Titanic clash between Central Catholic, Pine-Richland the hottest ticket in town

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, August 28, 2025 | 12:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Most WPIAL football teams hope Central Catholic doesn’t appear on their nonconference schedule, but Pine-Richland isn’t one of them.

The Rams, in fact, have defeated Central Catholic three years in a row. The big-school rivals meet again at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Carnegie Mellon for one of the most anticipated games on the WPIAL schedule this season.

It might have one of the largest crowds, too. The hype is understandable since both teams are defending WPIAL champions – Central Catholic in Class 6A and Pine-Richland in 5A.

Plus, they’re each ranked No. 1 this year.

“Obviously, it’s attracting a lot of attention,” Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “You’ve got two programs that have had a rivalry over the last decade. I think it’s an awesome opportunity.”

Central Catholic doesn’t have its own football field, so the Vikings use Carnegie Mellon’s Gesling Stadium for a game or two each season. The college venue seats 3,500 with an abundance of space to stand around the field.

Pine-Richland last played Central Catholic there in 2022.

“With so much hype around it, I worry about where people are going to watch the game from,” Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne said. “There could be 7,000, 8,000 or 10,000 people there.”

The teams are tied 6-6 in their past 12 head-to-head matchups dating to 2015. But Pine-Richland has won three in a row in the series, including 22-17 last season. The Rams also won 26-19 in 2024 and 35-13 in 2023.

In that same three-year span, Central Catholic was 9-0 in nonconference games against all other WPIAL opponents. So what’s the secret to Pine-Richland’s success?

“I think it’s just the physicality that we play with and the focus and attention to detail,” said LeDonne, but he added that his players also find some extra motivation from this matchup.

“The last couple of years, they were the top dogs,” LeDonne said. “You see the amount of recruits and athleticism and what they put together. Our guys get motivated for that. Some of our guys don’t get talked about as much. It motivates them to lock in this week and put a good performance together.”

The best battle to watch Friday will be along the line of scrimmage.

Central Catholic has a mammoth offensive line starting with 6-foot-7, 285-pound left tackle Jimmy Kalis, a junior who ranks among the top college recruits nationally at his position.

Two other juniors, right tackle James Halter (6-5, 270) and left guard Jon Sassic (6-6, 295), also have multiple Power 4 offers. Senior center Matt Bowers (6-4, 300) is a Princeton commit, and senior right guard Cole Bayer (6-1, 300) has Division II options.

“Their line is bigger than most college lines and comparable to NFL lines,” LeDonne said.

But Pine-Richland’s front five isn’t small, starting with 6-4, 300-pound senior guard John Curran, a Pitt commit. Senior Braylen Price, a 6-6, 280-pound tackle, is a William & Mary recruit.

Joining them are senior guard Dylan Turcan (6-3, 326), junior center Dajour Webb (6-2, 330) and sophomore tackle Luke Bernesser (6-6, 265). Webb lists college offers from Akron, Howard and Youngstown State.

“Any time you play a championship-caliber program, odds are they’re that way because of the way they play on the line of scrimmage,” Lehmeier said. “We take a lot of pride in that, and they obviously do too.

“They’ve got a big offensive line similar to us with decorated players who are going to play in college.”

Pine-Richland is coming off a 38-7 victory at Findlay, Ohio.

Junior quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader passed for two touchdowns, and running back Maclane Miller rushed 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Florida State recruit Jay Timmons caught one of Strader’s TD passes.

“We handled business pretty good from a football perspective, but we still had a lot of mistakes that we had to get corrected,” LeDonne said. “You kind of expect that in an early-season game. We’re hoping to make some strides from Week Zero to Week 1.”

Pine-Richland played last week without recent transfer Khalil Taylor, a Penn State-bound junior receiver who is expected to play Friday.

Central Catholic lost its Week Zero game to La Salle College, 23-6, in a matchup of highly ranked Class 6A teams. The Philadelphia Catholic League power was ranked second in the state and Central Catholic was third.

Navy-bound wideout Maceo Watkins scored the Vikings’ lone touchdown on a 28-yard pass from sophomore Owen Herrick.

“I love the toughness and the resiliency we showed,” Lehmeier said. “I liked the temperament of the team, even getting on the bus after a loss. When we showed up this week (for practice), I really liked their attitudes.”

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, Pine-Richland