Central Catholic tops North Allegheny in rematch of WPIAL Class 6A championship
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Friday, September 24, 2021 | 11:06 PM
Central Catholic’s Gannon Carothers carries past North Allegheny’s Nate Spak during the first quarter on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic’s Brandon Jackson catches a pass in front of the North Allegheny bench during the first quarter on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic’s Donovan Hinish pressures North Allegheny quarterback Tanner Potts during the second quarter on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic quarterback Payton Wehner scores next to JD Younger during their game against North Allegheny on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in McCandless.
Central Catholic quarterback Payton Wehner gets hoisted by Jackson Farrell after scoring during their game against North Allegheny on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in McCandless.
Central Catholic’s Gannon Carothers scores past North Allegheny’s Connor Casten (5) and Peter Gonzalez on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic’s Matthew Petruzzi Jr. (34) and Keith Cushenberry celebrate on defense during their game against North Allegheny on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic quarterback Payton Wehner throws a pass during a game against North Allegheny on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in McCandless.
Central Catholic quarterback Payton Wehner hands off to Gannon Carothers during their game against North Allegheny on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in McCandless.
Central Catholic’s Gannon Carothers carries through the North Allegheny defense on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic’s Donovan Hinish pressures North Allegheny’s J.R. Burton and Logan Kushner during their game on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
The Central Catholic student section celebrates during the Vikings’ 24-7 victory over NA on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
Central Catholic has a new-look offense with ties to an NFL coach, but the Vikings haven’t abandoned what made them two-time defending WPIAL champions.
Gannon Carothers rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns Friday night and the defense didn’t allow a point after halftime as top-ranked Central Catholic defeated No. 3 North Allegheny, 24-7, in a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class 6A final.
Yes, the Vikings still run the ball and play great defense, even if they’ve traded their power-running formations for a quick-paced spread offense.
In all, they ran the ball 44 times.
“We’re focusing more on getting the ball out quicker in the pass game. More screens. More quick passes,” Carothers said. “That’s opening up our run game.”
The senior had 33 carries and scored on runs of 3 and 8 yards. He said he’s seeing fewer defenses stack the box now that they’ve got to account more for the receivers.
“The outside ‘backers have to focus more on the quick slants and screens,” Carothers said. “They have less intuition to step up in the run game right away.”
Sophomore quarterback Payton Wehner passed for 142 yards on 26 attempts and added a 2-yard rushing touchdown. The Vikings had “dabbled” in run-pass options, screen passes and zone schemes in recent years, but decided this year to commit fully.
“You’ve got to be all-in or all-out on that,” Vikings offensive coordinator Steve Bezila said. “In 2015, we went to a clinic with Urban Meyer and one on one he said: ‘Don’t dabble in this offense. It’s either all-in or all-out.’”
Central Catholic (4-1, 2-0) put together touchdown drives on consecutive possessions in the first half. The first was a 10-play, 70-yard drive. The second covered 76 yards in 17 plays.
They ended in short touchdown runs by Carothers and Wehner to lead 14-0 early in the second quarter. The Vikings entered halftime leading 14-7, and then watched as their defense shut out NA in the second half.
“It’s refreshing,” said defensive coordinator Dave Fleming, who faces the offense in practice. “We’ve got (offensive) weapons that people have to stop. It’s not the same old ‘Guard our tailback and we’re going to have problems.’”
Five different receivers caught passes, led by Brandon Jackson’s six receptions.
The win was Central Catholic’s first regular-season victory over North Allegheny (3-2, 1-1) since 2017, but the Vikings did win last year’s WPIAL championship over the Tigers.
NA was hurt by two turnovers, including a muffed punt. Another possession ended with a failed fourth-down pass after successfully pulling off a fake punt a few plays earlier.
“There are a lot of things we’re happy with, but we also left some plays out on the field and a couple of things you’d like to have back,” NA coach Art Walker said. “If we just execute a little better and hold onto the ball, it’s a different game.”
Central Catholic led in time of possession by nearly eight minutes and had twice as many first downs (18-9). Kolin Dinkins scored North Allegheny’s only touchdown on a 62-yard second-quarter run.
Central Catholic’s two major college recruits — senior lineman Donovan Hinish and sophomore linebacker Anthony Speca — led the defensive effort. Speca was tasked with spying NA’s quarterbacks, keeping them from running. Hinish, a Notre Dame commit, limited the time the QBs had to pass.
Combined, NA quarterbacks Logan Kushner and Tanner Potts completed 15 of 27 attempts for 123 yards. Potts was held to 5 yards rushing on seven carries.
“We adjusted well defensively up front,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “Our front seven started to play some really good football, closing down some lanes. It’s always a dogfight up here.”
Central Catholic extended its third-quarter lead to 17-7 with a 43-yard field goal by Matt Schearer.
Carothers scored his second touchdown on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter. He carried the ball on eight of his team’s first 11 plays in the fourth.
“He’s probably one of the most physical backs we’ve faced all year, and we faced a pretty good one out in Ohio,” Walker said. “You saw they still want to run the ball. They’re just doing it differently.”
Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.
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.
Tags: Central Catholic, North Allegheny
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