Fort Cherry aims to keep success going
Mark Marietta
The player wearing the No. 3 jersey for Fort Cherry will again be the quarterback this fall.
No, Matt Sieg didn’t get a fifth year of eligibility.
He’s at West Virginia, but his younger brother Colin Sieg is taking over the reins as the Rangers’ signal caller, and he has plenty of experience around him when it comes to returning starters.
It’s a combination that Fort Cherry believes can keep them among the WPIAL Class A elite.
That’s where the Rangers have been lately, having made the WPIAL semifinals three years in a row. They won WPIAL championships in 2023 and ’24 before having that streak snapped with a loss to Laurel in last season’s semifinals.
Rangers coach Tanner Garry is excited to work with and develop his new freshman quarterback after four years of working and winning with his older brother.
“He’s a freshman and there’s going to be growing pains and there’s going to be things you have to coach up again,” Garry said. “It’s a fun thing to go through. Whenever you have a kid who starts at the same position for four years, you try and build year after year, so starting from scratch again and getting a new quarterback acclimated to our system has been fun. Colin has been doing a great job learning all the ins and outs.”
Sieg’s teammates, like senior linebacker Tyler White, have been impressed during their preseason practices.
“They’re going to get to know Colin,” White said. “He’s a ballplayer already. It’s kind of crazy to go from one (Sieg) to another.”
There’s plenty of weapons at the skill positions to surround Sieg and three returning starters on the offensive line.
A key returner is senior running back Eli Salvini, who rushed for 980 yards and 18 touchdowns. He’ll look to build off that success in his final year.
“It’s definitely amazing to be one of the older guys on the team and having guys look up to me and the other seniors,” Salvini said. “We are setting the mentality for the younger guys and letting them know what we’re about. We want to be a winning program, so we have to play tough and be fast.”
Another senior that’s an impact player is Ryan Huey, a slot receiver and running back. He had 619 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, while battling through a couple injuries.
“Throughout the summer it’s been a great process and I’ve enjoyed working with all the guys,” Huey said. “I think we’re coming together really well as a team.”
The Rangers had to abandon the passing game for most of last year because of an injury to Matt Sieg and didn’t get to showcase their weaponry at receiver as much as they’d have liked.
With Landon Trnavsky, Nathan Wolfe, Joey Barna and Josh Silveria returning, there’s plenty of targets to use in the passing offense.
“Colin is not alone and he knows that,” Garry said. “To come out here and not only learn the system, but learn from guys that have done it before is definitely something he’s taken advantage of.”
Garry said Tyler Wolfe is the heart and soul of the defense. He has college offers from Maine and Clarion and is eyeing a big senior year.
“I want to lead the defense, like I have before,” Wolfe said. “I want to be the leader on that side of the ball, knowing all the plays and where everyone is supposed to be. I want to help the younger guys learn too.”
Tyler and Nathan Wolfe are twin brothers.
Fort Cherry is in the Black Hills Conference again, but it is a little bit different. Recent mainstays Bishop Canvevin, Northgate and OLSH have moved out and Wash High, Bentworth and Sto-Rox are in.
The Rangers kept rival Burgettstown in the conference, but lost Chartiers-Houston.
They’ll keep the rivalry with the Bucs going by playing them in a season opening nonconference game.
Another intriguing nonconference game is against Laurel, a rematch of last year’s semifinal.
After seeing their WPIAL championship streak snapped, the Rangers are out to prove they will continue to be a force.
“Obviously, a lot of people are looking at us right now and maybe thinking we’re not going to be as good as we were, because we don’t have Matt anymore,” Tyler Wolfe said. “All of us have had a chip on our shoulder all offseason, because we want to prove people wrong. That’s going to help us this year. People are going to be surprised how good we are.”