5 things we learned in high school football Week 4: Fort Cherry star, Hopewell kicker make history

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, September 20, 2025 | 11:42 PM

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Fort Cherry’s offense was gathered for a timeout when the Rangers’ coach shared some news: Quarterback Matt Sieg was about to break a record.

Tanner Garry says he typically wouldn’t worry about that kind of accomplishment in the middle of a drive, but there were only seconds left until halftime, and this could be a big moment for everyone. But first they had to reach the end zone.

“If we score another touchdown before the half and Matt gets in, he’s going to have the all-time WPIAL record for touchdowns,’” Garry recalled telling the players in the huddle on Friday. “Every single one of the kids on the field said, ‘We’re getting it on the next play.’”

A 26-yard run gave Sieg his third touchdown of the night, upping his career total to 118 and breaking a WPIAL record that stood for 13 years. The Penn State-bound senior also scored first-half TDs on runs of 53 and 9 yards in a 55-6 victory over Monessen.

“On the next play after the timeout is when we scored,” Garry said. “So, they kept their word.”

Clairton superstar Tyler Boyd, a senior in 2012, set the previous record at 117 touchdowns. Another Clairton star, Lamont Wade, was credited with tying Boyd’s touchdown mark in 2016.

Now, it’s all Sieg’s.

“Getting in that end zone, that is something I’ll never forget,” Sieg said after Friday’s game.

The 6-foot, 180-pound quarterback and safety has scored nine times this season. His touchdown total doesn’t include the 50-some TD passes he also has.

“The guys around me, the coaches around me, since I was a freshman, this is something we’ve been working toward,” Sieg said, “and it’s just super special to be able to do it with these guys.”

Sieg now has a chance to put some distance between himself and the two Clairton stars. Fort Cherry has five regular season games remaining and potentially an extended postseason run.

The Rangers (5-0) are two-time defending WPIAL champions and reached the state finals in 2023.

“With as much of the season we hope we have left, there’s definitely some room to spread that gap a little bit,” Garry said.

Garry said the entire team enjoyed the record-breaking moment, with Sieg’s teammates urging the spectators to make noise for him. Sieg played into the third quarter Friday before giving way to the team’s backups.

“To be able to do it at home with the community there really added to it,” Garry said. “It was a really cool moment.”

The state record for career touchdowns is credited to Southern Columbia’s Gaige Garcia, who finished with 159 as a senior in 2019.

Again and again

A year ago, Hopewell’s Rocco Marcantonio became the second kicker in WPIAL history known to have made a 55-yard field goal.

Well, he did it again.

The senior tied the WPIAL record for a second time with a 55-yard field goal Friday that easily split the uprights at Avonworth. The kick pulled the Vikings to within a point – 7-6 – in the second quarter.

The record has stood for 23 years, since East Allegheny’s Josh Miller made a 55-yarder in 2002.

Marcantonio took a shot at breaking the record in Week Zero with a 58-yard attempt against Riverside that missed to the left. Coach Matt Mottes said he considered attempting a 65-yarder on Friday just before halftime.

“When we were on the 48-yard line, I contemplated it,” Mottes said. “I’ve seen him make it from midfield before. I’ve seen him make it from the other 45-yard line. (But) the wind was in our face a little bit.”

Streak broken

Beaver Falls hasn’t had many reasons to celebrate lately, but the Tigers certainly did Friday night.

An 8-6 victory over Mohawk snapped a 15-game losing streak and gave second-year coach Jim Mooney his first win. Before Friday, Beaver Falls’ most recent victory had come in the 2023 WPIAL championship game.

That was 22 months ago.

On Friday, Beaver Falls was trailing Mohawk, 6-0, in the third quarter. Enzo Marzano gave the Tigers the lead with a 1-yard touchdown run and added a two-point pass to Dax Shimrack.

Among active WPIAL streaks, Beaver Falls’ was the fourth longest. The longest belongs to Baldwin (24 games), while Springdale and Valley have each lost 20 in a row.

Beaver Falls reached the WPIAL finals in three consecutive years from 2021-23 under previous coach Nick Nardone, who resigned before last season.

The Tigers went 0-10 in Mooney’s first year and started 0-4 this season. The win over Mohawk lifted their conference record to 1-1.

Ambridge, East Allegheny, North Hills, Serra Catholic and West Greene also earned their first wins of the year.

Freshman football

A couple of ninth-grade quarterbacks posted 300-yard efforts Friday that showed they’re ready for varsity football.

Gateway’s Mayson Mitchell led all WPIAL passers with 313 yards in a 33-28 victory over Franklin Regional. Mitchell completed 14 of 21 passes and threw for four touchdowns, including two TDs longer than 60 yards.

In the past two weeks combined, Mitchell has thrown for 570 yards and seven touchdowns. Gateway won both weeks after starting 0-3. The Gators are playing without quarterback Elvis Koutsakis Jr., a sophomore starter lost to a season-ending foot injury in Week 1.

Elsewhere, New Castle freshman Marino Graham surpassed 300 yards combined rushing and passing.

A 5-foot-9, 150-pound lefty, Graham ran for 221 yards and a touchdown and passed for 123 yards and three scores. His touchdown run covered 80 yards in a 45-0 win over Knoch.

New Castle improved to 4-1 behind Graham, who has tossed nine touchdowns in five games. The quarterback job was open this summer after the Red Hurricanes graduated a senior starter.

Walk-off win

The most dramatic win of the week surely belonged to Aliquippa.

Quips quarterback Marques Council Jr. connected with receiver Ray Miller on a game-winning touchdown pass with no time remaining Friday night. The 28-yard TD pass gave Aliquippa a 21-16 nonconference victory over Penn Hills and kept the Quips ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.

A Yale commit, Council completed 19 of 30 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.