WPIAL Class 6A football finals primer: Central Catholic vs. Pine-Richland

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Saturday, November 16, 2019 | 3:57 PM


WPIAL Class 6A championship

No. 1 Central Catholic (10-1) vs. No. 2 Pine-Richland (10-1)

8 p.m. Saturday, Heinz Field

On the air: TribHSSN.triblive.com; 1020 AM, 107.1 FM

Coaches: Terry Totten, Central Catholic; Eric Kasperowicz, Pine-Richland

Winner plays: District 6 champion State College (11-1) in PIAA quarterfinals Nov. 22-23

WPIAL titles: Central Catholic 6 (2003, ’04, ’07, ’13, ’15, ’16), Pine-Richland 4 (2003, ’14, ’17, ’18)

Pine-Richland

Player to watch

Cole Spencer

Junior, 5-10, 175, QB

Spencer starred at Heinz Field as a sophomore when he threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another in a WPIAL Class 6A championship win over Seneca Valley.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Cole Spencer, 192-280, 2,832 yards, 35 TDs, 5 INTs

Rushing: Luke Meckler, 69-486 yards, 15 TDs

Receiving: Eli Jochem, 59-984 yards, 13 TDs

How they got here

Regular season

21, Penn Hills, 0

42, Hempfield, 14

46, Moon, 9

56, Butler, 7

46, Norwin, 0

7, Central Catholic, 29

63, Canon-McMillan, 7

41, Mt. Lebanon, 0

35, Seneca Valley, 21

42, North Allegheny, 14

WPIAL playoffs

49, North Allegheny, 14

Probable starting lineup

OFFENSE

RT, 55, Harrison Hayes, 6-3, 260, jr.

RG, 56, Miguel Jackson, 6-2, 245, jr.

C, 78, Ethan O’Neil, 6-0, 250, sr.

LG, 53, Spencer King, 5-10, 250, jr.

LT, 57, John Swisher, 6-0, 245, jr.

HB, 7, Luke Miller, 6-2, 200, jr.

WR, 3, Seth Bolin, 6-0, 180, sr.

WR, 10, D’Avay Johnson, 6-2, 185, jr.

WR, 5, Eli Jochem, 6-0, 180, jr.

QB, 4, Cole Spencer, 5-10, 175, sr.

RB, 2, Luke Meckler, 5-10, 175, sr.

K, 90, Aiden Dresmich, 5-11, 205, sr.

DEFENSE

NT, 53, Spencer King, 5-10, 250, jr.

DT, 22, Nevan Novitski, 6-2, 230, sr.

DE, 54, Trent Miller, 6-1, 225, sr.

DE, 56, Miguel Jackson, 6-2, 245, jr.

LB, 6, Josh Rechenberg, 5-10, 205 sr.

LB, 7, Luke Miller, 6-2, 200, jr.

LB, 8, Jeremiah Hasley, 6-1, 190, so.

CB, 16, Levi Wentz, 6-3, 190, sr.

CB, 3, Seth Bolin, 6-0, 180, sr.

S, 20, Chance Boyd, 5-11, 180 sr.

S, 25, Caden Schweiger, 5-11, 180, jr.

P, 27, Chris Romano, 5-7, 150, sr.

Central Catholic

Player to watch

Elliot Donald

Junior, 6-3, 230, DT

Donald’s uncle Aaron made his share of big plays at Heinz Field while starring at Pitt. Now the younger Donald, a major Division I recruit, makes his debut at the stadium.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Dom Pieto, 57-100, 955 yards, 9 TDs, 2 INTs

Rushing: Eddy Tillman, 192-1,702 yards, 25 TDs

Receiving: Anderson Cynkar, 13-279 yards, 4 TDs

How they got here

42, York William Penn, 7

10, Seneca Valley, 7

10, North Allegheny, 11

31, Hempfield, 14,

45, Bethel Park, 14

29, Pine-Richland, 7

28, Norwin, 14

55, Butler, 6

44, Canon-McMillan, 0

45, Mt. Lebanon, 7

WPIAL playoffs

31, Mt. Lebanon, 14

Probable starting lineup

OFFENSE

RT, 55, A’maar Allen, 6-3, 260, sr.

RG, 59, Liam Kearney, 6-3, 265, sr.

C, 74, Thomas Hartnett, 6-3, 295, sr.

LG, 51, Matt Altsman, 6-1, 265, sr.

LT, 50, A’meer Allen, 6-4, 280, sr.

TE, 8, A.J. Beatty, 6-5, 260, sr.

WR, 84, Anderson Cynkar, 6-0, 170, jr.

WR, 19, Sharod Lindsey, 6-4, 190, sr.

QB, 3, Dom Pieto, 6-0, 195, sr.

FB, 81, Bralen Henderson, 6-3, 240, jr.

RB, 41, Eddy Tillman, 5-8, 165, jr.

DEFENSE

DE, 55, A’maar Allen, 6-3, 260, sr.

DT, 4, Elliot Donald, 6-3, 230, jr.

DT, 50, A’meer Allen, 6-4, 280, sr.

DE, 8, A.J. Beatty, 6-5, 260, sr.

OLB, 21, Liam O’Connor, 6-0, 185, jr.

MLB, 30, Luke Harris, 6-1, 220, sr.

OLB, 29, J.D. Younger, 5-10, 185, so.

CB, 35, Gannon Carothers, 5-9, 175, so.

CB, 28, Chase Horne, 5-10, 155, jr.

S, 5, Jaishon Hawkins, 6-0, 170, sr.

S, 40, Devin Barren, 5-10, 155, so.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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