Big Fourth Quarter lifts Fort Cherry to victory

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

Andrew Schaffer | November 18, 2023

Just like the first game it was a good game between Fort Cherry and Bishop Canevin. But in the fourth quarter Fort Cherry showed dominance in their 33-21 win over Bishop Canevin. “Making plays in big moments like that, there has been some times in games where we’ve stepped up big and had big quarters, but in this setting at this point in the season, that’s one to remember” said Coach Garry.

Fort Cherry got the ball to start the game and started at midfield but a couple plays later they went for it on fourth down but turned the ball over on downs.

Bishop Canevin started their first drive at their own 42 yard line they did get into Fort Cherry but then threw an interception. Fort Cherry started their second drive and their own 49 yard line but that drive as well ended on an interception.

Bishop Canevin started their second drive on Fort Cherry’s 49 yard line and it was a long drive featuring a lot of runs eventually Bishop Canevin got on the board on a 2 yard run by Marquis Carter. That made the score 7-o Bishop Canevin with 1:55 in the first quarter.

Fort Cherry started their next drive at the Bishop Canevin 47 yard line. On the first play of the second quarter Fort Cherry tied the game up at 7 on a 3 yard run by Matt Sieg.

For the majority of the quarter both Fort Cherry and Bishop Canevin struggled on offense. One drive by Fort Cherry was inside Bishop Canevin’s 30 yard line but that drive ended on a turnover on downs.

It seemed liked it was was going to be a tied game at halftime but as time expired in the first half Kole Olszewski found Jason Cross for a 42 yard touchdown pass and that gave Bishop Canevin a 14-7 lead at the half.

Bishop Canevin got the ball to start the second half but Fort Cherry got the stop they needed. Fort Cherry started their drive at their own 21 yard line and it featured a couple big plays several of them being by Matt Sieg. Eventually he scored on a 1 yard run that tied the score up at 14 with 6:33 in the third quarter.

Bishop Canevin started their next drive on their own 28 yard line and it was a long drive, after a penalty they were at Fort Cherry’s 40 yard line and on second down Kole Olszewski found Jayden Lindsey for a 40 yard touchdown pass and that gave Bishop Canevin the lead back with 1:43 in the third quarter. The score at the end of the third quarter was 21-14 Bishop Canevin.

The fourth quarter was when Fort Cherry came alive. Matt Sieg scored on a 12 yard run but a two point conversion failed and Bishop Canevin still had a 21-20 lead with 10:50 in the fourth quarter. Sieg was the major factor in the game for Fort Cherry he had 157 yards rushing and 111 passing yards. “He’s someone that really holds himself to a high standard, in the early going of that game, he’s coming over to the sideline frustrated I can see it in his face, he’s like I don’t know what I’m doing, we have to wear teams down sometimes with the things we do over and over again, just keep in mind stay patient, you’re not always going to be breaking the long one and he really just battled back in a big way tonight” said Coach Garry.

On the following drive Bishop Canevin went three and out and punted it away to Fort Cherry. But on that drive Fort Cherry went three and out as well.

Fort Cherry came up with another huge stop and got the ball at their own 48 yard line. It was around this time where the rain and wind picked up but that didn’t stop Fort Cherry a pass was completed down to the Bishop Canevin 21 yard line. On the next play Matt Sieg scored from 21 yards out to give Fort Cherry a 26-21 lead with 4:34 left in the game. “That’s something you see in a movie, we just pounded them in the fourth quarter, it was a tough game all three quarters, it just showed we have more heart” said Sieg.

Bishop Canevin got the ball back again inside their own 20 yard line and the ball was fumbled and Fort Cherry recovered. They would put the game away when Matt Sieg scored on a 15 yard run making it 33-21 Fort Cherry. “There is no quit in this team rain or shine, we’ll play anywhere it doesn’t matter” said Sieg. Bishop Canevin’s last drive ended on an interception making the final 33-21.

Next Week Fort Cherry will play for the WPIAL 1A Championship against South Side at Acrisure Stadium 11am on Friday.

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