Oct 31, 2025 3 min read

By Joe Smeltzer

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

McDONALD – At this point, Matt Sieg breaks records as frequently as The Beatles made them.

In a year where he broke the WPIAL record for scoring and total yardage, the Fort Cherry legend became the all-time leading rusher in program history in the second quarter of Friday’s first-round playoff game at Avella.

What makes this more impressive is that the person Sieg passed for the record, Mike Vernillo, ended his Fort Cherry career as the WPIAL’s all-time leading rusher.

The only person ahead of Sieg, Rushel Shell, was no slouch, either.

The Hopewell great had every school in America beating down his door.

But perhaps the most impressive thing about all this is the fact that, unlike Vernillo and Shell, Sieg accomplished this as a quarterback.

And quarterback isn’t even the position Sieg plans to play at the college level.

Nope, Sieg, a four-star recruit who is committed to Penn State but has opened up his recruitment because of the school’s recent firing of head coach James Franklin, plans to play safety at the college level.

Considering he’s the No. 9 safety in the country from the 2026 Class per 247Sports, it’s probably a good choice.

But Sieg’s offensive brilliance won’t soon be forgotten, and the latest performance – 154 yards, two touchdowns on six carries – propelled Fort Cherry to a 48-13 win over No. 16 Avella in the Class A playoffs.

“For me, it means the world,” Sieg said. “That was a goal I set for myself as a freshman. To be able to accomplish that, thanks to my line, my coaches, my teammates altogether, I mean, it’s very special.”

“Just another feather in the cap,” FC coach Tanner Garry said. “It’s crazy. It seems like it’s always something. He continues to find ways to just add to his honors that he’s already had. It resonates in the WPIAL, but it especially resonates in this area.”

It took top-seeded Fort Cherry (11-0) less than two minutes to strike first. Eli Salvini ended a 6-play, 54-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown, and Nik Massey’s PAT made it 7-0.

On Avella’s first offensive play, Gavin Grace returned an interception 74 yards to the Avella 1. FC scored on the next play to go ahead by two scores.

The next possession consisted of two plays: An 28-yard run by Sieg and a 30-yard run by Sieg. The second one was a touchdown that made it 20-0.