Death, taxes, Central Catholic and North Allegheny playing for the WPIAL Class 6A football championship.
The calendar reads 2025, but just like 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Vikings and Tigers will square off for the top prize in the district’s largest classification when the teams meet Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Pine-Richland High School.
Central Catholic (10-1) is the top seed and defending champion, and the Vikings will try to even up the score with No. 2 North Allegheny (8-3) during this four-year run of championship meetings. The Tigers captured titles in 2022 and 2023 before Central Catholic claimed a 45-14 triumph last season. Central Catholic has won nine titles all time and North Allegheny six.
Central Catholic has won three straight games overall against North Allegheny, the most recent being a 21-6 road triumph on Sept. 26. That had been North Allegheny’s only loss until the Tigers dropped consecutive games to close the regular season. The Tigers suffered an eye-opening 67-0 loss at Class 5A semifinalist Pine-Richland in a non-conference game before losing a 21-18 game at Seneca Valley, which went 4-6 and didn’t reach the playoffs.
North Allegheny coach Art Walker said those teams were better than the Tigers those nights but added that resting some players and getting his team as healthy as can be heading into the playoffs played a part in the results being what they were.
“We really had a mindset at the end of the [regular season] that it’s a brand new season,” Walker said. “We were in a position where we had a home playoff game and everyone was 0-0. Our kids bought into that and just completely moved forward in a positive direction.”
They then moved into the WPIAL final for a fourth straight season following a 35-17 semifinal win against Norwin. Luke Rohan was the star offensively, rushing for 181 yards and three touchdowns, while Brady Brinkley passed for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
How effective North Allegheny is at running the ball will be one of the keys Saturday. Rohan surpassed 1,000 yards for the season against Norwin and has now rushed for 1,016 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, both team bests. But Central Catholic shut down Rohan and that rushing attack in the earlier meeting, limiting Rohan to 40 yards on 19 carries and holding the Tigers to 26 total rushing yards and 148 yards overall.
“We want to stop the run, and I think we’ve done a decent job at that so far,” said Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier, whose team has won 10 straight since a season-opening loss. “They pose a lot of problems. Brinkley has played a lot of snaps and they have more than enough skill guys where they can have success with the run or pass.”
Brinkley has passed for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns, and four North Allegheny players have at least 19 receptions (Ben Kern, 31; Cameron Kushner, 26; Mason Brown, 25; Korry Pitts, 19).
Having success offensively against Central Catholic won’t be easy. The Vikings allow just 10.1 points per game and have not given up more than 10 in a game since Sept. 6. Linebackers Roman Thompson (79 tackles) and Colsen Gatten (70) are the top two tacklers. The Vikings have collected 43 sacks, with defensive end Ashton Blatt registering 11½ and defensive tackle Angelo Pugliano nine. Gatten is a Duke recruit and Blatt a North Carolina recruit.
The key to Central Catholic’s defensive dominance?
“I think it’s their togetherness,” Lehmeier said. “I think they really care about one another. We talk about having a standard at Central with everything that we do.”
Walker said that due to Central Catholic’s size and speed, his offense will have its hands full.
“You have to play well and you have to execute,” he said. “You have to understand that they’re big up front and very fast behind it. The two inside linebackers are extremely fast. You look at that defense and there are guys with multiple offers and guys committed to big schools. They’re really good.”
The same can be said about the Central Catholic offense, which has averaged 44.1 points against WPIAL Class 6A opponents. The Vikings racked up 468 total yards in a 44-7 win against Canon-McMillan in the semifinals. Thompson ran for three touchdowns, Chrys Black rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown, and Owen Herrick threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns.
For the season, Herrick has passed for 1,960 yards and 16 touchdowns, Thompson has rushed for 694 yards and scored a team-high 24 touchdowns, and Aiden Nasiadka (34 catches), Maceo Watkins (33) and Gatten (19) have been the leading receivers. In the earlier meeting with North Allegheny, Thompson ran for two touchdowns and finished with a game-high 16 tackles.
Like Central Catholic, North Allegheny has a couple of outstanding pass rushers. Defensive end Owen Urschler has 14½ sacks on the season. Urschler registered two in the first meeting with Central Catholic and had four last week against Norwin. Defensive tackle Lincoln Hoke is a Pitt recruit who has seven sacks to go along with a team-high 77 tackles.
“[Getting Urschler and Hoke going] will be important because we want to eliminate downfield splash plays,” Walker said.
And while this title matchup is in some ways old hat, you can be sure that the significance of playing for a shiny, new WPIAL Class 6A championship trophy isn’t lost on a pair of rivals who know each other well.
“Every year is different from a program perspective,” Lehmeier said. “We know each other pretty well. They do a great job in their preparation and getting ready to play. And I think we also pride ourselves in that. But I don’t think anything that’s happened leading up to Saturday matters whatsoever. Last year’s results. This year’s results. Nothing. All that matters is 6 o’clock on Saturday.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.