WPIAL Class A football semifinal preview: Fort Cherry, Clairton vying for title-game rematch

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, November 13, 2025 | 4:31 PM

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Clairton and Bishop Canevin square off in the district semifinals for a second straight season.

Two-time defending champion Fort Cherry battles Laurel for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Here is a look at the two Class 5A games on Final Four Friday along with the lone City League team still alive as Westinghouse opens up PIAA postseason play on the road in the first round.

WPIAL Class A semifinals

No. 4 Laurel (11-1) vs. No. 1 Fort Cherry (12-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Tony Dorsett Stadium at Hopewell

Coaches: Brian Cooper, Laurel; Tanner Garry, Fort Cherry

On air: Video streamed on NFHS and audio streamed on Trib HSSN

How they got here: Laurel captured the Big 7 Conference title and shut out Jefferson-Morgan in the opening round before ousting Chartiers-Houston in the quarterfinals. Fort Cherry, the champion of the Black Hills Conference, cruised past Avella in the opener and knocked out Neshannock in the quarters.

Last week: Laurel 40, Chartiers-Houston 21; Fort Cherry 36, Neshannock 9

Winner: The winner will play the Bishop Canevin/Clairton winner in the Class A championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium

Players to watch: Kolton Carlson, Laurel (Sr., 6-2, 200, RB/WR/LB); Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry (Sr., 6-0, 180, QB/DB)

Team notes

Laurel: Heading into the district quarterfinals, the Spartans were playing strong defense, allowing 14 total points in their three previous games. Now it’s time to give the Laurel offense some love as the Spartans scored 75 points in playoff wins over Jefferson-Morgan and Chartiers-Houston. It has been a balanced attack, led by senior running back Kolton Carlson, who rushed for 116 yards and two TDs last week, while teammate Jack Miles had 77 yards on the ground and two scores.

Fort Cherry: Week in and week out, the exploits of senior quarterback Matt Sieg have been well documented, as he has rushed for 1,612 yards and 28 touchdowns in helping the Rangers to a perfect record to this point. But in the quarterfinals win over Neshannock, it was Eli Salvini’s time to shine for Fort Cherry. Salvini had 23 carries and rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns, while Sieg didn’t disappear, gaining 131 yards on the ground and scoring twice in the 25-point victory.

Historic factoids

• This is only the second game between northern Laurel from Lawrence County and southern Fort Cherry from Washington County. The Spartans beat the Rangers in the only previous meeting.

• That only other matchup between the Spartans and Rangers was also a playoff game nearly 40 years ago. Mike Crawford and Doug McCoy combined to rush for 171 yards with McCoy scoring twice and Crawford once as Laurel blanked Fort Cherry in a 1986 Class A first-round clash, 23-0. In the loss, Fort Chery running back Brad Tokar became the sixth WPIAL back to eclipse 4,000 rushing yards in his career.

• Fort Cherry is two wins away from a third straight WPIAL Class A championship. The last time the Rangers won a semifinal but did not win a district crown was when they lost to Rochester in the 2001 title game.

• Laurel is two victories away from claiming a second WPIAL football championship and the program’s first since 1980. The last time they won a semifinal and not a district title was in 1989 when they lost to Clairton in the finals.

No. 3 Bishop Canevin (9-3) vs. No. 2 Clairton (11-1)

7 p.m. Friday, James Burk Stadium at Fox Chapel

Coaches: Rod Steele, Bishop Canevin; Wayne Wade, Clairton

On air: Video streamed on NFHS

How they got here: Bishop Canevin finished in second place in the Black Hills Conference, held on to defeat Greensburg Central Catholic in the opening round and cruised past Frazier in the quarterfinals. Clairton won the Eastern Conference championship before crushing Monessen in the first round and sliding past Jeannette in the second round.

Last week: Bishop Canevin 50, Frazier 7; Clairton 38, Jeannette 33

Winner: The winner will play the Laurel/Fort Cherry winner in the Class A championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium

Players to watch: Myontae Mott, Bishop Canevin (Jr., 5-7, 160, RB/LB); Deon Lovelace-Pompey, Clairton (Sr., 5-9, 170, RB/MLB)

Team notes

Bishop Canevin: The Crusaders were in a dogfight in the first round, needing a big fourth quarter to dispose of Greensburg Central Catholic. No such drama was needed for Bishop Canevin in the quarterfinals as it led Frazier by 42 points at halftime. Junior BC running back Myontae Mott once again led the way with 161 yards rushing on nine carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Damr Olds threw for 108 yards and a touchdown, plus he ran for 47 yards and a score.

Clairton: The Bears’ nine-game shutout string ended in a big way in the district quarterfinals. It officially ended on a first-quarter McAlister Steele 41-yard field goal for Jeannette, but the Jayhawks went on to score 30 more points. However, in the end, it still wasn’t enough as the Clairton win streak improved to 11 in a row. Senior running back Deon Lovelace-Pompey led the Bears ground attack with 92 yards and two touchdowns, nearly half of which came on a 44-yard scoring run.

Historic factoids

• This is the ninth meeting between Bishop Canevin and Clairton with the Bears holding the lead on the Crusaders in the series, 7-1.

• These same teams met in the semifinals a year ago at Peters Township and points were hard to come by. Clairton blanked Bishop Canevin, 24-0, thanks to a safety and touchdown runs by Drahcir Jones, Deon Lovelace-Pompey and Mike Ruffin.

• Bishop Canevin and Clairton never played prior to 2010. This will be the fourth time the Crusaders and Bears have met in the WPIAL playoffs with Clairton holding the 2-1 advantage. In the first clash, Clairton shut out Bishop Canevin in the 2010 Class A quarterfinals, 47-0. In the 2022 Class A quarters, the Crusaders snapped a six-game skid against the Bears by winning, 29-6. The another shutout for the Bears came in the Class A semifinals in 2024, 24-0.

• In the five regular season meetings between the teams from 2012-2021, Clairton won all five contests, beating the Crusaders by a combined score of 213-48.

PIAA Class A first round

Westinghouse (6-4) at Meyersdale (11-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Meyersdale High School Stadium

Coaches: Donta Green, Westinghouse; Ryan Donaldson, Meyersdale

How they got here: Westinghouse lost in the District 8 City League championship game but qualified for the PIAA playoffs as the highest rated Class A team from District 8. Meyersdale defeated Conemaugh Township to claim the District 5 championship.

Last game: University Prep 26, Westinghouse 0 (on Oct. 25); Meyersdale 20, Conemaugh Township 14

Players to watch: K’Shawn Hawkins, Westinghouse (Jr., 5-9, 170, WR/DB); Caleb Sines, Meyersdale (Soph., 5-10, 172, RB/LB)

Team notes

Westinghouse: When a team has a week off, the question is always rust vs. rest. Well, what happens when a team has two straight weeks of not playing? That is what the Bulldogs must deal with after losing to University Prep in the City League finals Oct. 25. Westinghouse has had plenty of time to regroup after losing three of its last four games.

Meyersdale: The Red Raiders have won eight straight games since suffering their only loss to Windber in Week 3. In the District 5 playoffs, they first beat Northern Bedford in the semifinals, 28-6, then edged Conemaugh Township in the title game. Sophomore running back Caleb Sines rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown while senior quarterback Lance Jones had 148 total yards from scrimmage with two touchdown passes to Sines and Spencer Whitfield.

Historic factoids

• This is the first meeting between Westinghouse and Meyersdale.

• Westinghouse is 7-6 all-time in PIAA playoff games. The Bulldogs are 3-3 in first round games and 1-0 against District 5 teams, having defeated Windber in the opening round last season, 61-6.

• The Bulldogs have twice reached the state championship game, losing 37-22 to Southern Columbia in 2022 and 21-20 in the 2023 PIAA Class A finals to the Tigers again.

• This is only the second PIAA football playoff game for Meyersdale. The Red Raiders lost to Clairton in the 2006 Class A quarterfinals, 32-14.

• The winner advances to the PIAA Class A quarterfinals to play the winner of Friday’s District 6 championship game between Juniata Valley and Bishop Guilfoyle Academy.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Clairton, Fort Cherry, Laurel, Westinghouse