Central Catholic has had an embarrassment of riches at the linebacker position.
In just the past few years, the Vikings have produced talents now playing at Penn State (Anthony Speca), Michigan (Cole Sullivan) and Duke (Bradley Gompers).
Colsen Gatten and Roman Thompson are next up.
“Unstoppable duo,” Gatten said with a smile. “I love playing next to him. High energy kid. I think it’s going to be hard to stop us this year.”
Gatten, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior, and Thompson, a 6-foot, 205-pound junior, make up one of the best linebacker duos in the WPIAL, if not the state, and hope to bring Central Catholic a second consecutive WPIAL Class 6A title and perhaps even more this season. Both are athletic, productive, cerebral and excellent leaders, as the two were voted team captains.
“I love those two kids,” Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “Their ability to diagnose and use their speed to make plays is impressive. I think the other thing is they can strike. They will strike you. Roman and Colson both, they can just snap like a scorpion. They’ll rock your head back. They’re physical, fast and uber intelligent.”
Gatten boasts a 4.4 GPA while Thompson’s stands at 3.4. Gatten decided to follow in Gompers’ footsteps, committing to Duke in June over two dozen other offers. Thompson has a handful of FBS offers and is also receiving lots of interest in wrestling, as he doubles as a big-time talent in that sport. “Ideally, I want to go to college for both,” Thompson said.
The two are also similar in that each first earned starting roles their sophomore seasons. That makes Gatten a three-year starter and Thompson a two-year starter. Gatten is playing the “Will” position and Thompson the “Mike.” Junior Nick Curinga, a first-year starter, will be the “Sam.”
“Just having to wait my turn freshman year really made me hungry, so being able to start my sophomore year was just really what I pictured in my mind,” said Thompson, who lives in Ross. “Every game I went out and tried to do the best I could, and it led me to having the most tackles.”
Thompson made a huge splash in his first season starting, registering a team-high 100 tackles, including 16 for loss. He also had four sacks and an interception. Two of those sacks came in a 45-14 win against two-time defending champion North Allegheny in the WPIAL final.
“He was the only underclassman voted a captain and is a natural-born leader,” Lehmeier said. “He leads from the front. He’s probably the emotional vocal leader of our team. When he talks, people listen.”
Gatten was third on the team with 51 tackles, including six for loss, in addition to three interceptions and a sack. Like Thompson, Gatten was an all-conference pick.
Speed is one of Gatten’s biggest attributes — he said he’s been clocked at 4.5 in the 40-yard dash — which is remarkable when you consider he was born with clubbed feet, two months premature and weighed only 4 pounds at birth.
“It’s crazy,” said Gatten, who lives in Peters. “God plays a big role in my life, and that’s definitely a huge blessing he gave me. And obviously my dad was super fast back in his day, so I get a little bit from him, too.”
Gatten’s father, Aaron, had some wheels. Aaron was an outstanding three-sport athlete at Washington High School who graduated in 1996 before going on to play linebacker at Penn State. He was also a state champion wrestler and sprinter, sports that Colsen never really got into. Aaron was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2011.
“That speed, [Aaron] passed that one down. Colsen can flat-out fly,” Lehmeier said. “He’s a very mature kid. His dad obviously gets it, and I think he is a great resource for him.”
Thompson’s father was a football star as well. Damon Thompson is a 1990 Ellwood City graduate who is in the school’s hall of fame. Thompson went on to play at Akron and then California (Pa.).
The athletic success extends to siblings, as well. Roman Thompson’s brother, Damon, was a football standout at North Hills who played at Mercyhurst. Gatten has a twin sister, Emersen, who is an excellent softball player at Peters Township. Colsen said he is older by one minute and admits to regularly reminding his sister that he’s her “older brother.”
Thompson said he and Gatten have become close the past few years. The respect and admiration they have for each other is readily apparent.
“Colsen is really good in coverage,” Thompson said. “He’s a guy that if he does something wrong and you tell him, he’s going to fix it right on the spot. Being able to play next to someone like that who cares who is willing to listen to a third-party opinion is really cool.”
Said Gatten, “I think [Thompson] has a mindset that not a lot of people have. He has the mindset that he’s not going to be stopped. I think you need that on your team. He brings that energy every day to practice. And that just reflects how he plays. He plays fast and physical, but having that mindset, that’s the first step.”
Gatten, who plans on studying finance and business, said he ultimately chose Duke over Penn State and Pitt, but some of his other offers included Notre Dame, Michigan and Oklahoma.
Thompson holds football offers from Miami (Ohio), Toledo, Akron, Buffalo, Kent State and Howard, and chances are he’ll soon be getting some offers for wrestling, as well. Thompson is 71-8 in his high school career, which includes a 38-4 mark last season when he was the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A third-place finisher in the 215-pound weight class. As for a favorite sport, Thompson said he gives the edge to wrestling.
Gatten and Thompson will both again play on the offensive side of the ball — Gatten will start at tight end and Thompson will serve as a backup running back — but it’s how they fare defensively that will play a more important role in how far Central Catholic goes this season.
Winning another WPIAL title and perhaps a PIAA title would be the ultimate reward.
“It would mean a lot, but we’re not really worried about that right now,” Gatten said. “I think just take each week one by one and that will come. I think we have to focus on the little things first, and then the big things will come with that.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.