Central Catholic Pitches Second-Half Shutout to Top Pine-Richland

All of the stars were out at Carnegie Mellon University on Friday night as Pine-Richland and Pittsburgh Central Catholic met for a clash of WPIAL titans.

Aside from the celebrities that attended the game — including former Pittsburgh Central Catholic star and current Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin — each squad brought their own stars to the show.

While Pittsburgh Central Catholic were the kings of the WPIAL’s highest classification (6A) last year, Pine-Richland dominated Class-5A which made for one of the most highly anticipated Week 1 games in a very long time.

The build-up to the game hit a boiling point when the opening kickoff was returned 101 yards by Pittsburgh Central Catholic Chrys Black Jr. to put the Vikings up by a touchdown.

Before the crowd could calm down, Pine-Richland’s 4-star Penn State commit Khalil Taylor returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown that brought the Rams back level with the Vikings.

Taylor exited the game sometime after his explosive play and never returned with an apparent leg injury.

After the initial hype of back-to-back kickoff returns, the two powerhouses settled into the flow of the game as each side traded defensive stops.

The defensive battle ended later in the first quarter when Pine-Richland quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader Jr. found 4-star Florida St. commit Jay Timmons for a 35-yard touchdown connection.

After the Rams punted on their next offensive possession, the Vikings were set up in fantastic field position, already across the 50-yard line.

On the first play of the Vikings’ drive, Roman Thompson struck pay dirt on a 43-yard touchdown run which knotted the score back up, 14-14, early in the second quarter.

The Rams looked as if they were going to jump back on top on the ensuing drive as they made it all the way down to the Vikings’ 19-yard line but the drive ended when Strader was picked off by defensive lineman Jaylen Smith.

Despite the hiccup by Strader on the interception, he redeemed himself on the Rams’ following drive as he broke off a long touchdown run to push the score to 20-14.

The Vikings did not let the long touchdown phase them as they managed to march down the field before halftime and score another touchdown of their own. The Vikings’ third touchdown came on a pass from Owen Herrick (Syracuse target) that found Maceo Watkins Jr. in the end zone from 13 yards out.

Watkins’ touchdown gave Central Catholic a 21-20 lead at the intermission.

While many expected an equally thrilling second half from the two offenses, it was the defensive units that really turned it on down the stretch.

After the Vikings forced a Rams’ three-and-out to start the third quarter, Thompson scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to extend the Vikings’ lead to 28-20.

The touchdown just seconds before halftime and then the immediate three-and-out gave Central Catholic all of the momentum. That made the ensuing Pine-Richland drive a big one despite the time remaining.

Despite that, the Rams were forced to punt again after North Carolina edge commit Ashton Blatt recorded his first of two sacks in the game. His sack of Strader helped set the tone for the remainder of the second half.

Late in the fourth quarter, Strader had the Rams rolling and just as it looked like they were going to score and tie the game, he tossed his second interception of the game to Vikings’ defensive back Dominic Perella.

Following the interception that sucked the life out of the Pine-Richland faithful, Thompson put the icing on the cake with his third rushing touchdown of the game.

The win puts Central Catholic back at .500 before they hit the road next week to take on Woodland Hills in Canton, Ohio.

For Pine-Richland, the loss is their first of the season. Next week, the Rams will welcome Seneca Valley into their house for the team’s home opener after two-straight road tests to open their year.