then fielded the punt at the 10 and ran for 27 yards, getting the ball to the 37.

The Rangers then turned the Raiders over on downs on a fourth-and-short.

The Rangers capitalized on the short field, stringing together a drive that was capped off with a Sieg 3-yard touchdown run. Nik Massey hit the extra point, making it 12-7.

Fort Cherry then shut down a fake punt attempt, getting the ball back at its own 39-yard line.

A Sieg 34-yard run and a facemask penalty put the ball at the Raiders 10-yard line.

On fourth-and-3 at the 4-yard line, Sieg punched in another run, taking the lead 14-12 with 1:16 left in the second quarter.

Nathan Wolfe recovered a fumble for the Rangers with 1:03 left, but Keyes picked off a Sieg pass at on third-and-10 and Fort Cherry led 14-12 at halftime.

After stuffing Cornell on another fourth-and-short, Sieg turned in a dynamic run for 46 yards, putting the Rangers at the Raiders 13.

On fourth down at the 12, Sieg connected with Shane Cornali for a touchdown, extending the Fort Cherry lead to 21-12.

The Rangers forced a punt and after a 27-yard run from Ryan Huey, Fort Cherry had some momentum going into Cornell territory.

On fourth-and-8 at the Cornell 33, Sieg found a Cook, who laid out making a diving catch for 12 yards, earning a the first down.

Sieg then shook a few defenders and exploded past the secondary down the sideline for a 21-yard touchdown run, making it 27-12 a minute into the fourth.

The Raiders wouldn’t go away, though. Stuckey found Santana Lee on their next drive for a 17-yard touchdown pass. Johnson ran it in for 2, cutting it to 27-20.

The Rangers, however, notched multiple first downs and ran out the clock. They’ll meet No. 13 Jeannette in the semifinals next Friday.

“We’re just taking it week by week,” Sieg said. “We have to come back and have laser focus at practice and get the job done next week. We have to get back to Acrisure.”

Tags: Cornell, Fort Cherry