Matt Sieg did it again Friday night.
Fort Cherry's super sophomore quarterback scored five touchdowns and rushed for 157 yards on 24 carries, leading Fort Cherry (13-0) to a 33-21 win over Bishop Canevin (10-2) in a WPIAL Class 1A semifinal game at South Fayette.
The Rangers will meet South Side Beaver next Friday, Nov. 24 at 11 a.m. at Acrisure Stadium in the title game.
Sieg, who also passed for 109 yards, now has 33 rushing touchdowns on the year. He has rushed for 1,776 yards and passed for another 1,337 yards.
Against Bishop Canevin, Sieg saved his best for last.
With the Crusaders holding a 21-20 lead late in the game, Sieg completed a 32-yard pass to Evan Rogers to move the ball to the Bishop Canevin 21. Then, on the next play, Sieg raced the final 21 yards for a score to give Fort Cherry a 26-21 lead with 4:34 to play.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Bishop Canevin quarterback Kole Olszewski fumbled and Fort Cherry recovered at the Crusaders' 15-yard line. Sieg then ran 15 yards for his fifth touchdown and a somewhat safe 33-21 lead.
Bishop Canevin took a 14-7 lead into halftime when on the last play of the second quarter, Olszewski threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Jason Cole that two Fort Cherry defenders were unable to stop.
It was a deflating blow to the Rangers, but they were able to come back from it.
Olszewski completed 10 of 22 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
With the game tied 14-14, Olszewski's 40-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Lindsey late in the third quarter gave Bishop Canevin a 21-14 lead. The lead held until Sieg's late heroics.
Fort Cherry will be making its first WPIAL championship game appearance since 2001 when it lost to Rochester.
Also in Class 1A:
South Side Beaver 28, Clairton 12: Brody Almashy threw touchdown passes of 36, 11 and 53 yards to lead the Rams (13-0) past the Bears (10-3) at Peters Township.
Clairton owned a 12-7 lead in the latter part of the second quarter thanks to touchdown runs of 24 yards from Donte Wright and 7 yards from Dion Pompey.
But South Side Beaver scored the final 21 points of the game, including an 11-yard scoring toss to A.C. Corfield late in the second quarter to help give the Rams a 14-12 halftime advantage.
Corfield added another touchdown catch and a 10-yard scoring run in the second half to give the Rams a 16-point advantage.
Corfield rushed for 131 yards on 19 carries, while Almashy passed for 123 yards. Clairton's Pompey rushed for 123 yards on 15 carries.
First Published: November 18, 2023, 3:59 a.m.