Return of the Ranger: Fort Cherry’s mascot back, just in time for WPIAL championship
Courtesy of Dr. Trisha Craig
Fort Cherry’s student section, led by the cheerleaders and Ranger mascot, celebrate an 80-63 playoff win against Winchester Thurston school Feb. 25. The victory sent Fort Cherry’s boys basketball team into the WPIAL championship, scheduled for Saturday at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of Dr. Trisha Craig
Fort Cherry senior Johnathan Post, middle, leads the student fan section – and cheerleaders – in a chant at a recent boys basketball playoff game. High school principal Dr. Trisha Craig said both students and community fans go wild when the Ranger mascot steps on to the court.
Courtesy of Dr. Trisha Craig
Fort Cherry senior Johnathan Post, right, poses with Tom Scarpone, athletic director and psychology teacher, after another boys basketball playoff win. This year marks the first time the Ranger mascot has graced the courts in 18 years.
Courtesy of Dr. Trisha Craig
On a February weeknight, Johnathan Post as the Ranger mascot, bottom, cheers Fort Cherry’s boys basketball team to a playoff victory. The resurgence of the Ranger coincides with the team’s first WPIAL championship in 61 years.
Eighteen years ago, a Fort Cherry student shrugged out of the brown Ranger mascot uniform. The uniform was washed, folded and tucked neatly into storage.
Like a spirit, the Ranger appeared over the years in the hallways of Fort Cherry schools, an apparition that occasionally delighted during special events, including one showing at a 2004 sporting event.
But mostly the Ranger, once a fixture on football fields and basketball courts, remained a relic of the past, a figure in dusty yearbook photos, unloved by new generations sporting red and black.
And then, Johnathan Post happened.
Fort Cherry’s boys basketball team was for the first time in 61 years heading to the second round of playoffs. The home game scheduled for Feb. 25 was fast approaching when a few students brought their morale-boosting idea to high school principal Dr. Trisha Craig.
“A couple of boys that were not even on the basketball team – they were in the fan section – they came to me and said, ‘Hey, Johnathan would like to do this,'” said Craig.
“This” was resurrect the Ranger.
Unbeknownst to students, Craig, Superintendent Thomas Samosky and other district leaders began discussions in 2019 about reviving the Ranger. Those plans were put on hold when COVID-19 hit, and the idea remained just that as Fort Cherry struggled to navigate the pandemic at the start of the 2021-22 school year.
“We had not made it public that we were actually planning on bringing back the mascot. This was spontaneous. This was something that, with the excitement of the basketball season, some of the boys asked me if we could do this for playoffs,” said Craig. “It all kind of fell into place … like it was meant to be.”
Craig took the students’ idea to Samosky, who agreed that bringing back the mascot during Fort Cherry’s basketball playoff run was good timing. They set some ground rules and, on Feb. 25, hours before Fort Cherry took the court against Winchester Thurston School, senior Johnathan Post was fitted for the Ranger mascot uniform.
Fort Cherry and Winchester Thurston warmed up. Crowds filled the stands. Cheerleaders danced onto the court, and no one knew the Ranger was lurking in the shadows.
“We wanted to make it a surprise,” said Craig. “Two games ago, John came out. He came all decked out; made himself a fake beard. He walked out and people just went nuts. It was fantastic.”
Post, who played football for nearly three years before joining the track team, where he runs the 100- and 200-meter dash and throws javelin, was born to be the Ranger.
“I’ve just always been super, super prideful of my school. I love Fort Cherry so much. It’s a great school,” said Post. “I’ve been to games before where I see the mascot hyping up the fan section. Our … fan section, they do their own cheers and stuff. To see the Ranger out there again, I feel like to bring it back, especially for the playoff games now that we’re in the championship, the whole community comes together.”
Indeed, it isn’t just the student section that roars when Post steps on to the court (the Ranger appeared at the March 1 away game against Carlynton, too).
“Walking out … after everybody’s in the fan section, there’s five minutes waiting to start the game. You walk out and the crowd goes wild. When I step out in the whole uniform, the fan section just goes crazy. Even the parents, the whole community just goes wild,” said Post. “It’s absolutely fantastic. It feels great, it really does.”
Craig said having the mascot back has been a blast (from the past!). When asked if it’s the Ranger’s charm leading the team to the championship – a place Fort Cherry has not been since 1961 – Post was quick to answer.
“I give credit to our boys basketball team and Eugene Briggs. He does a wonderful job at coaching the boys,” Post said. “I’m just kind of there to keep them excited and keep our fans alive.”
Alive, indeed. The Ranger waves pom-poms, leads cheers and exudes school spirit. His belief in the team and passion for Fort Cherry is catching.
“There’s no better person for it,” said Craig. “Our senior class is very enthusiastic and very involved. We have a pretty good turnout, being a small school. The boys are winning, so it’s fun. Our student section is absolutely amazing. I think that the addition of the mascot has enhanced it.”
The Fort Cherry Rangers (23-2) will play Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (22-0) at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh tomorrow, and Post will be right there with the boys and the fans, pouring his heart into chants while the basketball team gives this championship game everything its got.
“OLSH’s on their 62nd win streak, so it’s definitely going to be tough. I think our boys definitely have the potential to pull it off. It just comes down to mind games: who wants it more?” said Post.
“We haven’t been here in 61 years, so it’s going to be a nail biter. My main goal for Saturday is just to keep everybody excited, no matter what. We’re in the WPIAL championship. It’s supposed to be exciting. It’s just my job now to keep them boosted up and keep the morale going.”