WPIAL Class-1A Championship Preview: Fort Cherry vs. Clairton

It’s a Class-1A WPIAL Championship showdown between No. 1 Fort Cherry and No. 2 Clairton that features one of the top stars in the entire district against one of the most well-rounded and dominant teams in recent memory.

The Fort Cherry Rangers (13-0) return to Acrisure Stadium a year after claiming their first-ever WPIAL title, defeating South Side 42-28, and they will once again lean on superstar quarterback and safety Matt Sieg.

This season, Sieg became just the second WPIAL player to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 4,000 receiving yards in their career. The other player to do so was all-time great Terrelle Pryor from Jeannatte. On the year, the Penn State commit has thrown for 1,124 passing yards and 19 touchdowns, along with 1,717 yards and 30 scores on the ground.

In a 49-14 semifinal victory over Jeannatte, Sieg completed 9-of-15 passes for 102 yards, while rushing for 222 yards and six touchdowns.

While Sieg can burn defenses on the ground, he has relied on a strong connection with his top pass-catching weapon, senior Shane Cornali. The 6-2 receiver has pulled in 33 receptions for 610 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year.

Receiver Braydon Cook has added 353 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while Evan Rogers has caught 14 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns.

Along with Sieg on the ground, sophomore Ryan Huey has rushed the ball 126 times for 698 yards and eight touchdowns. Eli Salvini added 487 yards and four scores.

If there is any opponent fit enough to stop the highly-skilled Sieg and a Fort Cherry offense that averages 41.5 points a game, it would be that of the 13-0 Clairton Bears. Head coach Wayne Wade’s program has held opposing teams to a combined 21 points this season with one of those touchdowns coming as a fumble recovery.

The Bears’ defense has been lights out, averaging 1.6 points per game, as they have pitched a shutout through their three playoff games. In dispatching Rochester, California and Bishop Canevin, Clairton outscored their opponents 134-0.

Most recently, Clairton defeated Bishop Canevin 24-0. An early safety and then blocked punt that led to a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Deon Pompey told the story of dominance in all three phases. Junior Mike Ruffin delivered the knockout blow with a 66-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Ruffin rushed for 113 yards, while Drahcir Jones ran for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Clairton’s stout defense is complemented by the most explosive offense in the WPIAL, scoring 51.8 points per game.

Junior quarterback Jeff Thompson III has completed 91-of-141 passes for 1,872 yards, along with 27 passing touchdowns, tied for the third-most in the WPIAL this season.

Thompson has a trio of key receivers who double as defensive playmakers. Junior Taris Wooding leads the wide outs with 24 receptions for 543 yards and six touchdowns. Fellow junior Donte Wright hauled in 22 passes for 474 yards and five touchdowns. Senior Zaemear Correll has caught 22 passes for 363 yards and five scores.

Jones paces the ground game for the Bears, running for 1,362 yards and 23 touchdowns on 116 carries.

Clairton is aiming for his first WPIAL title since 2019, when he defeated Sto-Rox, to claim his 14th title — second-most all-time in the district. The storied Bears program also owns the longest PIAA winning steak in history of 66 games between 2009-13.

Kickoff between the Rangers and Bears is set for 11 am to begin the four-game slate at Acrisure Stadium.