Pittsburgh Central Catholic Dominates North Allegheny in WPIAL Class-6A Championship

GIBSONIA, Pa. — The saying goes usually says that you cannot win a game in the first half but you sure can lose one.

Top-seeded Pittsburgh Central Catholic proved that to be just a saying after all, as they had No. 2 North Allegheny beat by the time that the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime of the WPIAL Class-6A Championship as the Vikings lead the Tigers by the score of 28-0.

The Vikings played a complete game in all three phases to say the least.

To really put the dominance into perspective, the Vikings’ offense rushed for four touchdowns and averaged 9.7 yards per carry. The defense limited the Tigers’ offense to one garbage time touchdown and to just 204 total yards, 94 of which came against the second-stringers. Then to round it all out, the special teams unit scored on a 96-yard kickoff return and averaged 27.6 yards per punt return.

“Any time that you are starting drives near the logo, you are just in better shape to run your stuff,” Central head coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “That happened a lot. Our defense put us in opportunistic situations. Hats off to the returners too.”

The rivalry that has become North Allegheny and Pittsburgh Central Catholic hit a tipping point as the pendulum swung to the side of the Vikings following the 42-7 championship win.

The two teams face off against each other annually during the regular season, but they have also now went against each other in the last four Class-6A Championships, and five of the last six. The win this year put the Vikings up 3-2 in championship games against the Tigers.

“I think it used to be (a rivalry) when they beat us but I wouldn’t call it so much now because we are 4-0 in the past four games ,” Roman Thompson said after the game. “Once they start winning again, I think I would view it more of a rivalry.”

There is no better way to start a game than with a kick return touchdown on the game’s opening kickoff.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic received the ball to start the game and did just that as junior running back Jayden Alexander took the opening kick 96 yards for a touchdown.

“They deferred and gave us the ball so anytime that you start the game with the ball you want to be smart,” Lehmeier said. “The fact that we were able score the way that we scored, I was really proud.”

The Vikings wasted little time getting the ball back and scoring again, largely because of some splash play from junior running back/linebacker Roman Thompson.

He shut down the Tigers’ first offensive drive with a sack that set up a third-and-long and then proceeded to take a snap out of the wildcat for a 13-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive.

Thompson nearly made his second huge defensive play on the Tigers’ second offensive drive as he jumped a route but watched the should-be interception fall through his hands. Regardless, the pass breakup resulted in another Tigers’ punt.

After the Vikings went up 21-0 later in the second quarter on an 11-yard scoop-and-score by linebacker Nick Curinga, Thompson closed the dominate first half out with another wildcat rushing touchdown.

Thompson’s two-touchdown first half, combined with the dominate defensive effort, helped Pittsburgh Central Catholic take a 28-0 lead into halftime.

The second half went just about the same as the first half for the two teams. North Allegheny could not muster any consistent offense while Thompson added one more rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

“That dude is a war daddy,” Lehmeier said about Thompson. “I love him to death. He is what this sport is about. He plays this thing the right way, he is a captain, he is an underclassman and our team takes on Roman’s temperament and that works out for us.”

While Lehmeier stated that the team does not overlook any challenge, and they certainly do not put on film that they do, the Pittsburgh Central Catholic program is one that is constantly in the state title conversation which is the next

“We never overlook anything,” Lehmeier said. “This one was not overlooked, nor were any leading up to this point. There are benchmarks in our program that we expect to hit and tonight was one of the ones that we hit.”

“We know how long the season is and what date the last game is played on but we don’t really think about that,” Lehmeier continued. “That is what we are chasing, and that is what everybody left in the tournament is chasing, if they don’t tell you that then they are lying to you.”

Pittsburgh Central Catholic now turns its attention to the PIAA state playoffs as the Vikings will play against State College, the District 6 champions, in the quarterfinals next Friday night.