Pittsburgh Central Catholic dominates 6A WPIAL Championship game against North Allegheny 45-14

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Annabelle Aquino | November 17, 2024

There was no question who would become the next 6A WPIAL Champion after the first drives of Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings and North Allegheny Tigers this Saturday at Norwin Senior High School.

The Vikings’ defense pressured North Allegheny to call a timeout just 90 seconds into the game and pushed them back 5 yards before the Tigers punted off on fourth down from their own 15-yard line.

Central Catholic’s offense followed in the footsteps of the powerful defense. On the Vikings’ first offensive play of the game, senior QB Jy’Aire Walls threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Gompers. Central Catholic then completed the 2-point conversion with a pass fro

Bradley Gompers catches 45-yard pass to score first TD of the night. Photo by Deacon Blues.

m Walls to Colsen Gatten, setting the tone for the rest of the game. The Vikings led 8-0 with 10:08 still left in the first quarter.

North Allegheny began their next drive at the 20-yard line following a touchback. Despite rushing for a first down (their only first down of the first quarter), the Tigers were unable to make much more progress. Two incomplete passes and a blocked pass by defensive lineman Ashton Blatt from Central Catholic forced North Allegheny to punt off from their own 32-yard line.

Senior Elijah Faulkner dodges North Allegheny defenders. Photo by Deacon Blues.

Senior running back Elijah Faulkner, who led the Vikings in total rushing yards with 190, pushed his way past North Allegheny’s defense to the 2-yard line after a series of rushes. Walls ran in for his first touchdown of the night and an extra point by Billy Lech increased Central Catholic’s lead 14-0 with 6:49 left in the first.

The Tigers began their next drive at the 20-yard line. Junior Luke Rohan had two consecutive rushes but could not reach the first down. After an incomplete pass, North Allegheny had to punt again.

Walls showed his ability to throw the football, hitting Maceo Watkins who carried the ball to the 15-yard line. To finish the drive, Walls threw to Xxavier Thomas who spun around defenders before jumping into the endzone. Central Catholic led 21-0 with 4:39 left in the first.

The Vikings kept their momentum up throughout the rest of the quarter. Roman Thompson sacked NA quarterback Brady Brinkley on the 9-yard line. Brinkley was injured a few plays afterward but came back later in the game. A false start penalty and failed rush pushed the Tigers back to the 4-yard line, where they punted off on 4th and 26.

Central Catholic had another successful drive— rushes by Faulkner moved the ball down the field until Watkins reeled in a 32-yard pass thrown by Walls to increase the Vikings’ lead 28-0 to end the first.

Maceo Watkins catches deep pass before running in for a touchdown. Photo by Sykotyk.

The Vikings’ momentum continued in the second quarter. Once again, North Allegheny was stalled by Central Catholic’s impenetrable defense and kicked off from its own 39-yard line.

Faulkner took multiple rushes down the field to the 19-yard line, but penalties pushed them back to the 29. The Tigers’ defense held strong, blocking a pass in the endzone, and forcing the Vikings to make a decision on fourth down. The Vikings chose to attempt a 46-yard field goal, which Lech completed to boost the Vikings’ score to 31-0 with 8:35 left in the second. 

Central Catholic earned the ball back quickly. Their defense stopped the Tigers from advancing further down the field, forcing them to punt off on 4th and 7.

The Vikings recovered the ball on NA’s 45-yard line. Faulkner took the ball to the Vikings’ 33. Tiger’s Rohan blocked a touchdown pass from being completed, and Central Catholic was stalled on 3rd and 9. After a few flags, the Vikings had to punt off on 4th and 14. The Vikings had a total of 13 penalties throughout the game, amounting to 111 yards.

Neither North Allegheny nor Central Catholic scored another touchdown for the rest of the half. North Allegheny’s Dylan Brokos had a long rush at the end of the half, but there was not enough time to continue the momentum. Pittsburgh Central Catholic led 31-0 at the end of the half.

To start the second half, Peter Notaro, North Allegheny’s kicker and punter, kicked off to Thomas at the 1-yard line. Thomas ran the ball 35 yards up the field. From there, Walls worked with Faulkner to take the ball to the 10-yard line. Faulkner eventually had a 7-yard rush into the endzone, and a successful extra point by Lech boosted their lead 38-0 with 9:08 left in the third.

Xxavier Thomas spins around North Allegheny defense. Photo by Sykotyk.

On the next drive, North Allegheny fumbled the ball, and Amari Shields from Central Catholic recovered it at the Tigers’ 21-yard line. Faulkner rushed the ball to the 2-yard line, where Walls finished the job, scoring his second rushing touchdown of the night. Central Catholic led 45-0 with 6:57 left in the third.

Despite being down by 45, North Allegheny continued to fight. James Donaldson caught the kickoff and carried it to the opposite 24-yard line. Donaldson then caught a first-down pass on 4th and 1, running it to the 13-yard line. North Allegheny’s other quarterback, Jackson Failla, threw a 6-yard pass to Donaldson, who scored with 3:02 left in the third. Notaro made the extra point, putting the Tigers on the scoreboard 45-7.

The Vikings started their next drive at their own 5-yard line, and Faulkner rushed the ball to the 40-yard line. Senior Mason Hartung from North Allegheny sacked the QB for a loss 3 yards to end the 3rd quarter.

With the ball on the 37-yard line to start the fourth, Central Catholic could not take the ball deep enough for a first down and punted off.

The Vikings’ defense still held strong. Despite a controversial no-call that would have ended in a Viking touchdown, Central Catholic did not give up. Angelo Pugliano forced the quarterback back into the endzone, where an intentional grounding call pushed the Tigers to the 1-yard line. They punted off to the Vikings at the 29-yard line. 

North Allegheny QB Jackson Failla throws the ball. Photo by Deacon Blues.

Too short of rushes and incomplete passes led to a turnover on downs and the Tigers regained possession of the ball. Failla threw the ball deep to wide-open Colman Craft who scored with 4:12 left in the fourth.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic took a knee to end the game in a dominating 45-14 victory over North Allegheny. The Vikings will move on to play State College in the first round of PIAA state playoffs.

Photos by Deacon Blues and Sykotyk.

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