Top ranked Central Valley routes #5 North Catholic

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Marcus Sic | November 27, 2021

Heinz Field: Central Valley’s Jayvin Thompson, with 4 interceptions, 2 Tds and 122 return yards, in the first half,  was a one man wrecking ball, leading the Warriors of Central Valley to a 45-3 halftime lead as they coasted to a 52-15 victory over the North Catholic Trojans. The game started out looking like a defensive battle with each defense stoning the other teams offense, holding them to three and outs. On North Catholic’s second possession Jeyvin Thompson picked off Joe Prentice’s pass setting CV up at their own 42. After converting a key forth and 4, CV drove to the 1 yard line where QB Antwon Thompson opened the scoring on a QB sneak, Serafino DeSantis added the extra point giving CV a 7-0 lead.  North Catholic’s Liam Straub faked a reverse on the ensuing kickoff, tipped toed his way up the sideline, then out ran the CV kickoff team, taking the ball 93 yards to the end zone. Ethan Marisco added the extra point, tying the score at 7. From there it was all Warriors as they amassed 377 yards of offense and forced 6 Trojan turnovers in the opening half. CV’s star running back Landon Alexander led the way with 18 carries for 217 yards, along with 4 catches for 44 yards, all in the first half. The Warrior’s QB tandem of Matt Merritt and Antwon Johnson threw for an efficient 198 yards on 10-14 passing. After Straub’s kickoff return the Warrior defense took over the game, forcing 5 more turnovers while hounding the Trojan’s QB while constantly pushing the Trojan’s offense backwards. North Catholic was only able to muster 2 yards rushing and a total of 75 yards of offense in the first half. The second half was played under a running clock, allowing most of both squads to get some playing time on the Steeler’s Heinz Field.

After knotting the game at 7, North Catholic was able to force Central Valley’s only turnover of the game, but a bad snap on third down doomed the drive  forcing them to punt. On the second play of their drive Antwon Johnson connected on a slant to Jayvin Johnson, who slipped a tackle, then went 69 yards to give the Warriors a 14-7 lead, one that they never would surrender. After another Trojan fumble, the Warriors took over at the Trojan’s 29 yard line, they converted a forth and 1, then Matt Merritt hit Jason Bible on a 14 yard jump pass, making it 21-7. Once again Jayvin Thompson picked off a Trojan pass, returning it for a touchdown, however a flag negated the return, instead giving the Warriors the ball at midfield. Landon Alexander took a handoff, cut back across the field, in an instant it was 28-7, and the route was on. After the Warriors stopped the Trojans forcing a punt , CV drove to the 18 yard line. Merritt then dropped back to throw a screen pass, the pass went off of a Trojan defender right into Alexander’s hands, he raced untouched into the end zone. Just before halftime Thompson recorded his forth interception 2 yards deep in the end zone and returned it to the Trojan 25. Then a Thompson to Thompson pass made it 42-7, for good measure Serafino DeSantis booted a 36 yard field goal, making the halftime score 45-7.

With the mercy rule in effect and the clock running, both teams were able to make wholesale changes. With the win the Warriors run their undefeated string to 25 and become only the sixth team to threepeat as WPIAL champions. Coach Mark Lyon now has an all time record of 123-29. After the game Coach Lyons chalked the threepeat up to Senior leadership and his 5 captains, “25 in a row and 3 WPIAL championships is because of Senior leadership.” When asked about the sensational game by underclassman Jayvin Thompson, he once again pointed to the captains and Senior leadership, “it’s the captains that who get everyone to buy in.” North Catholic Coach Pat O’Shea knew it would take a near perfect game to upset the Warriors. He heaped praise on Coach Lyons and his players, while praising his team,  assistant coaches for their hard work and dedication. He put in, “a few new wrinkles,” on special teams, one that led to there only score. Central Valley will advance to next weeks state semifinal game, in search of back-to -back state titles.

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