Philly power Imhotep Charter wears down Central Catholic with oversized offensive line

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, August 28, 2021 | 1:31 AM

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Two tight ends, a huge offensive line and a gritty running back gaining chucks of yardage at a time. This certainly was the style of offense Central Catholic usually would relish.

Yet, this was the rare occasion when someone was doing that to the Vikings.

Philadelphia powerhouse Imhotep Charter ran the football every time on its game-winning touchdown drive, a seven-play, 43-yard series that handed Central Catholic a late 12-6 loss Friday night at the Wolvarena.

With less than two minutes left, Imhotep’s Rahmir Stewart took a direct snap and fought his way into the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown run, capping a 16-carry, 105-yard night for the star junior with SEC offers.

“I credit them,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “They came off the ball hard. They’re big as hell. I don’t know if we’ll see another one like that.

“They’re big.”

The game was part of the Western Pa. vs. Everyone showcase and marked the first time five-time state finalist Imhotep visited Western Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia public league team has a roster dotted with major-college recruits, yet Central Catholic led 3-0 at halftime and forced a 6-6 tie early in the fourth quarter.

“We had them,” said Central Catholic defensive tackle Donovan Hinish, a senior committed to Notre Dame. “The feeling is just disgust.”

Imhotep ran 26 times in the second half and passed only twice behind an offensive line that averages 318 pounds. Three of the five linemen stand 6-foot-4 or taller. All five are seniors.

Central Catholic tried to solve them.

“We had a five-man front. We were running linebackers through,” Totten said. “That is legitimately 300 across the board at every spot.”

Imhotep’s winning move was a halftime decision to use Stewart in a wildcat formation. Stewart, a highly recruited safety, had all of his rushing yards in the second half.

The Panthers accumulated 163 yards from scrimmage in the second half after gaining only 21 in the first. The team lost its starting running back to an ankle sprain last week, so Stewart was asked to fill in.

“We knew we needed to shake something up,” Imhotep coach Devon Johnson said. “One of the things we pride ourselves in is our conditioning. We knew they had a couple of guys going both ways, especially up front.

“If we just keep wearing them down and keep running straight down at them, we could finally, hopefully, wear them out. So we just decided to pack it in and go with our big guys.”

The only answer to this loss is to “just get better, get tougher, get more physical,” Totten said.

Offensively, Central Catholic had trouble moving the ball against an Imhotep defense that has two edge rushers headed to major FBS schools. On fourth down with 56 seconds left, Imhotep defensive end Enai White sacked quarterback Peyton Wehner in the backfield to dash the Vikings’ final hopes. Rivals ranks White as Pennsylvania’s top recruit for 2022.

“They’re a great team, they came ready to play today, and they had our number,” said Wehner, a sophomore making his first start.

Central Catholic scored its points on a pair of field goals by kicker Matt Schearer. The senior made a 32-yarder in the first quarter and added a game-tying 46-yarder in the fourth.

Imhotep took a 6-3 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by sophomore Tre McLeod midway through the third quarter.

“I have respect for them because they didn’t back down,” Hinish said. “It was a dog fight and they came out on top. This game shows everything we need to work on.”

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