Penn State Commit Leads Game-Winning Drive to Claim Back-to-Back Titles

PITTSBURGH — Exactly three weeks after committing to Penn State, 2026 recruit Matt Sieg was on the gridiron doing what he does best: leading his Fort Cherry High School team to a district title.

Not often has Sieg stared down a one-score deficit in the late stages of a game, but in crunch time, the junior quarterback engineered a game-winning drive to help lift No. 1 Fort Cherry over No. 2 Clairton, 21-20, in the Class 1A WPIAL Championship Game at Acrisure Stadium.

Starting on the Fort Cherry 18, Sieg mixed in a variety of running plays and some shots through the air that included a 12-yard pass to teammate Shane Cornali.

The drive was in jeopardy on fourth down near midfield, but the Rangers pulled out some trickery. Sieg gave the ball to Cornali on a reverse, and he then pulled up and hit running back Ryan Huey for a wide-open 20-yard pickup.

Fort Cherry eventually set up at the Clairton 13 and once again needed to convert on a fourth down, but this time, Sieg made the play of the game.

With less than three minutes to play, the Rangers looked like they wanted to resort back to the trick play that worked previously. However, the play was broken and Sieg looked in trouble. In a last-ditch effort, he found Huey all by his lonesome back across the field near the sideline. The sophomore brought it in and scored on the 13-yard play to put Fort Cherry back in front, 21-20.

Unbelievable!

Fort Cherry touchdown as Sieg looks in trouble on a broken play, but he manages to find Ryan Huey all by his lonesome for the 13-yd TD.

With the XP, Fort Cherry takes the lead.

Fort Cherry — 21
Clairton — 20

2:34 4Q pic.twitter.com/PhYFzVg52m

— Nathan Breisinger (@NateBreisinger) November 23, 2024

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That score would lift Fort Cherry to its second- WPIAL title— the first coming last year— with Sieg leading the game-winning drive that went 82 yards on 13 plays in 4:56.

Sieg, who stands at 6-1, 185 pounds, added a pair of rushing scores on the day from 4 and 1 yards. He finished the day with 87 rushing yards to go along with 8-of-15 passing for 161 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Defensively, the four-star safety prospect recorded six total tackles and a half tackle for loss.

Sieg committed while visiting Happy Valley for the Ohio State game Nov. 2.

Earlier this season, Sieg became the first player in WPIAL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 6,000.

This article was written by Nathan Breisinger