Changes taking hold under 2nd-year coach at Fort Cherry

By: Bill Hartlep
Thursday, August 26, 2021 | 6:01 AM

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Tanner Garry enjoyed the offseason. It almost felt normal.

After enduring a rocky, covid-impacted first season as head coach at his alma mater in 2020, Garry led Fort Cherry through a full offseason program.

Now, he’s excited to see the results.

“Even though it’s my second year as a head coach, it feels like my first year,” he said. “We didn’t have a chance to do a lot of offseason stuff last year (because of covid protocols). (This year), we got into the weight room, had them change their bodies, put on some weight.

“I think they really took advantage of that time.”

Garry welcomed 35 players to training camp, up from 28 last season. He spent time last winter and spring urging some of Fort Cherry’s top athletes to give football a try.

“At a Class A school, you can’t afford to have people in the building who can help you not playing,” said Garry, a 2012 Fort Cherry grad who threw for more than 4,500 yards in his career and also was a baseball and wrestling standout. “We’re working on a culture change at the school, getting kids to play multiple sports.”

Garry again will put the keys of the offense in the hands of senior quarterback Maddox Truschel, who was second-team all-conference last season after running for nearly 500 yards and seven touchdowns and throwing for 900 yards and four more scores.

“He’s someone that definitely makes us go,” Garry said. “It’s no secret. I enjoy reminding him of that to make sure he knows at all times we’ll go as far as he takes us.

“He’s a good leader, leads by example. He’s really cerebral in understanding why (plays work). He’s a deeper thinker. That helps him with understanding a lot of the things we’re doing.”

Truschel’s top targets will be senior tight end Anthony D’Alessandro and senior wide receiver Dylan Rogers. D’Alessandro was a first-team all-conference selection in the Big Seven Conference last season.

“Whenever it comes to production from last year, a lot of our success came from those two guys,” Garry said. “Dylan was a great playmaker. It always seemed like when we needed a play to be made, he was that guy.

“Anthony is probably up to (6-foot-3, 235 pounds), runs very smooth, has great hands. We really like to put him in the slot and give trouble to linebackers trying to cover him. We’re looking for big things from them building on what they did last year.”

The frontrunner in the backfield is a newcomer, senior Lou Serafin. At 6-1, 180, Garry said he uses his size to his advantage and is a hard-nosed runner. He used to play football but is working at running back for the first time.

Senior guard Mitchell Cook (6-0, 210), a third-year starter, and sophomore guard Lou Ryan (6-0, 230) return to anchor the offensive line.

Cook also was a leader on defense last season with nearly 100 tackles and four interceptions.

“He’s the quarterback of the defense,” Garry said.

D’Alessandro returns at defensive end and will be used as an edge rusher at times.

Rogers returns as a playmaker in the secondary after leading the team in interceptions last season.

“It was a pretty good luxury to look at film and if someone had a receiver that was the best of the their bunch, it was good to stick Dylan on that kid and hopefully eliminate that matchup,” Garry said. “He’s someone we put a lot of pressure on because we put him in in those situations, but he responds to those challenges.”

Sophomore Brayden Kirby (6-1, 235) returns at defensive tackle after starting as a freshman. Garry said he has shown improvement this offseason both in the weight room and on the field.

Fort Cherry will again compete in the Class A Big Seven Conference this season, looking to improve on a fifth-place finish in 2020.

“I’m looking for us to compete. I want us to take that next step as a program,” Garry said. “Last year was a bit of a culture shock for me with where the expectation was set. They had been on an 18-game losing streak. They’ve been great with that (change).

“We expect to win games. We feel we are the ones controlling the tempo, controlling the speed, controlling the physically of the game. We want to control our own destiny the way Fort Cherry football has been played. We play hard-nosed. We’re there to be the more physical team on the field and let the rest fall as it may.”

Fort Cherry

Coach: Tanner Garry

2020 record: 3-4, 3-4 in Class A Big Seven Conference

All-time record: 345-254-15

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.27 at Chartiers-Houston, 7

9.3 Avella, 7

9.10 at Carmichaels, 7

9.17 Shenango*, 7

9.24 at OLSH*, 7

10.1 Northgate*, 7

10.8 at Rochester*, 7

10.15 Union*, 7

10.22 at Cornell*, 7

10.29 Burgettstown*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Maddox Truschel

64-113, 904 yards, 4 TDs

Receiving: Dylan Rogers

30-525 yards, 4 TDs

Rushing: Truschel

93-484 yards, 7 TDs

FAST FACTS

• Fort Cherry finished 3-4 overall and in the Class A Big Seven Conference last season, which was good for a tie for fifth place. The Rangers averaged 25.3 points and allowed 26.0 but fell short of the playoffs.

• The Rangers lost three straight to start last season against Burgettstown, Shenango and OLSH. They then won two over Northgate and Rochester before losing at Union and then beating Cornell.

• Fort Cherry’s Jim Garry Stadium is named after Garry’s grandfather who coached the Rangers for 43 seasons. Tanner’s father, Tim, spent nine seasons on the sideline leading the team.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Fort Cherry