Defenders of the Fort: Rangers repeat as WPIAL champions
PITTSBURGH — Clairton entered Saturday’s WPIAL Class A championship game against Fort Cherry having allowed 21 points in 13 games.
The Rangers matched that total to win back-to-back WPIAL titles following a 21-20 victory at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry improved to 14-0 this season and won the second district title in program history. The Rangers join McDonald (1951 and ’52) and Chartiers-Houston (1971 and ’72) as the only teams in Washington County to win two straight WPIAL championships.
“I think that we knew coming into this game that we have a pretty potent offense,” Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry said. “We were aware of what they had done all year, and we looked at it as a challenge. We preached to our team all week that we have to play a full fourth quarters.”
Fort Cherry will play District 9 champion Port Allegany (13-0) in the state semifinals.
The Rangers advanced to the state final last year, and are definitely battle tested heading into next week’s game, which will be played either Friday or Saturday.
“On the defensive line, they (Clairton) were strong,” Fort Cherry senior lineman Joey Klose said. “They were the second seed and 13-0 for a reason. It was the first time all year I was on the ground a couple of times.
“Nobody thought we could do it, and we did it, and that’s huge for the underdog mentality for me. McDonald and Fort Cherry picked us.”
The Bears’ season ends at 13-1, but not without playing in an instant classic in search of the program’s 15th WPIAL title.
“I just told my kids in the locker room, ‘They have nothing to hang their heads about,'” said Clairton coach Wayne Wade. “We gave it all we had. We were a little banged up the last couple of weeks. It kind of made us play a different way tonight. I guess it got the best of us. I just want to thank our school administration, and everybody that has supported this year.”
The Bears held Fort Cherry quarterback and Penn State recruit Matt Sieg in check, but the junior was able to rush for two scores and threw the game-tying touchdown pass to Ryan Huey with 2:34 left in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-five.
Sieg used his athleticism to avoid being sacked on the pass to Huey, as he found his teammate in the flat. The sophomore was wide open and raced down the right side of the field into the end zone.
“I just back pedaled, looked to my right, and a credit to Ryan, he was open,” Sieg said. “This result is a testament to everybody. We have put in a lot of hard work, and my parents really pushed me when I was growing up.”
Nik Massey connected on the third of three extra points, which was the game winner.
Garry was ecstatic with the result of the play, but admitted it wasn’t something he drew up.
“That one is called, ‘Run around in a circle and find someone,'” said Garry. “It was a bad call by me. Our idea was to try and give them a similar look on what we had just converted the fourth down on.
“Matt was actually supposed to keep that one. It was supposed to be a fake reverse, but he turned around and made a play. Ryan did a great job staying alive on the play. It was a very impressive play all the way around.”
Huey had a 360-degree turn of emotions in one play, as he fumbled before scoring the biggest touchdown of his life. The Rangers converted on two fourth-down conversions earlier in the drive when Huey caught a 20-yard pass on a reverse from Shane Cornali with four yards to go that took the ball to the Clairton 29-yard line.
“My teammates were telling me all day to remain focused and stay the athlete that I am,” Huey said. “It felt like it was in slow motion coming down. It was a great feeling getting into the end zone.”
The Rangers went 82 yards on 13 plays on their game-winning drive that took 4:56 off the clock.
Huey caught two passes for 33 yards and Cornali pulled in four receptions for 65 yards. Evan Rogers had one catch for 44 yards.
Massey not only made three PATs, but he also pulled in one reception for 34 yards. Massey’s contributions were not lost on Garry, as kicking in Class A football can be a tossup. Clairton attempted two-point conversions on its three touchdowns, and went 1-for-2.
“We start every single practice by kicking 10 extra points, and we count it out all the way up to 10,” Garry said. “It’s Matt’s (Sieg) job to constantly hound Nik (Massey) and just try and get in his head so he’s not mentally weak. I’ll be honest, most days, Matt kind of wins that exchange, but Nik has built up a whole lot of confidence, and for him to make those extra points today was huge.”
Sieg was 8 of 15 for 161 yards with one touchdown. He rushed for 87 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns.
The Bears couldn’t utilize their passing game with quarterback Jeff Thompson unable to throw, but still used their speed to take a 6-0 lead with 2:58 left in the first period when Mike Ruffin raced 79 yards for a touchdown.
“The last few weeks we just grinded out some games against some good football teams without being able to throw,” Wade said. “That shows the heart of a champion of our team to lose our quarterback, and not really have a backup guy.”
Fort Cherry responded on its next possession and Sieg scored from four yards out to finish a four-play, 62-yard drive, and the Rangers had a 7-6 advantage with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Sieg powered through from one-yard out with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, and Fort Cherry took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
Drahcir Jones’ 58-yard run and Ruffin’s three yarder gave Clairton a 20-14 lead after three quarters. Ruffin’s two-point conversion run tied the game at 14-14 with 10:57 left in the third quarter.
Ruffin gained 162 yards on 14 carries and Jones rushed for 90 yards on 10 carries. Teammate Deon Pompey added 59 yards on eight attempts.
Darren Pinson led the Bears in tackles with 10, including one for loss. Clairton’s Jaece Booker had an interception.
Blake Sweder led Fort Cherry’s defense with 12 tackles, including one for loss. Teammate Tyler Wolfe made 10 stops (3.5 for a loss).
The Bears were penalized 11 times for 90 yards, while the Rangers were called for infractions seven times for 45 yards.
“We probably had six or seven holding penalties called against us, and they were at big moments in the game,” Wade said. “I don’t want to get in trouble with that kind of stuff. I just wanted to point that out because that type of thing in a championship game shouldn’t happen.”