North Catholic has a proud history that includes Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, a 1975 North Catholic alum, and Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, a 1950 North Catholic graduate.
The Trojans (13-0) won their first WPIAL football championship by upsetting Sto Rox (12-1), 14-0, in the Class A championship Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic starts its 75th and final year in the city before moving to a Cranberry campus in August.
“We said when we started the season we wanted to start a new tradition,” North Catholic coach Bob Ravenstahl said. “We have a lot of old tradition up there, too, but this is a new tradition.”
Sto Rox’s third consecutive trip to the WPIAL championships came to a crashing halt against the Trojans at windy Heinz Field. The Vikings live and die by the pass and poor weather conditions and penalties sunk the Vikings in the sea of the Three Rivers.
The heavily favored Vikings could not overcome 15 penalties for 99 yards and three turnovers.
Lenny Williams finished his record breaking career with 8,509 yards, best in WPIAL history and fifth all-time in state history and 102 touchdowns.
The Trojans were able to sack Williams six times and held the Vikings to only 19 rushing yards.
“We just wanted to hit him, hit him and hit him,” said team captain Ryan Long. “We are playing for everybody who ever went through those hallways at North Catholic.”
Saturday’s 14-0 loss was the first time Sto-Rox was shut out since 2005. Williams passed for 203 yards and Brendan Blair caught 6 passes for 96 yards. The game was closer than the score.
“Bull S**T holding call set us back,” said Sto-Rox coach Dan Bradley. “We only have 33 players, so we were hurt by injuries. Our leading receiver Mallory Claybourne, separated his shoulder when he dove for the ball. The injury bug got us on that one.”
South Fayette high octane offense too much for Aliquippa
Brett Brumbaugh lived up to his billing. The South Fayette (13-0) quarterback, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior who was named player of the year in the Century Conference, picked apart Aliquippa’s (12-1) defense.
Brumbaugh, who eclipsed 3,000 yards for the season, completed 16 of 35 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns.
The Quips were going for their 16th WPIAL title and making their sixth consecutive trip to the finals. Aliquippa, the No. 1 ranked Class AA team in the state, had its hopes of winning a third straight WPIAL championship end on a controversial call.
Brumbaugh threw a 19 yard pass to Conner Beck at the one yard line with 2:48 left in the game. Dravon Henry drilled Beck at the goal line and knocked the ball loose.
Since there is no instant replay in high school football, the officials provided the decision. The referee at the goal line was holding his hands skyward, indicating a touchdown and a 34-28 South Fayette victory.
“Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac took the high road when asked about the controversial finish.
“It appeared to me it should have been an incomplete pass,” Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac said. “But I’m not an official, just a coach. They have a tough enough job to do without us parsing every call they make.”
Terry Swanson led all rushers with 166 yards and 3 touchdowns. Swanson finished the season with 1,704 yards.
Aliquippa took a 22-20 lead with 1:18 left in the third when junior quarterback Darrien Fields threw a 9 yard touchdown to junior receiver Patrick Anderson. Anderson gained 122 yards on four receptions for the Quips.
J.J. Walker scored on a 7 yard run to put the Lions up 27-22.
Swanson scored on a 29 yard run to put the Quips ahead 28-27, before Beck’s controversial catch broke the hearts of all the Beaver Valley fans.
Zmijanac kept the loss in perspective for his players.
“If losing this game is the worst thing that happens to them, then they’ll live a really good life,” Zmijanac said.
Stairway to seven
West Allegheny coach Bob Palko became the first coach in WPIAL history to win seven WPIAL titles. They have been crowning WPIAL champions since 1914 and not coach has won more than six outright titles.
Palko is in his 19th season as West Allegheny’s coach and he is 7-0 in title games.
West Allegheny (13-0) defeated Central Valley (11-2), 16-6, to win their second consecutive WPIAL Class AAA championship Saturday night at Heinz Field.
Warriors got on the scoreboard first when Preston Johnson scored from one yard out to take a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. Tony Delmonico 3 yard touchdown run gave the Indians a 7-6 lead and they never looked back.
Central Valley’s Jordan Whitehead, is one of the most explosive players in the WPIAL and he was held to 31 total yards.
D.J. Opsatnik, a freshman kicker, scored a game-high 10 points Saturday night in helping West Allegheny beat Central Valley. He connected on field goals of 30, 32 and 24 yards.
Before Saturday night, Opsatnik had kicked 55 PATs and six field goals as a freshman.
“We don’t even think of him as a freshman anymore,” Palko said. “We knew he was special when he was in eighth grade.”
West Allegheny quarterback Andrew Koester passed for more than 1,000 yards entering the WPIAL title game, and he added to that totals on Saturday with 120 yards through the air. Koester, is a 6-foot-4 junior, who will be heavily recruited in 2014.
Central Catholic pays attention ot details
The old adage that defense wins championships was proven accurate again Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.
The Central Catholic’s (13-0) defense calls themselves the “chain gang”, and they held Woodland Hills (10-3) to 85 yards rushing on 39 carries and 141 total yards and an easy 27-7 victory.
“Coach Fleming instills a tenacity in us and the will that we don’t stop,” Central Catholic linebacker Niko Thorpe said. “Everybody is running around every play. We’ve all bought into it.”
Dave Fleming was promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator and Fleming’s aim is to build a defense with a nasty streak, which shouldn’t be a problem since the players are more like their coach.
The Vikings took a 7-0 lead when Luigi Lista-Brinza ran 13 yards for a touchdown.
The Central Catholic coaches preached to their players to always pay attention to details and it finally paid off.
The Vikings’ punter Riley Redman kicked the football sideways and the wind prevented the ball from crossing the line of scrimmage. The ball continued to roll backwards when Graham Adomitis picked up the football and ran 66-yards for a touchdown.
“Everybody on our sideline was asking what just happened?” Thorpe said. “Plays like that don’t happen ever. That was a big momentum shift.”
Central led 20-0 at halftime.
“I can’t say that I knew the rule, but I’d seen this once before in my 30 years,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “Credit the referree’s for knowing the rule and Graham for picking it up.”
Lista-Brinza rushed for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Talented senior quarterback Harry Randell scored Woodland Hills only touchdown on a one yard run.
Sewickley resident Shafer Swann, son of former Steelers great Lynn Swann, hoisted the championship trophy. Swann, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior wide receiver now has some bragging rights.
“I don’t know if this is a special group yet,” said coach Totten. “If they want to be special then they have to come to practice on Monday ready to work. If they want to join some of our great teams they have to continue to work.”
Lynn Swann and Chuck Noll couldn’t have said it any better.
Pa. Scholastic Football Rankings
The Associated Press
Pennsylvania high school football rankings from PennLive.com, with school’s district in parentheses, followed by record and position in last week’s rankings. NR means not ranked. Teams with an asterisk are the 2012 PIAA champions.
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CLASS AAAA – Record – Previous Rank
1. Pittsburgh C.C. (7) 13-0 – 1
2. St. Joseph’s Prep (12) 9-3 – 2
3. Woodland Hills (7) 10-3 – 3
4. Upper St. Clair (7) 11-1 – 4
5. Parkland (11) 12-1 – 7
6. Neshaminy (1) 12-1 – 5
7. McKeesport (7) 10-1 – 8
8. Lower Dauphin (3) 12-1 – 9
9. Cumberland Valley (3) 11-2 – 10
10. North Penn (1) 10-3 – NR
Honorable mention: Abington (1) 10-2, Garnet Valley (1) 11-1, La Salle College HS (12) 8-3, Whitehall (11) 10-2, Wilson-West Lawn (3) 12-1.
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CLASS AAA – Record – Previous Rank
1. Cathedral Prep(asterisk) (10) 12-0 – 1
2. West Allegheny (7) 13-0 – 2
3. Bishop McDevitt (3) 12-1 – 3
4. Archbishop Wood (12) 10-2 – 5
5. Central Valley (7) 11-2 – 4
6. Thomas Jefferson (7) 11-1 – 6
7. Berwick (2) 13-0 – 7
8. Manheim Central (3) 13-0 – 8
9. Franklin Regional (7) 10-2 – 9
10. Clearfield (3) 13-0 – NR
Honorable mention: Abington Heights (2) 10-2, Academy Park (1) 10-2, Cocalico (3) 11-2, Pottsgrove (1) 11-1, West Mifflin (7) 9-2.
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CLASS AA – Record – Previous rank
1. South Fayette (3) 13-0 – 3
2. Imhotep Charter (12) 11-1 – 2
3. Aliquippa (7) 12-1 – 1
4. Catasauqua (11) 11-1 – 6
5. Berks Catholic (3) 13-0 – 5
6. Hickory (10) 11-1 – 7
7. Central-Martinsburg (6) 11-2 – NR
8. Richland (6) 12-1 – 4
9. Beaver Falls (7) 9-3 – 8
10. Troy (4) 11-2 – NR
Honorable mention: Danville (4) 10-3, Girard (10) 10-3, Lake-Lehman (2) 11-2, Mount Pleasant (7) 10-1, Seton-LaSalle (7) 8-3, West Catholic (12) 9-3.
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CLASS A – Record – Previous rank
1. North Catholic (7) 13-0 – 3
2. Old Forge (2) 12-1 – 4
3. Southern Columbia (4) 12-1 – 1
4. Sto-Rox (7) 12-1 – 2
5. Clairton(asterisk) (7) 10-2 – 5
6. Neshannock (7) 9-3 – 7
7. Dunmore (2) 11-1 – 6
8. Steel-High (3) 11-1 – 8
9. Lakeview (10) 12-1 – 9
10. Schuylkill Haven (11) 10-3 – NR
Honorable mention: Avonworth (7) 9-2, Clarion (9) 13-0, Fort Cherry (7) 9-2, Homer Center (6) 12-1, Monessen (7) 9-2, Sharpsville (10) 8-5.
