Central Catholic edges Bethel Park in nonconference showdown

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 21, 2018 | 10:45 PM

One touchdown was all Central Catholic needed in a wet and wild game against Bethel Park.

The Vikings scored on the opening drive of the game and held on for a 7-6 road win over the Black Hawks in a nonconference showdown.

“What we did well was hold on,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “That was impossible conditions at the end. I thought Bethel played really hard and really tough. We got out of there just holding on.”

The Class 6A No. 3 Vikings (4-1, 2-1) have won eight straight against the Black Hawks. Bethel Park’s last win over Central Catholic was in 2002.

The Vikings started the game with a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive. Dom Pieto used his arm to burn the Black Hawks defense on the drive. The junior connected with Marco Marchionda on a 36-yard catch and run to drive into the red zone.

Pieto extended the drive on a 2-yard keeper on fourth-and-1 before finding Gavin Thomson in the end zone on a 5-yard pass.

“We hit a couple of passes to get going,” Totten said. “I think we had some nice runs. And from there we fortunately got it into the end zone.”

The first Bethel Park drive ended in a near disaster. After a three-and-out, the referees called Austin Cortopassi’s knee down on the punt. The play resulted in a loss of 10 yards, and Central Catholic took over on the Black Hawks 12-yard line.

But the Bethel Park defense held, and the Vikings’ field goal attempt from 35 yards out was short.

“The defensive guys did a really good job,” Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny said. “We were tackling pretty well. Their backs run hard, and their line is big. We kind of settled in and got some confidence.”

Bethel Park’s offense took some time to get rolling and didn’t get a first down until four minutes into the second quarter. But that Black Hawks’ drive went 43 yards on 11 plays and was capped off by a John Gummo 31-yard field goal.

As the second half started, the game was hit by torrential downpours. Both teams took some time to adjust to the conditions as the Vikings finished with 10 yards in the third quarter while the Black Hawks recorded 6.

Early in the third quarter, a mishandled snap on a Central Catholic punt attempt was downed at the Vikings 17-yard line. Bethel Park took advantage of the good field position, and Gummo connected on a 32-yard field goal.

On their final drive of the game, the Black Hawks drove 46 yards on 10 plays. But a Gummo kick from 42 yards out fell short with 17 seconds to play to give the Vikings the win.

“He did a nice job,” Metheny said. “He is a tough kid. The holder and snapper did well. We just needed to get a little closer to win this game.”

Central Catholic’s Eddy Tillman led all rushers with 80 yards on 26 carries.

Bethel Park (2-2, 1-1) was led by Anthony Chiccitt’s 58 passing yards. Jehvonn Lewis, the team’s leading rusher this season, had three carries for 11 yards in the first quarter but did not finish the game. Luke Surunis led the team in rushing with 48 yards.

Nathan Smith is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bethel Park, Central Catholic