Before last season, the Fort Cherry Rangers had never won a WPIAL football title.
That has all changed in a hurry, as the Rangers have now captured the Class 1A title in back-to-back seasons following their 21-20 comeback win over Clairton last week. They are also the team standing in the way of the Port Allegany Gators in their bid to get to the state championship game for the first time in program history.
The Rangers got their last season, beating Redbank Valley, 33-23 in the semifinals. Port Allegany, of course, is very familiar with Redbank. In their most recent meeting, they lost to the Bulldogs 26-7 in the District 9 title game last season but bounced back to defeat them decisively twice this season, including 62-28 in the D9 title game.
So, there is recent familiarity for both programs in this position, something Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry feels is beneficial.
“There is something to be said about being there before,” Garry said. “Last year was definitely something we had to adjust to. Going from Acrisure to back onto a high school stadium, it’s a little different. Our kids were shocked by that. Some people call it the Heinz hangover. Now that they have experienced that, hopefully they can guide the younger guys.”
Garry, of course, is referring to winning a district championship at the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season, the Rangers played Redbank at Farrell High School. This season, the PIAA semifinal is at Penn West Clarion’s Memorial Stadium.
Last season was one for the history books for the Rangers, but even so, after graduating a large senior class, this is a group that still felt motivated to prove themselves.
“Something we’ve always expressed to the kids and that we pride ourselves on is being the same team for four quarters,” Garry said. “We had a lot of kids that wanted to prove themselves this year. We graduated 12 seniors last year, kids that were a big part of our team and the first to win a WPIAL championship for the school. That class is held in high regard.”
Garry is a third-generation coach, as the program located in McDonald (about 18 miles southwest of downtown Pittsburgh) was previously in the hands of his father (Tim) and grandfather (Jim) before him. Jim was the coach for 44 years.
The Rangers pride themselves on doing a lot of the same things Port Allegany does, with being physical up front and imposing their will on their opponents chief among them.
“Teams that make it to this point, you are who you are,” Garry said. “We’re going to continue to play our brand of football. Us and Port Allegany play a similar style of football — control the ball, wear teams down, impose our well, and tire them (opponents) out to the point where they don’t want to go anymore. It’s going to be a good matchup to see who can impose that. Both teams are going to show up and try to impose their will and see what happens.”
The running games for both teams have been dominant. The Gators’ offensive line has done exactly what Garry has talked about this season and Aiden Bliss has been brilliant, becoming District 9’s single season rushing leader in the win over Wilmington. Tristan Kiser has also a home run threat for the Gators with over 1,000 yards.
“They are very clearly a team that wants to run the ball, and for good reason,” Garry said. “They are really good up front and 31 (Bliss) is a great ball player. There is no one that has been able to just line up and run the ball with the success they do (that we have played). They do a good job of putting their guys in good positions.”
Of course, the Rangers feature a stellar rushing attack of their own, led by quarterback Matt Sieg (6-0, 180). The junior and consensus 4-star recruit has already verbally committed to Penn State (as a defensive back) and is considered one of the top prospects in the state, if not the country. Running back Ryan Huey has also given opponents fits this season behind an offensive line that possesses many of the same qualities that the Gators do, led by 6-2, 260-pound senior Joey Klose and others.
As Garry alluded to, whichever team can play that brand of football the best will likely be headed to Cumberland Valley High School on Thursday to play for a state championship.
That’s been a goal of the Rangers ever since losing to Steelton-Highspire, 42-8 in last season’s title game, although it didn’t necessarily start out that way, especially last season.
“I’d be lying if we said our goal was to win a state championship,” Garry said. “Going into last year, everything starts and ends with trying to win a WPIAL championship, something we had never done before. You win that one and ultimately find yourself in a state championship game, where we took a beating against a really good team. Now that they’ve had that taste, the kids have been working to get back there. They remember that feeling from last year.”
