Nov 21, 2023 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter

Fort Cherry offensive tackles Brayden Kirby (59) and Ian Mawhinney, left, congratulate teammate Nathan Heirendt (21) for scoring a touchdown in a playoff game against Jefferson-Morgan.

The Chartiers-Houston defensive lineman never had a chance.

Neither did the Bucs’ inside linebacker.

They didn’t see Fort Cherry linemen Lou Ryan and Brayden Kirby pulling on the play and headed right at them.

Kirby caught the Bucs’ lineman with a blindside block. It was a decleater, as linemen like to say. Ryan followed his teammate, turned upfield and surprised the linebacker. Double decleater.

Fort Cherry’s fleet-footed quarterback Matt Seig followed Ryan and burst through the big hole created by the Rangers’ athletic linemen and raced to the end zone for a touchdown.

It was a play from the 2022 season, but one that the Fort Cherry linemen have watched countless times since that game.

It’s also a play the Rangers have repeated many times this season, with similar results, as they have rolled to a 13-0 record. They will have to produce a few more Friday when the Rangers play South Side Beaver (13-0) in the WPIAL Class A championship at Acrisure Stadium.

Kickoff is 11 a.m.

While Seig (1,785 rushing yards) and Fort Cherry running back Ethan Faletto (1,020 yards) have been putting up video-game numbers and scored a combined 54 touchdowns, the Rangers’ offensive linemen have toiled in relative anonymity.

All the linemen have to show for the excellent seasons are 13 wins this year and a couple of sledge hammers that were awarded to them for winning the Lineman Challenge – think of a decathlon designed for football linemen – each of the last two summers during competition held at McGuffey.

“We don’t need publicity,” said Ryan, the Rangers’ 6-0, 230-pound guard. “We know that when we line up we want to be top dogs in Single-A. We don’t need headlines.”

Their play screams otherwise. For the record, senior Ian Mawhinney is the Rangers’ left tackle with junior Jonah Pfender at guard on that side. Senior Anthony Salvini is an undersized and quiet center. He lets his play do the talking. On the right side is Kirby at tackle and Ryan at guard. All five have started for at least two seasons.

Ryan has been in the lineup since his freshman year.

“There’s no doubt that Lou is the heart and soul of this team,” head coach Tanner Garry says.

Garry says the experience of his linemen allows Fort Cherry to not only set a physical tone, it also has allowed the playbook to get thicker.

“My first year as coach, we wanted to have two or three schemes and be good at each,” Garry said. “Now, we’ve been able to add a good amount, just because they’ve been able to handle it. We’re not reteaching the same things every year.”

Kirby says the size of the Rangers’ linemen – none weighs more than 230 pounds – helps in Fort Cherry’s up-tempo offense. Ryan agreed.

Each of the linemen know that with gamebreakers like Seig and Faletto lining up behind them, they don’t have to massive holes in the defense. Just give those guys a crease and they’ll do the rest.

“It definitely helps knowing that we have fast guys in the backfield,” Ryan said. “In some other blocking schemes, we might have to move our guys more.”

“All we have to do is get in front of (the defensive linemen) and stay with them,” Salvini said.

In South Side Beaver, Fort Cherry faces another team with aggressive, and somewhat undersized, linemen. In other words, the Rams and Rangers are mirror images. The game could be decided by which unit controls the line of scrimmage.

For the winner, all those days spent lifting heavy weights, all those practices and sprints under the searing summer sun and the and countless snaps between whistles will seem worthwhile.

“Our goal is to be the most physical team on the field all the time,” Kirby said. “Every play.”