PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Central Catholic (6-0 overall, 3-0 Section) defeated Canon-McMillan (4-2 overall, 1-2 Section) 49-6 in a game of big plays and turnovers to clinch a section title.
Central Catholic started with the ball, but just two plays into their first drive, Canon-McMillan generated a turnover. Tipped by an outside linebacker, sophomore linebacker Marco Faieta intercepted senior quarterback Payton Wehner at the Central Catholic 26-yard line. Just a few minutes later, senior running back Zachary Welsh ran it in from 15-yards out for a touchdown, giving Canon-McMillan a 6-0 lead after the extra point attempt failed.
That lead wouldn’t last long, though – about 30 seconds and just three plays – as Wehner found senior wide receiver Jacob Sassic for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Central Catholic converted the two-point attempt to take an 8-6 lead early. Sassic performed well in the first quarter, as he as caught an interception on Canon-McMillan’s second drive. That interception later led to a 52-yard touchdown run by junior running back Elijah Faulkner to extend Central Catholic’s lead to 14-6 still in the first quarter.
The Vikings continued to create big plays for the remainder of the first quarter. They stopped the Big Macs on 4th-and-1 at their own 27 and Wehner followed that with a 44-yard pass to senior wide receiver Peter Gonzalez to switch fields and end the quarter. That drive didn’t result in a score, though, as the Big Macs made their own fourth down stop to get the ball back in the second quarter.
Canon-McMillan senior quarterback Michael Evans found senior wide receiver Zyan Howard for a 30-yard completion to set them up on the Central Catholic side of the field, they turned the ball again on downs. Wehner found Gonzalez again for a 59-yard touchdown pass on the next possession to make the score 21-6 and put Central Catholic firmly in control of the game. They’d score once more and take a 28-6 lead into halftime.
On their second drive of the second half, the Wehner-Gonzalez connection resulted once again in another long touchdown, 46-yards to make the score 35-6 and put Central Catholic a touchdown away from the mercy rule.
They’d enact the mercy rule a drive later after a 83-yard touchdown pass from Wehner to Gonzalez touchdown catch and The Vikings scored once more before the end of the game.
Central Catholic will next travel to Pine Richland (3-2 overall) in a great matchup next Friday, Oct. 6, while Canon-McMillan will look to rebound against Baldwin (1-4 overall).
