Central Catholic has experience, firepower to repeat in Class 6A

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 | 6:01 AM

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In only his second season as head coach at Central Catholic, Ryan Lehmeier etched his name in the record books next to John Fischetti, Art Walker and Terry Totten — Vikings football coaches who have won WPIAL or PIAA championships.

Central Catholic ended a three-year golden drought by knocking off two-time WPIAL champion North Allegheny in convincing fashion in the Class 6A finals, 45-14.

The Vikings then eliminated State College and Harrisburg in the PIAA playoffs before losing to perennial state power St. Joe’s Prep in the state championship game to finish the season at 12-3.

“I was really proud of the way that team came together and played the game with high energy and attention to detail,” Lehmeier said. “Their togetherness will always stand out.”

While last year was a golden memory and expectations are high for this season, Lehmeier was quick to respond to his biggest concern heading into the Vikings’ training camp this summer.

“Complacency,” he said. “Last year has nothing to do with this year. We didn’t win our last football game. We have plenty that we can do better. We need to worry about taking it one day at a time and growing as a football team.”

Central Catholic returns six starters on offense and seven on defense, which has the Vikings coaching staff eager to see the “vets” competing with some new talent in the navy blue and gold.

“It’s exciting to watch this team continue to form,” Lehmeier said. “Certain guys need to take on bigger roles and certain guys have roles for the first time. I really enjoy this time of year and watching these kids compete. They’re getting evaluated every day.”

One of the new kids seems very capable of following in the footsteps of outstanding Vikings quarterbacks this decade in Payton Wehner and Jy’Aire Walls.

After sitting out a year after transferring from Seneca Valley, sophomore Owen Herrick will run the show for the Vikings offense.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound 10th grader already has a Division I offer from Syracuse before throwing his first high school pass.

Speaking of recruits, there are several of those with possibly more to come on this Vikings roster.

Senior edge rusher Ashton Blatt is a North Carolina commit.

He is one of three Vikings to make the Trib 25 Preseason All-Star Team along with senior H-back and linebacker Colsen Gatten, a Duke recruit, and senior lineman Jimmy Kalis.

Another senior lineman to watch is Princeton commit Matt Bowers.

Junior running back and linebacker Roman Thompson was the Vikings’ leading tackler from a year ago.

Junior wide receiver and defensive back Max Roman was second on the team in receptions last fall with 33 catches for 519 yards and six touchdowns.

With stud running back Elijah Faulkner graduated, the Central Catholic plan is for junior running back and defensive back Chrys Black to lead the ground attack. Black averaged 6.5 yards per carry in limited action in 2024.

Another two-way starter for the Vikings will be junior wide receiver and defensive back Zachary Gleason.

The 6A bull’s-eye will be directly on the backs of Central Catholic this season.

The Vikings have repeated as WPIAL champions three times in program history: in 2003 and 2004, 2015 and 2016 and in 2019 and 2020.

“There are some great programs and coaches in our league,” Lehmeier said. “Each brings a unique challenge. We’re really putting a focus on ourselves and making sure we’re as prepared for our opponents as possible.”

The obstacles are real, but so is the definitive goal for this Central Catholic program in 2025.

“The expectation is always the state championship, but we just want to go one game at a time,” Blatt said. “Take it week by week, day by day. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Central Catholic

Coach: Ryan Lehmeier

2024 record: 12-3, 6-0 in Class 6A

All-time record: 596-334-44

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.22 La Salle College, 8-a

8.29 Pine-Richland, 7

9.6 Woodland Hills, 3:3-b

9.12 at Mt. Lebanon*, 7

9.19 Hempfield*, 7

9.26 at North Allegheny*, 7:30

10.3 Shaler Area, 7

10.10 Norwin*, 7

10.17 at Seneca Valley*, 7

10.24 at Canon-McMillan*, 7

a-KDKA Classic at Wolvarena

b-at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Jy’Aire Walls*

142-253, 2,625 yards, 28 TDs

Rushing: Elijah Faulkner*

283-1,649 yards, 20 TDs

Receiving: Xxavier Thomas*

34-677 yards, 12 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Central Catholic would love to become the sixth WPIAL school to win double-digit football championships this fall. The Vikings ended a three-year run of being the Class 6A runner-up when they defeated North Allegheny in the 6A finals last season for their ninth district crown. Five of their nine championships have come in the last 10 years.

• The Vikings will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their fifth WPIAL football title this fall. It was 2015, the final year of four classification football, when Central Catholic finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Class 4A Northern Eight Conference along with North Allegheny and Pine-Richland, all with record of 6-1 in the conference and 9-1 overall. The fifth-seeded Vikings crushed Upper St. Clair in the first round, 49-0, knocked off North Allegheny in the quarterfinals, 31-17, beat top-seeded Woodland Hills in the semifinals, 24-6, and then defeated Penn-Trafford in the 4A finals, 24-17. Central Catholic captured the school’s fourth PIAA championship with wins over State College, 19-3, Cumberland Valley, 24-7, and Parkland in the final Quad-A state championship game, 21-18.

• It might not be the district-record run of 16 straight by Aliquippa, but Central Catholic has played in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game six straight seasons and has played for district gold in 11 of the last 12 years. The lone exception was seven years ago when the Vikings finished a 7-4 season with a loss to Seneca Valley in the 2018 Class 6A quarterfinals, 15-14.

• This is the 98th season of Central Catholic football. The Vikings are four wins from 600 all-time.

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