FC pulls away, wins battle of unbeatens
By Joe Tuscano
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
MONESSEN – When Fort Cherry and Monessen got together Friday night for a Class A Black Hills Conference game, something had to give.
Both teams came into the game with 4-0 records overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Someone was going to leave Monessen Stadium with a loss.
That someone was wearing the black and white uniforms.
Fort Cherry, wearing red and white, scored four times in the second half and came away with a 35-14 victory.
“We’ve been harping on this all week,” said Fort Cherry head coach Tanner Garry. “Teams have tried to go with us for four quarters. It’s hard to do. We sort of take pride in slowing the other team down. Monessen is a great team and I’m proud of the way our team reacted.”
Monessen held an 8-7 lead in the first half before Braydon Cook broke off a 14-yard touchdown run. Then Matt Sieg jumped over a defender on the line and went 51 yards for the score. Sieg then hit Evan Rogers with a 17-yard scoring pass to give the Rangers a 14-point lead. Ryan Huey ended the night with a three-yard scoring run.
Sieg had a comeback game. Sieg broke his thumb in the season-opening win against Northgate but looked like his old self after getting the cast removed a week ago.
“I got out of the cast last week but wasn’t really able to throw,” said Sieg. “We worked on it all week. You saw that we wore the other team down. We got our mobility back. Our line and our receivers. No one ever takes a play off. That definitely wears a team down. That’s what we pride ourselves on.
Sieg rushed unofficially for 173 yards on 20 carries.
“We have five new starters up front,” Garry said. “We have two sophomore running backs and one junior running back. Wejust have a young team trying to learn from their mistakes.
Monessen earned an 8-7 lead at halftime when TyVaughn Kershaw snagged a 56-yard touchdown pass. Kershaw ran it in for the two-point conversion.
Fort Cherry got on the scoreboard first when Sieg found Braydon Cook for a 31-yard strike with 10:16 left in the half. Nikolas Massey hit the extra point and the Rangers had a 7-0 lead.
Fort Cherry had two opportunities to score in the first half but fumbled the ball away.
Sieg had 119 yards on 13 carries in the first half.
Monessen head coach Wade Brown was not available for comment after the game.
“We told the kids after the game that sometimes mistakes will cost you a game,” Garry said. “We have to make sure we play smarter football.”