Heslin throws 3 TD passes; FC moves to 4-0
Katie Roupe / Observer-Reporter Fort Cherry's John Findling scores a touchdown during the second half of the game.
Katie Roupe / Observer-Reporter Fort Cherry's Christian Schaub (left) and Garrett Whalen (right) take down Brentwood's running back Ryan Shortley during the first half of the game on Friday, September 20.
Katie Roupe / Observer-Reporter One of the Brentwood staff coaches argue with an official on a call during the second quarter of the game at Fort Cherry on Friday, September 20.
McDONALD – It might be a bit of a stretch to say that Fort Cherry’s Week 4 home game against Brentwood could be considered a trap game, but the makings were there. The Rangers just played a tough road game at Monessen and face Clairton next week.
Rangers head coach Jim Shiel wasn’t thinking about that, considering the Spartans comfortably defeated the Rangers a year ago and knew Brentwood couldn’t be taken lightly, and he managed to convey that to his players.
Matt Heslin threw three touchdowns, and Fort Cherry erupted in the second half to roll to a 35-14 victory over Brentwood in a Black Hills Conference game Friday at Jim Garry Stadium.
“I preached all week,” said Shiel. “(Brentwood) pushed us around last year. They didn’t this year. We have to prepare for battle every week, especially in this conference.”
The loss might have come at a cost, however. Both fullback John Findling and tight end Zach Dysert suffered injuries in the second half. Findling will have an MRI performed Monday on his knee. Dysert injured a hamstring, according to Shiel. He hopes to have Dysert for next week’s matchup against Clairton but is unsure of Findling’s status.
The coaching staff is already game-planning for Garrett Whalen to have a bigger role at fullback.
“That’s why these other guys practice,” Shiel said. “Someone’s going to have to step up. Depth in Class A is tough. Very costly victory.”
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Rangers (4-0, 4-0.) While they moved into sole possession of first place in the Black Hills, they’re going to have to face an angry Clairton team coming in. The Bears’ 66-game winning streak ended to Monessen, 42-24, Friday night.
“They’re going to come here looking for revenge,” Shiel said. “We’ve been under the radar, but we aren’t now. The bullseye is on us now.”
Fort Cherry’s normally potent offense faced some tough going in the first half, mainly due to field position. And the Rangers almost didn’t get to keep the ball on the very first drive of the game. On a fourth-and-one at their own 42, Koltan Kobrys was stopped just at the first-down marker. The officiating crew declared Kobrys short without a measurement and signaled a first down for Brentwood (2-2, 2-3.)
After a brief discussion, the officials measured for the first down and determined Kobrys did in fact gain enough to keep the Rangers’ drive alive.
That proved to be critical, as Fort Cherry drove the length of the field and scored when Heslin hit Whalen for a 4-yard touchdown pass. The Rangers converted two third downs on the drive in addition to the fourth-down conversion.
Kobrys was relatively contained in the first half, held to 59 yards rushing, but he broke out in the second half and finished with 136 yards on 26 carries. He didn’t score like he did five times last week against Monessen, but had several big plays setting up scores for his teammates.
Heslin also got the job done with his legs. On a fake punt that was a designed pass to Dysert, who was covered, Heslin improvised and scrambled 14 yards for the first down. On the next play, Findling was wide open along the sideline for a 31-yard touchdown.
“I knew they wouldn’t cover (Findling,)” said Shiel. “A lot of people think of him as a tackle who can occasionally punch the ball in. But he has great hands.”
That made the score 21-0. The teams then traded scores, with the Rangers all but putting the game away on Whalen’s touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Heslin finished 9-18 for 160 yards. Whalen gained 39 yards on seven carries.
Connor McWilliams led Brentwood’s attack by completing 18 of 39 passes for 195 yards. Bill Madeja caught six passes for 91 yards.
The Spartans were held without a first down until six minutes remained in the second quarter.