Rare losing season jolts North Catholic

By: John Grupp
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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The drop to Class 3A could have prompted North Catholic to conclude winning will come easier this season.

But it has done exactly the opposite.

“Our mindset is that it’s going to be harder,” Penn State-bound senior tight end Brady O’Hara said. “We’ve got to push ourselves even more to excel, and how we want the end of the season to go for us.”

North Catholic has room to improve after a ho-hum two-year stint in Class 4A. The Trojans went a combined 10-11, enduring their first non-playoff season since 2011 and then last season suffering their first losing season in 16 years and the most lopsided playoff loss in program history.

Coach Chris Rizzo, entering his second season, said last season’s 5-6 record, punctuated by a 49-0 WPIAL Class 4A first-round playoff loss to No. 10 seed Trinity, gnawed at his players.

“You can just tell that for a lot of the juniors who are now seniors, it’s been sitting with them all offseason,” Rizzo said. “The senior class does not want their year to end like that. That’s been in the back of their minds.”

North Catholic, which went 48-9 in its past five non-Class 4A seasons, will have a new-look lineup. Junior Joey Felitsky will start at quarterback, while senior Christian Naylor and junior Logan Schade are trying to fill the void left by 1,300-yard rusher Jack Fennell in the backfield.

“It’s going to be a pretty new cast,” Rizzo said.

Felitsky will have a premier target in O’Hara, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound all-conference tight end who led the Trojans last season with 17 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Felitsky had a strong offseason; North Catholic competed at an all-day 7-on-7 event at North Hills and reached the finals of its bracket at the Pitt showcase, beating Central Catholic and Belle Vernon.

“Joey has done a great job for us all summer,” Rizzo said. “He’s got a big arm. He can make all of the throws. He had an incredible summer for us and is really starting to master what we are doing.”

Along with O’Hara, the only returning starters on offense are senior center Roman Sylvester and senior guard Joey Strano.

“I think we can be the difference-makers,” the 6-foot, 250-pound Sylvester said of the O-line. “I think we’ve got really good skill players. If we can get it done up front, then we have a really good chance to do something special this year.”

Returning starters on defense are O’Hara, who doubles as an all-conference defensive end, and a pair of juniors: cornerback Ryker Kennedy and defensive tackle Max Lindner.

North Catholic landed in the Western Hills Conference, along with perennial power Central Valley, two-time WPIAL Class 3A runner-up Avonworth and Beaver, among others.

The top three in each conference, plus three at-large wild-card teams, will make the 12-team WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

O’Hara said he and his teammates have no intention of repeating last year’s playoff embarrassment.

“It definitely wasn’t what we were hoping for, and we’re not trying to end that way again,” he said. “I’m feeling really good about the season.”

North Catholic

Coach: Chris Rizzo

2023 record: 5-6, 4-2 in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference

All-time record: 476-321-32

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 Seton LaSalle, 7

8.30 at Knoch, 7

9.6 at Blackhawk, 7

9.13 Quaker Valley*, 7

9.20 at McGuffey*, 7

9.27 Imani Christian, 7

10.4 at Central Valley*, 7

10.11 Beaver*, 7

10.18 at Avonworth*, 7

10.25 Hopewell*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Jason Siket*

45-100, 690 yards, 6 TDs

Rushing: Jack Fennell*

183-1,316 yards, 18 TDs

Receiving: Brady O’Hara

17-310 yards, 2 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Newcomers on the Trojans’ roster include junior QB Tom Arth Jr., the son of Steelers QB coach Tom Arth, and senior TE Josef Safar, a first-year football player who helped the North Catholic baseball team to the 2024 WPIAL Class 4A title.

• North Catholic will again play all of its regular-season home games at J.C. Stone Field in North Park.

• The Trojans open the schedule with three consecutive road games for the first time in at least two decades. They play one home game in the first five weeks (Quaker Valley, Sept. 13).

• North Catholic plays six teams that reached the WPIAL playoffs last season and three teams that went 1-9 (Blackhawk, Hopewell, Quaker Valley).

Tags: North Catholic