Reinvigorated rivalry
Burgettstown puts unbeaten season on the line against Fort Cherry
Every time the Fort Cherry and Burgettstown football teams line up against each other, it’s a meaningful game.
But when both are having strong seasons, as is the case this year, it brings a little extra juice to the rivalry.
Burgettstown is undefeated at 5-0 and will put that record on the line when it hosts Fort Cherry, 7 p.m. tonight at Hill Memorial Stadium.
Fort Cherry is 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Class A Black Hills Conference, while Burgettstown is unbeaten after winning only one game each of the last two years.
“The buzz in both communities is phenomenal,” Burgettstown coach Mark Druga said. “I know the last few years Fort Cherry has been a phenomenal team that won two WPIAL titles and we still got up for that game. This year it’s taking on a little bit more meaning than it has the last few years.
“I know it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere, because it’s going to be a packed house.”
The Rangers have won the last three in the series, including a 42-9 victory last year. Burgettstown’s last win was in 2022.
“Regardless of how we are doing this game is always going to mean something,” Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry said. “Whenever you play a team like Burgettstown that’s right down the road from you, you want to put your best performance out there, because there’s a lot of history there. The kids are definitely zoned in and focused on the task at hand.”
Burgettstown is coming off a thrilling, 10-6, win at Monessen last Friday where Blake Neal scored on a one-yard run with less than 30 seconds remaining.
It was the first real moment of adversity for the Blue Devils this season.
Monessen scored a touchdown to take a 6-3 lead prior to the game-winning drive.
Druga said Neal surrendered the Monessen touchdown at cornerback, but came right to the sidelines, focused on leading a game-winning drive.
Neal threw a big completion to Tony Bongiorni on a fourth-and-10 to keep the drive going.
“Blake came over to the sideline and said, ‘Put the ball in my hands’,” Druga said. “He led our team down the field and it was almost cathartic, because everybody rallied. The coaches didn’t panic. The players did a great job executing our two-minute offense. It just all came together against a very good Monessen team.”
Fort Cherry, meanwhile, rebounded from a 14-12 loss to Monessen by defeating Sto-Rox, 49-8.
Garry said it was good to see his group respond in a positive way after a tough loss that ended the Rangers’ 37-game regular season winning streak.
“The senior group took accountability from the early going (after the Monessen loss) and called themselves out really for not having the focus and the execution that we need week in and week out,” Garry said. “To see them bounce back in a strong way was good to see.”
The matchup may come down to a few plays, because both defenses have been strong.
Fort Cherry has allowed 17 points or fewer in every game, while Burgettstown has yielded only 14 points all season.
“They’re very sound on what their responsibility is, Garry said of Burgettstown’s defense. “There’s no one that’s trying to do someone else’s job. They’re focused on doing their specific part and when you have 11 players on defense all working as one it’s going to lead to a successful defense.”
In studying the film last week for the Monessen game, Druga was impressed with how the Greyhounds defended Fort Cherry and their litany of weapons, which include senior running backs Eli Salvini and Ryan Huey.
He hopes to draw inspiration from what Monessen accomplished.
“We were watching that film again this week and we’re going to try to address some of the same things that Monessen did two weeks ago,” Druga said.
“Fort Cherry has a two-pronged attack with Salvini and Huey, who are fantastic running backs. Then you have Colin Sieg calling the numbers at quarterback that is doing a very good job as a freshman leading the team. The have some good, experienced receivers and tight end too, so they’re a dangerous team.”
Extra points
It’s Week 6 and finally every local team will have played their first conference game after tonight. In Class 5A, Peters Township is at Upper St. Clair. The Indians and Panthers have met in the regular season and playoffs each of the last two years. Peters Township is 3-1 in those games. Trinity hosts Thomas Jefferson. Both teams have moved up from 4A. The Hillers have had some recent success against Thomas Jefferson with two wins in the last three years, including one last year which helped them win their first conference title since 1986. In Class 4A, South Fayette hosts Chartiers Valley for the “Battle of the Bridge” rivalry game and Ringgold travels to winless Laurel Highlands. … Matchups featuring two local teams Friday are Washington at Bentworth, California at Mapletown, Jefferson-Morgan at Beth-Center and West Greene at Avella.