Brian Cooper was not shy about handing out history lessons over the past week.
In the run up to his team’s WPIAL Class 1A semifinal showdown against top-seeded Fort Cherry, the coach of fourth-seeded Laurel said he reminded his players about the significance of the game in front of them.
The Spartans — just one win away from playing in their school’s first WPIAL championship game since 1989 — would need to stop one of Pennsylvania’s most highly decorated and recruited players in Rangers senior quarterback Matt Sieg if they were to have a shot at bringing their school its first district title since 1980.
“We’ve been talking about it all week, ‘Four more quarters, men, and you’re making history, four more quarters and you’re there,'” Cooper said. “We’ve been preaching that we’ve just got to keep focusing.”
And now the focus will be squarely upon Laurel.
Running back Jack Miles rushed for 103 yards and a 33-yard third-quarter touchdown, which proved to be the difference, as the Spartans held on to notch a seismic upset over the previously undefeated Rangers, 24-14, Friday night in a WPIAL Class 1A semifinal contest at Tony Dorsett Stadium in Hopewell.
“They played hard as a team,” Cooper said. “They didn’t allow any negative plays to go against them. They just kept working hard. I could tell by their energy and their focus on the sideline that they were dialed in and ready to roll.”
Laurel (12-1) will next face second-seeded Clairton (12-1) in the WPIAL Class 1A championship game at 11 a.m. Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore.
The programs have plenty of history between them as the Bears knocked off the Spartans in their school’s last WPIAL championship game appearance in 1989 at Three Rivers Stadium.
Before that game had the possibility of occurring, though, Laurel had to stop one of the most accomplished players in WPIAL history.
Sieg rushed for 152 yards and two first-half touchdowns on 28 carries in the final game of his WPIAL career. He scored a first-quarter touchdown run of 67 yards before crossing the goal line from 1 yard out in the second quarter to stake the Rangers out to a 14-13 halftime advantage.
Fort Cherry (12-1) would fail to find the end zone in the second half, though, as its 40-game winning streak against WPIAL competition was snapped just one game short of the Rangers playing for the chance to earn its third consecutive district championship.
Sieg finished with 1,764 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on 165 carries in 2025. His 7,948 career yards rank second in WPIAL history.
Although he originally committed to Penn State as a defensive back, Sieg opened his recruitment back up when former Nittany Lions coach James Franklin was fired following a loss to Northwestern several weeks ago.
“What a tremendous athlete,” said Cooper of Sieg, who remains one of the WPIAL’s most coveted recruits. “The career he’s had there and his running ability, and the running back as well, they’re such a tandem to stop back there.”
Cooper said Laurel focused on winning the game in the trenches.
“We felt we had to dominate the line of scrimmage, force them to run wide, which they did and they had a couple of big plays,” Cooper said. “You can’t let them run north and south. They’ve been gashing teams off tackle, and we weren’t going to let that happen. We were going to force them to run wide and keep them going sideways.”
“It’s a whole different speed than what you practice against all week,” he added. “Our kids stepped up, and, I thought, played a great defensive game after that first series.”
After Sieg opened the game’s scoring with his first touchdown run, Laurel quarterback Kolton Carlson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter before finding Luca Santini for a 30-yard scoring strike in the second quarter.
Miles’ touchdown and a 31-yard field goal by kicker Anthony Geiwitz accounted for all of the Spartans’ points in the second half.
“Our entire backfield — I’ve been rotating JJ McBride and Nathan [Hill] at fullback — and then Jack Miles and Kolton Carlson, all those guys are seniors and they’ve been playing and starting for me for the last three years,” Cooper said. “The ability for them to step up in the spotlight and make those big plays, what a tremendous game they had.
“They’re starting to figure it out,” he added, “and figure it out at the right time.”
And, make no mistake, Cooper said his team will be ready for a showdown with Clairton next weekend.
“I know they have a great football team,” Cooper said. “We faced them in the playoffs a few years ago, they had a lot of sophomores on that team, and they took it to us. They have great athletes. They have a great defense as well. We’re going to have to be able to contain that speed, and I’m sure they’re going to be able to throw the ball well, and stop their big splash plays.”
Other Class 1A semifinal
Running back Deon Lovelace-Pompey rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns while Donte Wright added 89 yards and two scores to lead No. 2 Clairton to a 42-22 victory over third-seeded Bishop Canevin in a WPIAL Class 1A semifinal game at Fox Chapel’s James M. Burke Stadium. It was the second straight season the Bears (12-1) dispatched of the Crusaders (9-4) in the WPIAL semifinals. Bears quarterback Jeff Thompson III threw for 105 yards, while Michael Ruffing also threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Taris Wooding, who finished with three catches for 62 yards. Bishop Canevin was paced offensively by quarterback Damar Olds, who threw for 111 yards and rushed for a 3-yard touchdown. Minikon Johnson returned an interception 72 yards for a Crusaders score, while Myontae Mott also rushed for a 4-yard touchdown.
Class 2A semifinals
Running back Da’Ron Barksdale carried the football 34 times for 266 yards, four touchdowns, and also returned a punt 55 yards for a score, as No. 3 Steel Valley dominated No. 2 Western Beaver, 34-7, for a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal victory Friday night at Dormont Memorial Stadium. The Ironmen (9-3) have now eliminated the Golden Beavers (10-2) in three consecutive seasons. Western Beaver freshman quarterback Amari Marshall carried the football 18 times for 93 yards and his team’s lone touchdown.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded Seton LaSalle exploded for 20 unanswered points and held No. 5 Washington scoreless in the second half en route to earning a 27-19 victory at Peters Township. Rebels (11-1) quarterback Kia Jones threw for 131 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore running back Kymarr Freeman rushed for 128 yards a score. Deondre Hill rushed for a 14-yard touchdown before Will Martin added a 1-yard touchdown run to hand Seton LaSalle its first lead of the game, 20-19, in the third quarter. Jones put the game out of reach with an 81-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Lorittis in the fourth quarter. Prexies (10-3) quarterback Tristan Reed threw for 209 yards and a 40-yard scoring strike to Ameer Nelson while also rushing for a 6-yard score. Nelson caught five passes for 124 yards.
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS
Seton LaSalle 27, Washington 19
Steel Valley 34, Western Beaver 7
WPIAL CLASS 1A SEMIFINALS
Clairton 42, Bishop Canevin 22
Laurel 24, Fort Cherry 14
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.