Matt Sieg’s 6 touchdowns guide Fort Cherry past Jeannette in WPIAL Class A semifinals
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Friday, November 15, 2024 | 11:05 PM
Jeannette’s Hunter Schaeffer attempts a tackle on Fort Cherry’s Shane Cornali during a WPIAL semifinal Friday in Canonsburg.
Jeannette’s Nick Mendoza is tackled by Fort Cherry defenders during a WPIAL semifinal Friday in Canonsburg.
Jeannette’s Nick Mendoza runs the ball against Fort Cherry during a WPIAL semifinal Friday in Canonsburg.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell secures a pass for a breakaway touchdown against Fort Cherry on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 in Canonsburg.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell makes a catch against Fort Cherry during a WPIAL semifinal Friday in Canonsburg.
Jeannette takes the field against Fort Cherry for a WPIAL semifinal on Friday in Canonsburg.
Jeannette’s Kymon’e Brown throws against Fort Cherry during a WPIAL semifinal on Friday in Canonsburg.
Jeannette fans brave the steady rain during the team’s WPIAL semifinal game against Fort Cherry on Friday.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell gains yardage against Fort Cherry during a WPIAL semifinal on Friday in Canonsburg.
Fort Cherry junior quarterback Matt Sieg put on quite a show Friday against Jeannette in the WPIAL Class A semifinals at Canon-McMillan’s AHN Field.
The Penn State commit scored six touchdowns and rushed for 232 yards to lead Fort Cherry to a 49-14 victory.
The win puts the top-seeded and returning champion Rangers (13-0) in the title game against No. 2 Clairton (13-0) at 11 a.m. Nov. 23 at Acrisure Stadium.
Clairton blanked Bishop Canevin, 24-0, in the other semifinal.
Sieg scored on runs of 11, 12, 43, 24, 47 and 4 yards.
He also intercepted a pass and completed 8 of 14 passes for 92 yards while running the RPO offense. He was almost perfect but did lose a fumble.
“Matt’s very good at football, and he continues to get better every game,” Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry said. “He’s a great worker and great leader.
“We’re definitely lucky to have him wearing red and white. But he had some nice holes to run through. He’ll be the first to tell you the credit goes to his teammates.”
Fort Cherry scored on its first possession to grab a quick 7-0 lead after Sieg found the end zone on an 11-yard run.
Jeannette (9-4) nearly tied the score late in the first quarter when Kymon’e Brown connected on a 50-yard pass to Jayce Powell.
The Jayhawks got to the Fort Cherry 1 but were turned away.
“It was a big stop,” Garry said. “You want your team to have to experience a goal-line stand because you never know when you’ll need one.”
Jeannette got the ball back at the Fort Cherry 40 following a punt, but on fourth down Brown fielded a low snap in punt formation and his knee touched down at midfield to kill the play.
Fort Cherry took advantage of the miscue and quickly turned it into points as Sieg scored from the 12.
“In games like this one, you can’t have the miscues we had,” Jeannette coach Tommy Paulone Jr. said. “You also have to capitalize on your opportunities, and we didn’t do that.
Jeannette cut the deficit to 14-7 with 2:09 left in the first half as Brown connected on a 59-yard touchdown pass to Powell.
But Fort Cherry followed with two quick scores, as Sieg ran in from 43 and 24 yards to push the lead to 28-7 at halftime.
“He was impressive,” Paulone said of Sieg. “He runs with a purpose, and if you don’t match that purpose, it’s going to be a long night.”
Sieg became the second player in WPIAL history to achieve 4,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards, joining Jeannette grad Terrelle Pryor.
Jeannette got a break early in the third quarter when Powell recovered a fumble at the Fort Cherry 29.
A few plays later, Brown found Noah Sunder in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 28-14.
Brown completed 9 of 25 passes for 168 yards. Powell had seven catches for 143 yards.
But it took Sieg two plays to cover 62 yards, the touchdown coming on a 47-yard run to push the lead to 35-14.
Now the Rangers will return to the WPIAL championship game and try to become back-to-back champions.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Fort Cherry, Jeannette
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