BALDWIN, Pa. — In another rendition of the New Age rivalry in the WPIAL’s top classification of football, Central Catholic (4-2, 3-0) beat North Allegheny (5-1, 2-1) by the score of 27-14 to claim the top spot in the rankings of Class-6A.
The Vikings trailed by three points at the halftime intermission but used a couple of second half interceptions to rally and down the Tigers to avenge last year’s playoff loss.
The Vikings received the ball to start to game and looked to immediately cash in and they had their chance to do so. On third-and-8, Jy’Aire Walls had Xxavier Thomas streaking down the left side of the field for a wide open 78-yard touchdown but the Penn St. commit let it falls through his hands.
After the Vikings punted, the Tigers wasted no time in scoring. Two plays after the punt, Liam Flaherty rushed straight up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown, giving the Tigers the lead.
The Vikings managed to match this with a successful drive of their own. The Vikings used seven plays to march 80 yards to the endzone.
The scoring drive was propelled by a 50 yard connection between Walls and Duke commit Bradley Gompers but was finished off on a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Walls. The Vikings tacked on the two-point conversion on another Walls keeper which gave the Vikings a one point advantage.
Just as it looked like they would match each other score for score, the Tigers watched as the Vikings blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt.
Each team then traded punts until the Tigers jumped back on top midway through the second half on a 7-yard rush by Dylan Brokos.
The Vikings, searching for a consistent drive, relied on the legs of Elijah Faulkner to get them down into scoring position before they opted for a 54-yard field goal from Billy Lech.
Lech’s 54-yarder was just two yards shy of the WPIAL record.
The Tigers tried matching that field goal with one of their own before halftime but the 41-yard attempt was missed.
The Tigers looked to use the opening drive of the second half to pad their lead and looked as if they had a good chance to do so. That was until Zac Gleason intercepted Brady Brinkley’s pass and returned it into Tigers territory.
The Vikings cashed in on the turnover just four plays, and 23 seconds later when Faulkner ran and jumped his way into the end zone from 17 yards out.
This score gave the Vikings a 18-14 lead over the Tigers midway through the third quarter.
Then on the very next drive, the Vikings defense forced another bad throw and turnover. Colsen Gatten jumped the route and took the interception back about 30 yards for the pick-six which gave the Vikings a two possession lead.
Still up nine points, late in the fourth quarter, the Vikings forced a punt deep in the Tigers territory. On the play, the punter caught the play out of bounds and it resulted in a safety.
These two points proved the be the icing on the cake for the Vikings victory.
Next week, the Vikings travel to Shaler while the Tigers will battle their crosstown rivals Mt. Lebanon.
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