Allentown Central Catholic Vikings Are Perfect in Football Class AAA

By: Bruce Markey
Friday, December 17, 2010 | 12:00 AM

A perfect season for Allentown Central Catholic as Brandon Nosovitch hit an uncovered Jack Sandherr for 70 yards then ran for a 18 yard touchdown with 2:09 remaining to take the Vikings to their third PIAA Class AAA title with a 28-27 win over Bishop McDevitt on Friday night at HersheyPark Stadium.

Nosovitch threw for 237 yards and one score and ran for 47 yards and three scores. Sandherr had five catches for 128 yards to lead the Vikings, he also led the Vikings with ten tackles.

The teams traded touchdowns on their opening possessions. The Crusaders took the opening kickoff and went 65 yards in seven plays, Matt Johnson threw down the far sideline and Brian Lamelle out jumped a defender and stayed in the end zone for a 28 yard touchdown. The Vikings answered with a seven play drive of their own, Brendan Nosovitch hit Jack Sandherr for 31 yards to the one, Nosovitch went in on the next play to knot the score.

Bishop McDevitt took advantage of a short field late in the opening stanza, Jameele Poteat scoring on a 22 yard run, capping a fifty yard drive to give the Crusaders a 14-7 lead at the end of one. The teams traded field position with Allentown Central Catholic having the shorter field. Johnson shanked a punt, giving the Vikings the ball at the Crusader 25. Nosovitch scored his second touchdown on a 25 yard run to even the score again.

The Crusaders had a chance in the final minute, but head coach Jeff Weachter elected not to call a timeout with three remaining, costing his team over thirty seconds, Bishop McDevitt could not get into field goal range and the half ended, knotted at 14. Bishop McDevitt dominated the time of possession in the half at 15:30 compared to 8:30 for Allentown Central Catholic.

The Vikings took the second half kickoff and went 63 yards in six plays, Kevin Gulyas taking a 15 yard pass from Nosovitch for the lead. The teams traded six possession without a first down, both teams missed out on sure touchdowns with Nosovitch missing a wide open Kevin McKellick and Johnson was not able to connect with a wide open target.

Coach Weachter rolled the dice again on a fourth and four at his own 46, Johnson was a yard short of the first down. Miles Wiliams bailed out the Crusaders, picking off Nosovitch two plays later. Johnson scored six plays later on a nine yard run to tie the game at 21 after three, setting up another fantastic finish in Hershey.

In the fourth quarter, Viking coach Harold Fairclough rolled his set of dice and it came up craps, going for it on fourth and four at the 43, Nosovitch was tackled for no gain. The short field allowed Bishop McDevitt to score on a eight play drive with Poteat scoring his second touchdown of the game on a three yard run with 6:54 left. The snap was high on the extra point and Maloney could not convert, a game changing play.

The teams traded three and outs, the Vikings took over with 3:26 remaining on the go-ahead drive. Bishop McDevitt was not done, driving to the Viking 35, but Johnson was blasted by Teddy Aroldi on a fourth and 16 play, causing the pass to be way short of the mark and giving the Vikings the title.

The District 11 champions only had 11 first downs and had the ball for almost nine less minutes but were able to convert key situations in the fourth quarter.

Bishop McDevitt, the District 3 champions, were led by Johnson's 18 of 34 for 235 yards. Poteat ran 19 times for 71 yards. Seif had six catches, Lamelle made four. The Crusaders end the season 14-2.

Score by Quarters:
Allentown Central Catholic 7 7 7 7 – 28
Bishop McDevitt 14 0 7 6 – 27

Scoring Summary:
First Quarter:
Bishop McDevitt: Brian Lamelle 28 pass from Matt Johnson(Connor Maloney kick) 8:37
Allentown Central Catholic: Brendan Nosovitch 1 run(Timothy Digiacomo kick) 6:34
Bishop McDevitt: Jameel Poteat 22 run(Maloney kick) :39

Second Quarter:
Allentown Cetnral Catholic: Nosovitch 25 run(Digiacomo kick) 3:46

Third Quarter:
Allentown Central Catholic: Kevin Gulyas 15 pass from Nosovitch(Digiacomo kick) 9:02
Bishop McDevitt: Johnson 9 run(Maloney kick) :05

Fourth Quarter:
Bishop McDevitt: Poteat 3 run(kick failed) 6:54
Allentown Central Catholic: Nosovitch 18 run(Digiacomo kick) 2:09