2022 WPIAL 6A football championship breakdown: North Allegheny vs. Central Catholic

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, November 18, 2022 | 3:18 PM

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WPIAL Class 6A football championship

No. 1 North Allegheny vs. No. 3 Central Catholic

6 p.m. Saturday, Norwin

Video stream: tribhssn.triblive.com

Radio: KDKA 1020 AM, 100.1 FM

Winner plays: McDowell/State College winner in PIAA quarterfinals Nov. 25 or 26

WPIAL titles: North Allegheny 4 (1990, 2010, ‘11, ‘12), Central Catholic 8 (2003, ’04, ’07, ’13, ’15, ’16, ’19, ’20)

North Allegheny (10-1)

Player to watch: Khiryn Boyd

The wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner does a little bit of everything for North Allegheny. Boyd leads the team in total yards with 1,289 and scored a team-high 10 touchdowns. The junior also leads in interceptions with six, including one in a Week 3 win over Central Catholic.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Logan Kushner, 105-184, 1,263 yards, 13 TDs, 5 INTs

Rushing: Andrew Gavlik, 158-850 yards, 4 TDs

Receiving: Khiryn Boyd, 38-581 yards, 5 TDs

How they got here: North Allegheny defeated No. 4 Canon-McMillan, 7-0, in the semifinals.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Art Walker

Offense

LT, 67, Abdullah Daud, 6-5, 280, sr.

LG, 52, Chase Rodak, 6-2, 230, sr.

C, 51, Jack Yatchenko, 6-3, 280, so.

RG, 76, Sam Lechner, 6-0, 240, sr.

RT, 50, Cameron Chmura, 6-3, 275, jr.

TE, 47, Daniel Sellers, 6-4, 215, jr.

WR, 4, Khyrin Boyd, 5-10, 170, jr.

WR, 12, Anthony Varlotta, 6-4, 185, so.

WR, 1, Rourke Kennedy, 6-3, 188, sr.

QB, 7, Logan Kushner, 6-1, 190, jr.

FB, 48, Aiden Buggey, 6-0, 215, jr.

RB, 3, Andrew Gavlik, 6-0, 185, sr.

(or) RB, 8, Tyree Alualu, 6-0, 205, jr.

Defense

DE, 47, Daniel Sellers, 6-4, 215, jr.

DE, 48, Aiden Buggey, 6-0, 215, jr.

DL, 50, Cameron Chmura, 6-3, 275, jr.

DL, 51, Jack Yatchenko, 6-3, 280, so.

ILB, 16, Kevin O’Donnell, 5-11, 185, sr.

ILB, 8, Tyree Alualu, 6-0, 205, jr

OLB, 21, Ian Zahorchak, 6-0, 185, jr.

OLB, 23, Nate Spak, 6-3, 190, sr.

DB, 4, Khyrin Boyd, 5-10, 170, jr.

DB, 6, Campbell Melzer, 6-0, 175, sr.

DB, 19, Evan Lyon, 6-1, 165, jr.

Special teams

K, 32, Nick Van Winkle, 5-10, 160, jr.

P, 1, Rourke Kennedy, 6-3, 188, sr.

LS, 11, Brayden Kushner, 6-2, 205, sr.

Notable: North Allegheny defeated Central Catholic, 7-3, in a Week 4 game on Sept. 23. … Art Walker’s career record is 230-67 in 25 seasons. That total includes a 169-44 mark in 18 seasons at North Allegheny. He’s won five WPIAL titles, including two at Central Catholic in 2003 and ‘04. … The Tigers have reached the WPIAL finals for the 10th time and are 4-5 in those title games. They last were here in 2020 and lost to Central Catholic, 38-24. … NA’s offense has averaged 26.7 ppg and its defense allows 11.4. … The Tigers defense held Canon-McMillan to 43 yards on 43 offensive plays in last week’s semifinal win (28 yards rushing, 15 yards passing). … NA’s only loss was to Class 5A finalist Pine-Richland, 28-17, in Week 5. … Junior linebacker Tyree Alualu, one of the team’s top defensive players, is the son of Steelers defensive lineman Tyson Alualu. … Former Steelers players Aaron Smith and Jerame Tuman are assistant coaches. … NA averages 153 rushing yards and 128 passing yards per game.

Central Catholic (7-4)

Player to watch: Payton Wehner

Wehner is a two-year starter and the first Central Catholic quarterback to top 2,000 passing yards in the regular season. He badly broke his leg as a freshman in the 2020 WPIAL championship game, but bounced back to lead to Vikings back to the finals as a sophomore and junior.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Payton Wehner, 158-255, 2,247 yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs

Rushing: Elijah Faulkner, 133-489 yards, 4 TDs; Amari Shields, 119-491 yards, 4 TDs

Receiving: Peter Gonzalez, 35-630 yards, 7 TDs; Vernon Settles, 49-603 yards, 2 TDs

How they got here: Central Catholic defeated No. 2 Mt. Lebanon, 28-7, in the semifinals.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Terry Totten

Offense

LT, 50, Andrew Fontana, 6-5, 250, sr.

LG, 63, Sam Brackney, 6-2, 245, so.

C, 54, Jackson Farrell, 6-2, 270, sr.

RG, 64, Roman Kane, 6-2, 250, so.

RT, 58, Grayson Nugent, 6-5, 275, jr.

TE, 18, Cole Sullivan, 6-4, 195, jr.

QB, 5, Payton Wehner, 6-1, 165, jr.

RB, 28, Elijah Faulkner, 5-9, 180, sr.

WR, 0, Vernon Settles, 6-1, 150, jr.

WR, 7, Peter Gonzalez, 6-3, 200, jr.

WR, 25, Bradley Gompers, 6-5, 185, so.

Defense

DT, 33, Ty Yuhas, 6-4, 250, jr.

DT, 44, Carmen Petranglia, 6-1, 230, jr.

DE, 18, Cole Sullivan, 6-4, 195, jr.

DE, 20, Matt Petruzzi, 6-2, 205, sr.

ILB, 16, Anthony Speca, 6-3, 225, jr.

ILB, 41, Dylan Deasy, 5-10, 200, jr.

OLB, 28, Elijah Faulkner, 5-9, 180, so.

OLB, 25, Bradley Gompers, 6-5, 185, so.

DB, 2, Xxavier Thomas, 5-10, 160, so.

DB, 0, Vernon Settles, 6-1, 150, jr.

DB, 9, Argento Greene, 6-1, 170, sr.

Special teams

K, 39, Billy Lech, 6-1, 165, so.

P, 7, Peter Gonzalez, 6-3, 200, jr.

LS, 31, Jack Lech, 6-2, 175, sr.

Notable: Central Catholic reached the WPIAL finals for the ninth time in 10 years. … The Vikings were the WPIAL Class 6A runners-up in 2021 after winning titles in 2019 and ’20. … This is their 14th appearance in WPIAL finals. They’re 8-5. … Coach Terry Totten’s career record is 188-39 with six WPIAL titles in 18 seasons as Central Catholic’s coach. He was promoted to head coach when Art Walker left for North Allegheny in 2005. … WR Peter Gonzalez has Pitt, Penn State and WVU among his college offers. His father, Pete, a former Pitt QB, is an assistant coach. … Former Baldwin/Pitt/Cleveland Browns lineman Jason Pinkston also is a Central Catholic assistant. … Anthony Speca is one of the state’s top linebackers and has Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State among his offers. … Central Catholic’s offense averages 23.2 ppg and its defense allows 21.7.

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, North Allegheny