Oct 24, 2013 4 min read

When is a win not a win?

In the case of Fort Cherry High School’s football team this week, it’s a win by a margin of fewer than seven points in tonight’s game against Chartiers-Houston.

The Rangers are in a three-way tie with Clairton and Monessen for first place the rugged Class A Black Hills Conference. All three teams could finish with an 8-1 record in the conference, so the WPIAL tiebreaker of point differential would come into play for playoff seeding.

So, the Rangers can either get a home playoff game against a supposed inferior opponent or be assigned a road game against a supposed stronger opponent.

“There’s a magic number, but we tell our kids to always try to score points,” said Fort Cherry head coach Jim Shiel. “It is what it is. We have to have them for the tiebreaking system.”

Not that scoring points has been a problem for Fort Cherry this season. The Rangers scored 46 points in the first quarter in an 88-19 victory over lowly Serra Catholic two weeks ago. Last week, in a nonconference game against Brockport, Fort Cherry won 59-34. But the Rangers also scored 49 in a win over Monessen, 50 in a victory over California and 46 in a season-opening victory against Carlynton.

Fort Cherry averages 44 points per game, third in Class A behind Beth-Center (44.4) and Sto-Rox (46.0).

“The Gardner Point System is better than other point systems,” said Shiel. “The Gardner Point System allows you not to run up the score, because the most points you can get in a game is 10. After 10 points, it just doesn’t matter.”

Fort Cherry has one of the most prolific running backs in the WPIAL in Koltan Kobrys. The 5-10, 190-pound senior has rushed for 1,681 yards, scored 21 touchdowns and averages 11 yards per carry. He’s also caught nine passes for 198 yards, a 20.8-yard average. Kobrys has accounted for nearly one-third of the points Fort Cherry has scored.

“We’ve had some really good tailbacks,” said Shiel. “Koltan reminds me of Mike Vernillo. Koltan might be a little more versatile. We can put him in the slot, because he’s a good receiver. Colleges are looking at him as kind of an H-back.”

For Chartiers-Houston, the situation is more dire. The Bucs need a victory over Fort Cherry and some help, mainly a win by California over Brentwood tonight.

But Bucs head coach Terry Fetsko isn’t going to worry about the Gardner Points System until he has a win secured against Fort Cherry.

“It’s another opportunity for us to play well,” said Fetsko. “It will be a good football game. The playoffs will take care of themselves.”

Chartiers-Houston and Brentwood have identical 5-3 conference records, but Brentwood won the head-to-head meeting, 47-21, in Week 6. The WPIAL’s first tiebreaker is head-to-head results.

“Our kids haven’t really missed a beat,” said Fetsko. “While the losses have been upsetting, they bounced right back.”

The Bucs rely on the passing of Kaleb Susko, the good hands of wide receiver Miles Williamson and the tough running of Spencer Terling on offense. Susko has completed half his passes 94 passes for 701 yards and seven touchdowns. Williamson is 14th in the WPIAL with 33 receptions for 409 yards and seven TDs, and Terling has gained 550 yards and scored six touchdowns.

“This is a difficult conference,” said Fetsko. “Unfortunately, for two years in a row we’re in a tough situation. A lot of good teams don’t make the playoffs. We hope we’re not sitting on the outside, looking in. We could finish with a 7-3 record and not be in the playoffs.”

Meanwhile, California is 4-4 and needs to beat Brentwood by 10 or more points and root for a Fort Cherry win. The Trojans have had a balanced running attack as five players have gained more than 100 yards. Quarterback Austin Hunter has gotten most of the work with 68 carries and 285 yards and passed for 360 yards.