Central Catholic Drops 6A Final To St. Joseph’s Prep
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Shane Lux | December 8, 2024
Mechanicsburg – St. Joe’s Prep jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 35-6 victory over Central Catholic to win their third consecutive 6A state title.
The Vikings couldn’t overcome a slow start and the Hawks’ defense, seeing their 12-game winning streak snapped in the state final.
“I’m really proud of our team, kids, and coaches,” said Central Catholic head coach Ryan Lehmeier. “Anytime you get this far in the year, you know you’re doing something right. I’m proud of the way these kids fought for 48 minutes. That’s a testament to their character. It’s hard to put into words.”
Central Catholic and St. Joe’s Prep are two perennial powers in 6A football, and they have a history against each other in the title game.
Since the PIAA went to six classes in 2016, the Vikings and Hawks met in the inaugural 6A final. Which was a night Central Catholic would rather forget as St. Joe’s Prep rolled to a 42-7 victory.
In the 2013 Quad A final, the Hawks topped the Vikings 35-10 thanks to a 28-0 run in the second half. District 12 was not in the PIAA state tournament before 2008.
On Saturday night, Central Catholic was hoping to flip the script. Unfortunately for them, St. Joe’s Prep took the opening kickoff and saw tailback Khyan Billups race 80 yards for a touchdown.
“Especially when you defer; it’s a gut punch,” Lehmeier said. “Once it’s over, you say at least it got out of the way in 14 seconds. But it just kept coming. I thought they did a nice job early in the game, but we didn’t settle in well enough. If you look at that second half, it would have been all right if we could have played like that all night. It’s a momentum game. They got us early, and it was hard for us to come back from.”
The Vikings managed only a single first down on their first three drives, ending in punts.
St. Joe’s Prep took advantage of the field position, starting consecutive drives in plus territory, scoring on Charlie Foulke’s 18-yard pass to Jett Harrison and Billups’s 45-yard run.
Penn State recruit Xxavier Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff to the Hawks’ 29-yard line. Thomas suffered an upper-body injury in the second quarter and did not return.
“He’s an emotional and vocal leader,” Lehmeier said. “He’s the cornerstone of this program. We’re a family here, and he’s a big part of it. He’s got a bright future ahead of him. That was a big hit when we lost him. You’re not just losing a kick returner and corner.”
On 4th-and-5 from the 24-yard line, Elijah Faulkner ran 23 yards to the 1-yard line. On the initial snap of the second stanza, quarterback Jy’Aire Walls scored on a 1-yard run.
. @PCC_FOOTBALL on the board. @JyWalls15 one yard. Kick blocked. 21-6 @SJPrep_Football 11:54 second pic.twitter.com/BnTEadzhn7
— Pennsylvania Football News (@PaFootballNews) December 8, 2024
Faulkner led the Vikings with 75 yards on 13 carries, Walls completed 12 of 32 passes for 129 yards and added 30 rushing.
The Hawks then went on a methodical 10-play, 77-yard drive, during which Billups scored his third touchdown of the half with a 1-yard run.
Khyan Billups rushed for a game-high 230 yards on 29 carries, including 178 in the first half. The Hawks lost Ohio State recruit Isaiah West during the season, and Billups took over in the backfield.
Defensively, Central Catholic held its own in the second half, but the Vikings offense couldn’t get them back in the contest.
Their best chance to cut into the deficit came midway through the third quarter as they went on an 11-play drive, mostly with their tempo offense driving to the Hawks’ 9-yard line.
On 4th-and-3, Walls was sacked for a 4-yard loss, ending the threat. Neither team mounted much offense in the second half until Will Vokolos scored on a 44-yard run with 2:44 to play.
“They don’t have a lot of weak links,” Lehmeier said. “When you get your opportunities, you have to make the most of them, and we didn’t do that tonight. They did, my hats off to coach Roken and that program. He does a helluva job with them. They’re not here every year for no reason.”
Central Catholic concludes its season at 12-3. The Vikings began the year 0-2 but won 12 consecutive games, culminating in a WPIAL championship.
“I told the kids this is where Central Catholic belongs,” concluded Lehmeier. We were on the wrong side of the scoreboard tonight. The expectations at Central Catholic are high. Anytime you go to compete against anybody, we expect to win. We didn’t come out on that side. I’m really proud of these kids and coaches for what they’ve done for this program, which is getting us back to this point.”
The loss marks the first time since 1992 that no WPIAL school won a state title.
St. Joe’s Prep won its ninth state title and third in a row. The Hawks have won seven of the nine 6A crowns since the PIAA went to six classes in 2016. They have appeared in every final, losing to Pine-Richland in 2017 and Mount Lebanon in 2021.
Game Highlights:
St. Joseph’s Prep 35 Central Catholic 6
Score by Quarters
St. Joseph’s Prep – 21 7 0 7 – 35
Central Catholic – 0 6 0 0 – 6
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
SJP – Khyan Billups 80 yd run, (Leo Ricci pat), 11:46 – 1-80
SJP – Jett Harrison 18 yd pass from Charlie Foulke, (Ricci pat), 3:53 – 3-40
SJP – Billups 45 yd run, (Ricci pat), 1:23 – 1-45
Second Quarter
PCC – Jy’Aire Walls 1 yd run, (kick blocked), 11:54 – 5-29
SJP – Billups 1 yd run, (Ricci pat), 7:29 – 10-77
Fourth Quarter
SJP – Will Vokolos 44 yd run, (Ricci pat), 2:44 – 1-44
Individual Stats
Rushing: SJP – Billups 29-230, Jamir Rowe 2-10, Vokolos 2-46, Seth Slater 1-7, Tre Henning 1-2, Foulke 1-(-1), Team 1-0. Totals: 37-294. PCC – Elijah Faulkner 13-75, Walls 16-30, Team 2-(-4). Totals: 31-101.
Receiving: SJP – Harrison 4-43, Rowe 3-44, Rameir Hardy 1-27, Vokolos 1-15, Alijah Turner 2-10, Billups 1-3. PCC – Bradley Gompers 3-21, Maceo Watkins 5-74, Faulkner 2-13, Max Roman 2-21.
Passing: SJP – Foulke 12-for-21, 124 yards, 1 TD. PCC – Walls 12-for-32, 129 yards.
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