NORTH HUNTINGTON, Pa. — Pittsburgh Central Catholic walked into Saturday’s Class-6A championship game looking for revenge since their opponent, North Allegheny, beat them in back-to-back title games. Revenge is just what they got and they got it in dominating fashion as the Vikings crushed the Tigers, 45-14, to claim the school’s ninth WPIAL title and first since 2020.
The Vikings led basically from start to finish and never let the Tigers get into the game as they were leading by 28 points at the end of the first quarter. Quarterback Jy’Aire Walls accounted for five touchdowns in the game as he threw for three and ran for another two while running back Elijah Faulkner ran for 192 yards and a touchdown.
The Vikings opted to start the game on defense and immediately made their presence and energy felt. A sack and a false start penalty had the Vikings defenders amped up as they came off of the field and they maintained that throughout the game.
On the Vikings very first offensive play of the game, Walls dropped a pass to a wide open Bradley Gompers who ran untouched for a 45-yard touchdown.
The Vikings went on to score touchdowns on their first four drives of the game. Walls connected with Penn State recruit Xxavier Thomas for a 13-yard touchdown, ran for a two-yard touchdown and then hit Maceo Watkins for a 32-yard touchdown all before the first quarter ended.
In the second quarter, the Vikings added a 44-yard field goal by Billy Lech and they carried a 31-0 lead into the halftime intermission.
The Tigers offense just could not get anything to work in the first half as they went three-and-out on six-of-eight first-half drives. The Vikings defense forced three sacks in the first half and held Tigers quarterback Brady Brinkley to just 2-of-13 passing and 13 passing yards. The Tigers offense accounted for just 25 yards of total offense through the first two quarters.
It looked personal for the Vikings as they kept their foot on the pedal in the second half. To start the third quarter, the Vikings walked right down the field for an Elijah Faulkner touchdown run.
Two plays later, Amari Shields punched the ball out of a Tigers players hand which gave the Vikings the ball back on the plus-21. A few plays later, Walls ran in his second rushing touchdown of the game making the score 45-0.
The Tigers finally scored near the end of the third quarter but by that time, the game was too far gone as the Vikings ran away with it in the early portion.
Even with the championship victory, the Vikings season is not over as they will take on State College next week in a PIAA state playoff game.
