Oct 10, 2025 6 min read

By Dave Whipkey

For The Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

MCDONALD – Points are usually aplenty whenever Bishop Canevin and Fort Cherry collide on the football field.

Last year’s installment of this game saw the Rangers outlast Bishop Canevin 49-34 at Dormont Memorial Stadium.

The 2025 edition of this matchup appeared at first to be another high-scoring affair. And just like the previous two years, Fort Cherry would get the better of a talented Crusaders squad, this time however in shattering fashion by a 56-19 count at Jim Garry Stadium Friday night.

The sensational Matt Sieg, a Penn State recruit,was his usual dominant self. Rushing for 270 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns. He added a punt return for a score and an interception return for a touchdown as well. All in all, Sieg accounted for 323 all-purpose yards.

“We capitalized on a lot of opportunities and that’s what you have to do against a team as talented as Bishop Canevin,” Rangers coach Tanner Garry said. “One thing we preach to our team is we never want to be the second most physical team on the field.”

As a team, Fort Cherry rushed for 421 yards. Eli Salvini chipped in with 97 yards on seven totes while Ryan Huey added 55 yards on 11 rushes.

Fort Cherry (5-0, 8-0) clinched at least a share of another conference title as they seek a return trip to Accrisure Stadium and a third straight WPIAL Class A title.

Bishop Canevin (3-1, 5-3) had an opportunity to climb back into the contest on their initial drive of the third quarter, but the Ranger defense forced a Myontae Mott fumble that Josh Silveira recovered on the Crusader 47. Sieg then drove the dagger in when he raced in from 47 yards for a score on the ensuing play from scrimmage, pushing the lead to 35-12 twenty-seven seconds into the second half.

But Sieg was not done. After the Rangers defense forced a punt, the senior decided he would do some damage on special teams when he fielded the punt and took it home for a 53-yard touchdown to push the advantage out to 42-12 at the 9:35 mark of the third.

Mott atoned for the earlier fumble on the Crusaders’ next drive when he sliced through the Fort Cherry defense for a 45-yard touchdown run, leaving the Rangers’ lead at 42-19 nearly midway through the third quarter.

Fort Cherry seemed to be angered by the Mott score when they ruthlessly responded with another scoring drive. This one capped by Salvini’s 29-yard blast up the middle to again extend the Rangers’ lead to 30 points at 49-19 with 2:13 to go in the third quarter.

“Shout out to our offensive line,” Sieg said. “It’s our motto: we’ll never be out-physicaled.”

Bishop Canevin (3-1, 5-3) worked to put more points on the board and appeared poised to do so, but their ensuing drive ended on fourth and 5 from the Ranger nine when Brady Wagner’s pass in the end zone fell incomplete.

Sieg’s night was culminated when he intercepted a Wagner pass and raced 85 yards untouched thanks to a convoy of Rangers blockers into the end zone, shoving the Ranger advantage to 56-19 late in the contest which proved to be the final margin of victory for the hosts.

The Rangers started the game with a bang on the game’s initial play from scrimmage. Sieg took the snap, drifted right, turned up field, swerved towards the middle and raced home 70 yards for a stunning touchdown. Twenty-three seconds into the game, the Rangers led 7-0.

With that play, Sieg vaulted into the all time top spot in total yards gained in WPIAL history, passing former Sto-Rox quarterback Lenny Williams.

“It’s super cool to be able to do that here in front our fans,” Sieg said. “It was just so special and we hope to keep it going.”

But Bishop Canevin responded on their second play from scrimmage when Wagner lofted a perfect pass to Damar Olds for a 78-yard touchdown connection. The extra-point attempt was no good, leaving the Rangers still in the lead at 7-6 a minute and eight seconds into the opening quarter.

Sieg then answered the Crusader score with his second on the evening when he dashed in from 28 yards out on third and long to extend the Rangers lead to 14-6 at the 7:55 mark of the first quarter.

The two squads then traded punts. Fort Cherry’s punt however was quite short as it traveled four yards before it drifted out of bounds like a shanked tee shot into the woods, giving the ball to Bishop Canevin on the Rangers’ 47.

It took six plays for the Crusaders to take advantage of the break as Myontae Mott swept into the end zone from 16 yards out on the first play of the second quarter. Wagner’s pass on the two-point conversion fell incomplete, leaving the Ranger advantage at 14-12.

Fort Cherry responded with a scoring drive of their own on their ensuing possession. Ryan Huey capped the march with a nine yard touchdown run to extend the Ranger lead to 21-12 with 7:28 to go in the half. The march was highlighted on a third and long play from the Crusader 27 when Landon Trnavsky took a reverse handoff and tossed a 17 yard completion to Huey to keep the drive alive.

Sieg then showed why he will be a future defensive back for Penn State when he blasted the ball loose from a Crusader receiver on third down to force an incompletion and forced a Bishop Canevin punt midway through the second quarter.

“We were in Cover 3 and they ran a Flood concept,” Sieg explained. “I was on the guy who ran a 10 yard out, then came off and took the guy in the flat and broke it up”

Fort Cherry extended the lead with 1:51 to go in the half to courtesy of a 61 yard scoring sprint by Eli Salvini. Nick Massey made his fourth extra point kick of the night, pushing the advantage to 28-12.