Central Catholic crushes another unbeaten

FROM THE MORNING CALL

SHAMOKIN – The farther Central Catholic has pushed into the postseason, the easier it has made playing football look.

One week after overwhelming unbeaten Abington Heights, Central Catholic trekked to Kemp Memorial Stadium to face another undefeated team. Clearfield's chance to compete ended when the Vikings received the opening kickoff.

Central Catholic scored 27 first-quarter points and never was challenged, thrashing the District 9-champion Bisons 55-20 in a PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal Friday night. The District 11-champion Vikings (14-0 overall) advanced to next week's state semifinals against District 12 champion Archbishop Wood, a 24-14 winner over District One champ Strath Haven.


Playing on the same field where their season ended with a 31-10 loss to Selinsgrove in last year's state quarterfinals, the Vikings made themselves at home right away. They scored touchdowns on all four of their first-quarter drives to open a 27-0 lead over Clearfield (13-1), which won 13 games for the first time in school history.

"Last year was terrible," junior wide receiver Kevin Gulyas said. "This year feels good."

"We talked about that right before the game, about redeeming ourselves out here on this field," Vikings coach Harold Fairclough said. "We knew we weren't playing Selinsgrove, but to take this bus trip again, to get on this field again and leave this field with a better feeling and a victory was one of our goals tonight."

Central Catholic sophomore running back Colin McDermott scored the game's first two touchdowns en route to a single-game school record 279 yards on 24 carries. Tom Williams had held the record with a 272-yard effort against Milton in 1996.

McDermott's record-setting performance highlighted another night of mind-numbing offensive numbers for Central Catholic. The Vikings ran for 508 yards while averaging 12.4 yards per carry. Quarterback Brendan Nosovitch (134 yards, two TDs on six carries) and G.B. Harkins (90 yards, one TD on five carries) joined McDermott in gashing Clearfield.

Nosovitch also threw for 149 yards and two scores while playing just one series into the second half. His two rushing touchdowns made him the first player in Lehigh Valley history with 20 rushing touchdowns and 20 passing touchdowns in the same season.

Gulyas went over 1,000 receiving yards this season with a 28-yard grab in the second quarter and finished with four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. An offensive line led by Jared Pitts and Tad McNeely overpowered Clearfield and helped the Vikings amass 657 yards of total offense, 501 of which came in the first half.

"It was a total team effort," McDermott said. "The offensive line just kept on pushing and moving their feet. All I had to do was run."

Central Catholic opened the game by pounding away with McDermott. He had 56 yards on the opening drive, which he finished with a 32-yard touchdown run.

McDermott added a 19-yard touchdown run on the next drive and used a 54-yard dash in the fourth quarter to set the single-game Central Catholic rushing record.

"When you watch him, he's just so consistent," Fairclough said. "I think the offensive line did a great job as well. You've got to start giving them their due. They did a great job opening up those holes."

Nosovitch added a 60-yard touchdown pass to Jack Sandherr (two catches, 63 yards) and then raced 72 yards for a touchdown to complete the first-quarter outburst. Central Catholic had 299 yards of total offense in the first quarter to minus-one for Clearfield.

A 57-yard touchdown run by Harkins and a 21-yard screen pass from Nosovitch to Gulyas put Central Catholic ahead 41-0 late in the second quarter. The Vikings spent the rest of the game trying to stay healthy, enduring several scares along the way.

Gulyas landed on his helmet after getting hit trying to make a catch but said after the game he was fine. McNeely also left the field gingerly in the second half but seemed OK afterward.

Now the Vikings are off to the state semifinals and a date with an Archbishop Wood team some feel is their equal, if not their superior. The days of Central Catholic's starters standing on the sideline in the second half should be over.

If so, it was a remarkable four-week run for the Vikings. They have outscored their playoff opponents (Blue Mountain, Southern Lehigh, Abington Heights and Clearfield) by a 205-54 margin, with many of the points they have allowed coming against their reserves.

No one they have faced yet this postseason has the size, skill and pedigree of Archbishop Wood, a team they have been on a collision course with for months.

"We're not looking forward to the state championship; our focus is on the semifinals," Gulyas said. "Now we've got Archbishop Wood, and that's all we're going to be thinking about this week."

Added Fairclough: "This is going to be our toughest game of the season. We've had a chance to see them live and on film a little bit. They are a good football team. It's not going to be 40-0 at halftime, I guarantee you that."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-football-central-clearfield-1203-20101203,0,7214533.story