Pittsburgh Central Catholic Sprints Past State College in Quarterfinal

Tagged under: District 6, District 7, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Noah Radio | November 22, 2025

Pittsburgh Central Catholic is big, fast, and strong. State College found that out the hard way in a 42-21 6A quarterfinal loss at Mansion Park.

Behind its huge offensive line and exhausting hurry up offense, PCC jumped out to a 34-7 halftime lead and cruised into the semifinals.

State College won the toss and chose to receive, but went three and out on its first drive. PCC then set the tone for the game with a 65-yard touchdown from sophomore Owen Herrick to senior Aiden Nasiadka on its first offensive snap.

The Little Lions could have folded right then, but instead they bounced back and tied the game with an 11-play touchdown drive, concluding with an eight-yard rushing touchdown by senior D’Antae Sheffey.

“I’m so proud of our kids,” State College Head Coach Matt Lintal said. “I love this football team, I love these seniors, and they came out here and battled. Obviously, we had some adversity, playing a team that has some different scenarios than our school, you know, a boundary school. They come in with a tremendous amount of talent, and our kids gave everything they had, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way they conducted themselves, even in some trying circumstances.”

70 seconds later, PCC got back in the end zone with a 25-yard connection from Herrick to senior Maceo Watkins Jr.

Both defenses held their own for the next few possessions, forcing two punts and a turnover on downs to hold the score at 14-7 after one quarter. However, the Vikings took advantage of a great punt return and a State High fumble forced by Nick Curinga to score twice between the 8:47 and 7:58 marks in the second quarter.

First, it was a 20-yard wheel route from Herrick to sophomore Chrys Black Jr., then it was a powerful 17-yard run up the gut by junior Rowan Thompson to extend the lead to 28-7.

As the PCC offense played at breakneck speed, Black constantly took advantage of a tired State College defense and ran for 122 yards on 13 carries.

Field goals of 30 and 32 yards by Antonio Difatta before the half brought the lead up to 34-7 going into the break.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Head Coach Ryan Lehmeier mentioned his running game, specifically Black, as a key to the first half success.

“Yeah, he’s quick,” he said. “We’ve got a couple different backs that we use, and I think Chrys has tremendous balance, and speed, and vision, and he’s a really complete back for a young kid.”

Central Catholic’s first possession of the second half looked just like the first half until some penalty chaos broke out, causing a multiple minute stoppage to figure everything out. There were at least six total personal fouls on the drive, and State College picked up four on one play. Right after that penalty-riddled play, the Little Lions were reeling, and Black ran right up the middle for a 23-yard touchdown.

Lintal mentioned both PCC’s size up front and speed in his game analysis: “Their guys up front are really [tough to counter], they’re big, they’re physical, they do a good job with what they do. Defensively, their speed is tremendous, so that makes it difficult. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple times, you know, I think there was times where we really executed a gameplan extremely well, and other times we kind of got in our own way.”

State College kept fighting the rest of the way, but at 42-7, the game was out of hand. The Little Lions finished with another Sheffey touchdown and a 69-yard score from sophomore Connor Kulka to senior Daimear Coad. Kulka threw for 195 yards on 13 completions, and Coad led the team in receiving with 79 yards.

Sheffey discussed some of the shortcomings that led to the big loss: “Definitely just starting the game off hotter. That was our plan going into the week, and we knew we were going to face adversity; it was just a matter of us going through that adversity or just sitting down.”

After the game, Lehmeier was complimentary of State College and happy with how his team slowed the Little Lions down.

“The first thing was the tailback [Sheffey], he’s tremendous, he has such ability, he’s really elusive, he’s good after contact. He’s not a bulky kid, but he can slash,” Lehmeier said. “That quarterback’s young (Kulka), but he’s athletic, he can move around, he’s got a big arm. It was more so making sure we knew where their skill guys were and stopping the run first.”

PCC now moves on to face Harrisburg in the state semifinals for the second straight year. After Harrisburg’s 38-10 victory over Central York in the quarterfinals, that’s shaping up to be one of the best games of the year.

For State College, Lintal loses 14 seniors, many of whom have been with the program since seventh grade.

“A lot of people just see the talent that’s on the field and talk about Tae [Sheffey] and Daimear [Coad] and Trayce [Brennan], and Luke Milito, but there’s also those unsung heroes, like Sam Asencio is the first female to score points in State High football history, and Isaiah Kidd, who is the most selfless young man that I’ve ever met. We have a locker room full of kids like Connor Young and Tiaden Markle, who just shows up every day ready to work and tonight is out there competing,” Lintal said. “I can’t be more proud of who they are.”

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