Young Central Catholic roster seeks 6th consecutive appearance in WPIAL finals

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, August 16, 2018 | 1:03 AM

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Central Catholic coach Terry Totten can count his returning starters on one hand: a defensive end, a cornerback, a couple of linemen and a wide receiver/safety.

That’s also the number of years in a row Central Catholic has reached Heinz Field for the WPIAL championships.

Five and five.

Graduation hit Central Catholic hard after last season when the team went 10-3 and finished as the WPIAL Class 6A runner-up. The Vikings lost three-year starting quarterback Troy Fisher and Pitt recruit David Green, among others. But Totten has confidence in a deep junior class that could keep Central Catholic competitive.

“Very rarely do you go into a season where all of the slots are locked down and you know exactly what you have,” Totten said. “I don’t think anyone else in this area can say that they do either. You have to develop young kids and see what comes to the front.”

The returning senior starters are cornerback Dom Dodson, who holds a Columbia offer, offensive lineman Connor Rust, defensive end Brian Dallas, who has offers from Kent State and Toledo, and wide receiver/safety Gavin Thomson, who lists offers from Army, Bucknell and Columbia.

It’s a change from a year ago when Central’s lineup was mostly seniors.

“We’re not as senior top-heavy this year,” Totten said. “A lot of juniors and sophomores, but they’re a competitive group. We think they can eventually grow into a pretty good football team.”

Central Catholic seeks its fourth WPIAL title in six years. The Vikings won the WPIAL’s largest classification in 2013, ‘15 and ’16. They were runners-up to Pine-Richland in 2014 and ’17.

As defending state champions, Pine-Richland enters as the preseason favorite, but the talent gap between the top three or four teams in Class 6A might not be very large.

“That was kind of my thinking,” Totten said. “It’s who puts it together at the right time.”

Besides, the other 6A contenders also are dealing with graduation issues.

“I don’t think we’re any different than anyone,” Totten added. “There are holes, and you’re looking for answers at certain spots. You’re hoping kids come up. We’ve got an untested quarterback, we have some untested offensive linemen, but they’ve worked hard and you’re excited for them.”

Contending to replace Fisher at quarterback are juniors Dom Pieto and Gus Sunseri.

Fisher, now at Lafayette, passed for 1,300 yards last season. Pieto’s strength is his arm and Sunseri is very athletic overall.

Sunseri also plays linebacker. Other standouts from the junior class are defensive lineman A’meer Allen, defensive back Kryos Thorpe and linebacker Luke Harris. They’re holdovers from last year’s roster that listed 38 sophomores.

“They don’t have game experience but you like the way they worked all winter,” Totten said. “You like what you see and you just hope they grow into those spots. I would think a lot of coaches are in that same position.”

Schedule

Coach: Terry Totten

2017 record: 10-3, 5-1

All-time record: 533-313-44

Date, Opponent, Time

8.24, Cathedral Prep+, 8 p.m.

8.31, Seneca Valley*, 7:30 p.m.

9.7, at North Allegheny*, 7:30 p.m.

9.14, Hempfield*, 7:30 p.m.

9.21, at Bethel Park, 7:30 p.m.

9.28, at Pine-Richland*, 7 p.m.

10.5, Norwin*, 7:30 p.m.

10.12, at Butler*, 7:30 p.m.

10.19, at Canon-McMillan*, 7 p.m.

10.26, Mt. Lebanon*, 7:30 p.m.

*Class 6A Conference game

+At Western Pa. vs. Everyone Showcase at Wolvarena

Statistical leaders

Passing: Troy Fisher*

109-185, 1,373 yards, 19 TDs

Rushing: Khalil Weathers*

81-510 yards, 8 TDs

Receiving: Gavin Thomson

15-304 yards, 9 TDs

*Graduated

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Central Catholic