Fort Cherry knocks off Clairton to go back-to-back as WPIAL Class A champs
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Saturday, November 23, 2024 | 1:57 PM
Fort Cherry celebrates with the trophy after beating Clairton in the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg avoids the tackle attempt by Clairton’s Drahcir Jones during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Clairton’s Mike Ruffin avoids the tackle attempt by Fort Cherry’s Evan Rogers on the way to a 79-yard touchdown run during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry’s Shane Cornali pulls in a first-quarter pass over Clairton’s Jaece Booker during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Clairton’s Jeff Thompson recovers a fumble ahead of Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry’s Ryan Huey beats Clairton’s Drahcir Jones during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg with a first-down run on the winning drive against Clairton during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Clairton’s Drahcir Jones with a touchdown run against Fort Cherry during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry’s Ethan Weinbrenner dump water on coach Tanner Garry after beating Clairton in the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Clairton’s Jaece Booker pulls in an interception against Fort Cherry during the WPIAL Class A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Fort Cherry captured its second consecutive WPIAL Class A title by using a little trickery and luck to stun Clairton, 21-20, Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
The top-seeded Rangers (14-0), who struggled against Clairton’s defense in the second half, put together a 13-play, 82-yard game-winning drive utilizing two trick plays on fourth down.
The winning score came with 2:34 left when quarterback Matt Sieg faked a reverse pitch to Shane Cornali, stopped and threw a pass back to running back Ryan Huey for a 13-yard score.
It was like a play they used earlier in the drive when Cornali took the pitch and hit Huey for 20 yards on fourth-and-4 from the Clairton 49.
“So that one is called, ‘Run around in a circle and then find someone,’” Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry joked. “It was a bad call by me. Our idea was to try to give them a similar look to what we had just converted on fourth down.
“Matt was supposed to keep that one and was supposed to fake the reverse. He had nowhere to go, turned around and just made a play. Ryan did a good job staying alive.”
Clairton coach Wayne Wade said injuries caught up to his team, especially on that play.
Defensive back Donte Wright was out with a collarbone injury and safety Mike Ruffin was dealing with cramps.
“On the fourth-down touchdown, we just kind of lost the kid,” Wade said. “We were in cover zero. Our safety was supposed to have the first back out. He kind of just lost him.
“His eyes were in the wrong place; that kind of stuff happens. We had to move some guys around because we were so banged up.”
Clairton quarterback Jeff Thompson played, but because of an arm injury, the Bears were unable to throw the ball.
“We had some talented players that we couldn’t get the ball to,” Wade said. “That was frustrating.”
Clairton (13-1) couldn’t convert on its final possession as Thompson was stopped on a fourth-down run by Eli Salvini.
Fort Cherry dominated the first half and led at halftime 14-6 before the second-seeded Bears rallied in the third quarter to grab a 20-14 lead.
“No one thought we could win this game, and we told the players to take it personal,” Garry said. “We played in a strong conference between Canevin, Cornell and Monessen. We were ready to face the challenge.”
Clairton senior Drahcir Jones scored on a 58-yard run with Ruffin adding the 2-point conversion to tie the score 14-14, and Ruffin scored his second touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run for the lead.
“The way we played shows the heart of a champion,” Wade said. “I’m proud of them. The talk we had at halftime was about coming out and scoring getting the game back to 0-0 and then it would be anyone’s game and that’s what we did. We just fell short.”
Clairton took a 6-0 lead when Ruffin, in the wildcat formation took off to his left, avoided a tackle by Sieg, cut back to his right and raced 79 yards for a touchdown.
Ruffin finished with 162 yards rushing and Jones had 90.
Fort Cherry, which found success through the air, quickly struck back to take a 7-6 lead. It was the first time since the season opener Aug. 24 against Steel Valley that the Bears trailed in a game.
Sieg tossed a 39-yard pass to Evan Rogers, and two plays after Huey gained 13 to the Clairton 5, Sieg scored from the 4.
Nik Massey’s right foot gave the Rangers the lead.
Sieg completed 8 of 15 passes for 161 yards. He rushed for 87 yards.
“It was frustrating not getting the big plays,” Sieg said. “Getting four yards on a carry is a win for us.”
The Rangers increased their lead to 14-6 late in the first half as Sieg scored from the 1 to complete an eight-play 54-yard drive, all on the ground. A pass interference penalty aided the Rangers.
Clairton was hurt by penalties. The Bears were penalized 11 times for 90 yards. A false start in the third quarter nullified a 34-yard touchdown run by Ruffin.
Fort Cherry advances to the PIAA semifinals and will play Nov. 29 or 30 against District 9 champion Port Allegany.
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: Clairton, Fort Cherry
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