NA defeated by Central Catholic in rematch of WPIAL Championship

Posted on: by Jonathan Spina

In a rematch of the 2022 and 2023 WPIAL Championships, North Allegheny traveled to Baldwin High School to take on the Central Catholic Vikings in another matchup of the top two teams in Class 6A. Central Catholic took this round shutting out the Tigers in the second half on the way to a 27-14 victory.

NA’s defense had early momentum as they forced a Central Catholic three-and-out on the first possession. The Tigers had a great punt return by Nick Humphries and the offense started on Central Catholic’s 30-yard line. It only took the Tigers two plays to find the end zone when Liam Flaherty ran it in from 15 yards out for the 7-0 lead. The Vikings responded quickly, driving  80 yards in only 97 seconds.  Quarterback Jy’Yair Walls ran it in from a yard out and Central Catholic went for two, taking the 8-7 lead after a quarter.

Things evened out in the second quarter before North Allegheny put together a six-play, 40-yard drive polished off by a Dylan Brokos score from seven yards out. The Tigers had the lead back at 14-8. On the ensuing possession, Central Catholic got the ball across midfield but the drive stalled.  Vikings’ kicker Billy Lech bailed the offense out, hitting a 54-yard field goal and the Tigers lead was cut to 14-11.

North Allegheny put together a solid drive to start the third quarter, but an interception set the Vikings up in great field position. They took advantage with an Elijah Faulkner 18-yard touchdown run and Central led 18-14. A Vikings pick-six on the next drive expanded their lead to 25-14. The Tigers defense held the Vikings down in the fourth quarter, but Central Catholic earned a late safety to add to the lead.

Brady Brinkley finished with 141 passing yards. Flaherty led the Tigers in rushing with 34 yards. Colman Craft was NA’s leading receiver with three catches for 71 yards.

Kyle Langdon led the defense with 12 tackles while Dylan Langdon had nine. Luke Rohan and Conner Frank each had seven tackles. Lincoln Hoke and Colin Moore each tallied a sack.

North Allegheny falls to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Central Catholic improves to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Tigers are back in action next week when they travel to Mt. Lebanon in another Quad County Conference contest at 7:00 p.m.

Football Summary at Central Catholic, 9-27-24

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS1234FINAL
North Allegheny770014
Central Catholic8314227