Central Catholic Falls to Philadelphia's La Salle in Kickoff Classic
TURTLE CREEK, Pa. — After appearing in the state title game back in December against one Philadelphia power, Central Catholic began the 2025 campaign with another excellent Class 6A test from La Salle College High School out of District 12.
La Salle, the No. 2 team in Pennsylvania, according to the Rivals High School Rankings, is led by a trio of elite 2026 recruits on offense in Notre Dame commits Joey O’Brien and Grayson McKeogh, along with Missouri quarterback commit Gavin Sidwar.
Sidwar and the Explorers relied on timely scoring drives to defeat the Vikings 23-6 under the lights in the KDKA Kickoff Classic at The Wolvarena Friday night.
It was a tightly-sealed defensive battle through the first quarter with Central Catholic flashing its physical play up front, which included several stops from juniors Manny Regus and Dom Petruzzi.
La Salle finally benefited from favorable field position at midfield in the second quarter. Sidwar completed a trio of passes before handing the ball off to 5-9, 186-pound junior running back Ahzir Nelson as he fought through contact to reach the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.
A year ago, Central Catholic boasted one of the top offenses in the entire WPIAL, averaging 39.7 points per game. With plenty of roster turnover, the Vikings’ young offensive weapons, with sophomore quarterback Owen Herrick and sophomore running back Chrys Black Jr. struggled for a majority of the contest to move deep down field.
Even with an offensive line anchored by a trio of Power Four recruits in four-star Jimmy Kalis, James Halter and Jon Sassic, it was rare for the ground game to break off any substantial run against a talented Explorers’ defense.
Ahead 10-0 coming out of halftime, La Salle forced a three-and-out of Central Catholic. The Explorers chugged down the field and set up in the red zone. From the 8-yard line, Sidwar took the snap, rolled right and connected for a touchdown with John-Patrick Oates to go up 16-0.
Late in the third quarter, Central Catholic put together its best drive of the night and showed some life. Junior running back Roman Thompson ripped off a pair of lengthy runs, including a 32-yard pick up. That gave way to a 28-yard touchdown strike through the air from Herrick and Navy commit Maceo Watkins to put Central Catholic on the board.
Even as Central’s tough front seven continued to wreak havoc in the backfield with North Carolina commit Ashton Blatt and Western Michigan commit Angelo Pugliano coming down with key sacks, the Vikings’ offense continued to sputter.
La Salle capped off the evening with another passing touchdown as Sidwar delivered a beautiful ball with the rush coming to Owen Johnson for a 30-yard score.
The Explorers are back on the road next week at Malvern Prep. For Central Catholic, it has another tough test with Class 5A favorite Pine-Richland at home.
