When North Allegheny (10-1) and Pittsburgh Central Catholic (9-2) meet in the WPIAL Class-6A championship on Saturday, it will mark the third consecutive season in which the Tigers and Vikings have been pitted against each other in the title game. On top of that, the Tigers and Vikings have played against each other in the title game in four of the last five seasons.
Additionally, the game serves as a “rematch” of sorts for the Tigers as they lost to the Vikings on Sept. 27, 2024. A handful of second-half turnovers plagued the Tigers in the first meeting of the year. Ever since the loss to the Vikings in late September, the Tigers have won their last nine games of the season.
The Vikings are led by a star-studded roster as many of their players have big-time, Division 1 offers. On offense, Penn State recruit Xxavier Thomas and Duke recruit Bradley Gompers lead the way. Gompers is first-year starting quarterback Jy’Aire Walls best friend on the field as they average nearly 30 yards per connection.
Gompers is also one of the Vikings’ leaders on defense, the side of the ball that he is likely to play in college. Another stud that the Vikings use on defense is linebacker Colsen Gatten. He currently holds offers from schools such as Pitt, Michigan, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
As for the one-loss Tigers, they made back to the championship game on the back of sophomore quarterback Brady Brinkley. While he does not have the most eye-popping stats, Brinkley excelled at making a play when it was needed which ultimately set his team up in a fair position. Then, when Brinkley got them into position, it allowed guys like running back Luke Rohan to make their impact felt.
Rohan just rushed for 87 yards and two scores in the Tigers’ semi-finals victory over Mt. Lebanon.
Regardless, when the two familiar foes go head-to-head on Saturday evening, there will be no love lost and certainly no love found between the two teams. It will be 48 minutes of two teams getting after it and giving it their all in their pursuit to the WPIAL title.
What about Elijah Faulkner
If the CC Coach runs the ball instead of his pass happy game plan CC wins Ezzzzzz
Live by the pass die by the pass which he will do watch