The Central Catholic-Pine-Richland matchup Friday night was a heavyweight fight between top-ranked teams, one that included a huge punch and counterpunch to begin the game.
After Central Catholic speedster Chrys Black returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Penn State recruit Khalil Taylor answered by taking the ensuing kick 95 yards for a touchdown in what was his first touch as a Pine-Richland player.
“After that I realized we’re going blow for blow with them until someone comes out on top, and that’s what we did,” Central Catholic junior Roman Thompson said.
Thompson was responsible for a couple of haymakers, rushing for three touchdowns to lead Class 6A No. 1-ranked Central Catholic to a 34-20 win against Class 5A No. 1 Pine-Richland Friday night at Carnegie Mellon’s Gesling Stadium.
In a battle of defending WPIAL champions, it was Central Catholic (1-1) that got the big win after falling to Pine-Richland (1-1) the previous three seasons. And it was a much-needed win for the Vikings, who lost a week earlier to Philadelphia power La Salle College High School.
While the first half of the game included lots of fireworks — Central Catholic led, 21-20, at the break — the story of the second half was the Vikings’ defense, which held Oobi Strader and the powerful Pine-Richland offense scoreless.
“To be able to play in the second half the way we played versus a program like that with the firepower they had, it was huge,” said Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier, who won three WPIAL and two PIAA titles as an assistant coach at Pine-Richland.
Thompson led Central Catholic in tackles a season ago and is best known for his excellence as a linebacker, but it was his play at running back Friday night that took center stage. Black, Central Catholic’s starting running back, was banged up early in the game, so the Vikings turned to Thompson and fellow junior Jayden Alexander to carry the load.
After scoring on a 43-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Thompson accounted for both of Central Catholic’s second-half scores, both coming on 2-yard runs. The first extended the Vikings’ lead to 28-20 with 9:31 left in the third quarter and the second with 52 seconds remaining put the game away. Thompson ran for 120 yards overall.
“It’s not so much what he can do physically. It’s what he means to our program. It’s the kind of person he is. The kind of leader he is. I don’t know if I’ve been around a more tougher, tenacious kid in my life. He really makes it fun to come to work,” Lehmeier said.
Pine-Richland’s best offensive possession in the second half saw the Rams drive from their 8 all the way to the Central Catholic 34 before turning it over on downs. Another drive ended with Dominic Perella using an acrobatic catch to pick off Strader. Overall, the Pine-Richland offense that scored two first-half touchdowns was nowhere to be found in the final two quarters.
“We knew their scores didn’t come off of them just overpowering us. It was us making mistakes,” Thompson said. “At halftime we adjusted, we fixed what we did wrong, and we came out and punched them in the mouth.”
The first half included lots of big plays. The six touchdowns came on plays of 100, 95, 35, 43, 53 and 13 yards, an average of 56 yards a score. But with so many future Division I players in the game, maybe it shouldn’t have come as much of a shock.
After the dueling kick return touchdowns, Florida State recruit Jay Timmons hauled in a pretty 35-yard touchdown pass from Strader to give Pine-Richland a 14-7 lead with 1:56 left in the first quarter. Thompson then countered with his 43-yard touchdown run to tie the score with a little over a minute into the second quarter.
Strader then delivered another punch when he scrambled 53 yards for a touchdown with 1:59 left in the opening half.
“It’s not so much what Oobi does in the first two seconds,” Lehmeier said. “It’s when he extends the play is where he gets really dangerous.”
But the lead grew only to 20-14 as Pine-Richland misfired on the extra point. Starting kicker Landon Brown was injured on the opening kickoff and did not return.
“It’s a weird nuance to the game when a kicker gets hurt,” Lehmeier said. “We know who the backups are on offense and defense. We don’t know who the backup kicker is because you don’t see that guy.”
That allowed Central Catholic to take the lead, 21-20, on its next counterpunch as Navy recruit Maceo Watkins scored on a 13-yard touchdown reception from Owen Herrick with 25 seconds left in the half.
It was all Central Catholic after that, and the Vikings hope their win in what was a heavyweight fight propels them to another championship season.
“This is nothing but a confidence booster,” Thompson said, “and we’re just going to keep going in the right direction from here.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.