5 things to watch in Week 2: Central Catholic, Woodland Hills relish chance to play at Pro Football Hall of Fame

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 11:41 PM

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Two WPIAL football teams got a call from the hall.

Central Catholic and Woodland Hills each has a former player enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a distinction that earned them an invite to play one another Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

They’ll meet at 3:30 p.m. as part of a triple-header, not far from the busts of Dan Marino and Jason Taylor.

This is the first year for the Pro Football Hall of Fame High School Classic, which also includes four teams from northeast Ohio, each with an alum in the hall.

“Getting to celebrate the schools’ hall of famers and everything that goes with it makes this an awesome opportunity,” Woodland Hills coach Brian Tarrant said. “We’re really, really excited about going there and playing at the stadium.”

The venue is the 23,000-seat Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, which also hosts the first NFL preseason game each season.

The WPIAL teams are in the middle game of the triple-header. Canton GlenOak (Dan Dierdorf) and Cleveland East Tech (Bob Brown) play at noon, followed by Canton McKinley (Marion Motley) and Cleveland Heights (Tom Mack) at 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online.

Hall of Famer Jason Taylor once played at Woodland Hills. Hall of Famer Dan Marino once played at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Their schools battle in the Hall of Fame High School Classic this Saturday, and it’s not too late to grab your seats at https://t.co/g1TpNEEDKM pic.twitter.com/bYRh2EE9rL

— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) September 5, 2025

Central Catholic and Woodland Hills were scheduled to play a nonconference game at the Wolvarena before the hall of fame reached out last winter with an invitation.

Tarrant said Woodland Hills will travel to Canton on Friday for an overnight trip that includes a tour of the hall and an opportunity for his players to hear from NFL great Anthony Muñoz.

“I can’t believe that,” Tarrant said of meeting with the nine-time All-Pro offensive tackle and 1998 hall inductee. “It’s turned into a great deal for us.”

WPIAL chief operating officer Vince Sortino said event organizers shared interest in again including WPIAL teams in future years. If so, Sortino said, the WPIAL will try to help make that a possibility.

This remains an official WPIAL game even though it’s being played in Ohio, and PIAA officials will work the contest. The crew includes referee Martin Linn, umpire Brett Heller, head linesman Ed Marko, line judge Shawn Gouch, side judge Keith Genicola and field judge Andre Smith.

“I’m sure they’re excited, too, to get to go work the game,” Sortino said.

Breaking records at Bentworth

The WPIAL’s leading rusher maybe isn’t well known outside of the Tri-County South, but senior Ben Hays is rewriting the record books at Bentworth.

Hays has 425 yards on 37 carries and leads all WPIAL rushers after two weeks. A year ago, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back broke a single-season school record that had stood for 42 years.

Now, he’s nearing the career record.

Hays, who has scored seven touchdowns in two games, will lead the Bearcats (1-1) into a nonconference matchup Friday at neighboring Charleroi.

“He’s got talent,” Bentworth coach David Pordash said. “He’s fast. He’s got good moves. He runs the ball hard. His name should become a little more familiar.”

Bentworth qualified for the playoffs last season for the first time since 2015.

That was in part thanks to Hays, who rushed for 1,380 yards and broke the single-season school record set by Tom Lapcevic in 1982. A third-year coach, Pordash was a senior teammate of Lapcevic’s that season.

“I told him, ‘That’s an old record, Ben. You know I played with that guy?’” said Pordash, a 1983 graduate now in his third season as coach.

Hays also broke Bentworth’s single-season touchdown record with 20. He entered this fall about 1,100 yards short of the school’s career record set by Trent Cavanaugh in 2020.

“Ben has (the record for) all-purpose yards. I think he’s got the most touchdowns,” Pordash said. “If he stays healthy, he should have all of the records.”

McKeesport’s other 4-star talent

One of Javien Robinson’s catches was highlighted last year on ESPN, a leaping grab that saw the McKeesport receiver take the ball away from two defenders.

It showed why recruiting website 247Sports ranks the junior as the 15th-best wide receiver prospect nationally. But he also plays for an offense that likes to run the ball with a Penn State-bound tailback.

So, Robinson might not get a lot of chances Friday against top-ranked Thomas Jefferson, but coach Matt Miller said the Tigers always hope to get him some good ones.

He had eight catches last year.

“We use the run to set up the pass,” Miller said. “Everyone is going to be keying down in the box to stop Kemon (Spell). Hopefully, that leaves Javien with some one-on-one situations like it did (in Week Zero).”

A 6-foot-2 wideout, Robinson caught three passes for 88 yards in an opening win over Delaware Valley. He scored touchdowns on a 34-yard catch and a 14-yard run. He had one catch for 2 yards last week.

“We just missed hitting him for another long one against Peters,” Miller said. “When we get our chances, we have to make sure we convert on them.”

Robinson has Power 4 offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Rutgers, Syracuse and Wisconsin. He showed his sprinter’s speed in track season by taking silver in the 200 meters at the WPIAL championships.

Busy nights at Cupples

The WPIAL won’t start playing conference games quite yet, but the Pittsburgh City League already has games that count.

Three-time defending champion Westinghouse opened league play Thursday with a 50-6 win over Brashear at Cupples Stadium. The Bulldogs have won 40 City League titles, including four of the past five.

The city has six football-playing schools but one of them, Carrick, is again playing an independent schedule. The Raiders have scheduled three of the other five members, but not Allderdice or Westinghouse.

On Friday, Carrick plays USO at 3:30 p.m. and Allderdice plays Perry at 7 p.m. All City League home games are played at Cupples Stadium on the South Side.

3 in a row?

Quaker Valley is one win away from its first 3-0 start in eight years. That might not seem like much, but remember what happened the last time the Quakers started with three wins.

They won a state title in 2017.

Quaker Valley has a nonconference matchup Friday against another undefeated team. Freeport (2-0) visits Chuck Knox Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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.