Central Catholic Comes Up Empty-Handed Again in 6A State Championship
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — The East and West representatives of the largest high school football classification in Pennsylvania were no strangers as Central Catholic and La Salle College High School met 15 short weeks ago to open the 2025 campaign.
On a cold December night, a championship was up for grabs this time and it was the La Salle College Explorers that doubled down and won the Class 6A PIAA state title, 34-20, at Chapman Field.
La Salle College secured its first state title since 2009, while Central Catholic came up empty-handed for the second straight season.
Five-star Notre Dame safety commit Joey O’Brien turned in a sensational performance to close out his high school career. O’Brien caught eight passes for 98 yards, including a dazzling one-handed grab. He also recorded three interceptions that included a 95-yard pick-six and threw a touchdown pass as well.
Missouri three-star quarterback commit Gavin Sidwar completed 21-of-29 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Ahzir Nelson compiled 127 rushing yards and a touchdown.
La Salle, who defeated Central Catholic 23-6 in that Week Zero matchup in Pittsburgh, totaled 326 yards, while the Vikings racked up 263 yards — 139 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
Central Catholic’s sophomore quarterback Owen Herrick went 14-of-32 for 154 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions
Much like the August matchup, La Salle College, a team that scored 49 apiece in the last two state playoff games, and Central Catholic, who entered the game scoring 42.2 points per game, started sluggish and traded punts back and forth. The two squads were flagged two times apiece that pushed back drives in a scoreless first quarter.
Sidwar finally pushed the offense deep through the air to his lengthy target in O’Brien, who pulled in an acrobatic 41-yard reception as he was dragged down by Central Catholic’s Zach Gleason.
The savvy Sidwar then linked up with 5-11, 182-pound wide receiver Owen Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown to break the ice at the 10:32 mark of the second quarter.
Central Catholic’s scuffling offense, which is led by an offensive line that features Notre Dame commit James Halter, four-star Jimmy Kalis and three-star Jon Sassic, attempted to move the ball on the ground, but the Explorers bottled up the Vikings to negative one yard up to the midway point of the second quarter.
The Vikings finally received a much-needed spark on the ground when Roman Thompson recorded his first touch as he burst through for a 34-yard pick up. Thompson would add another chunk before Chrys Black returned to the backfield. Black, who holds offers from Florida State, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and more, took the handoff, ran up the left side of the offensive line and broke free for a 17-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
On the subsequent drive, La Salle College played bully ball. Nelson and the Explorer offensive line, led by Notre Dame five-star commit Grayson McKeough, pushed for hard-earned yards into the red zone.
With time rolling off the clock before halftime, Sidwar finished off an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Johnson. La Salle College led 14-7 at the half.
La Salle played its best version of keep away at the perfect time. The Explorers seized control of the clock in the final 4:41 of the first half and parlayed that with a commanding nine-minute drive to open the second half.
A very poised La Salle College offense moved the ball down the field in 17 plays and utilized some trickery to find the end zone. A double pass went from Sidwar to O’Brien to an open Johnson in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown.
In need of a touchdown, Central Catholic added its own long drive of 13 plays. Inside the red zone, Central Catholic benefited from a defensive pass interference call on fourth down to set up a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, Black took the direct snap, bounced to the right side and followed his blocks into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-14.
Even as La Salle College seemingly took command of the game with their offensive power, Central Catholic hung in there. The Vikings withstood a critical Explorer drive and forced a turnover on downs trailing by a touchdown.
Looking to ignite a scoring drive, Herrick went through the air but it was O’Brien that picked off the pass and returned it all the way to the Central 2-yard line. Nelson punched it in a play later.
O’Brien’s ball hawking skills were on display in the fourth quarter as he would intercept Herrick two more times, including one he took all the way to the house for a 95-yard pick-six to make it 34-14 La Salle College.
Black would add a 23-yard receiving touchdown with seven seconds remaining. Black finished with 61 rushing yards on 14 attempts and 44 receiving yards on three catches.
Despite Central Catholic’s loss, the WPIAL added two state crowns with Clairton taking home the 1A title and Avonworth claiming its first state championship in the 3A game over Northwestern Lehigh.
