WPIAL Class 6A championship primer: Pine-Richland vs. Central Catholic

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 16, 2017 | 10:57 PM

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WPIAL football championship primer

Class 6A

No. 1 Pine-Richland (12-0) vs. No. 2 Central Catholic (10-2)

2 p.m. Saturday, Heinz Field

On the air: Tribhssn.triblive.com; 95.3-FM/AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (tape delay)

Winner plays: District 6 champion State College (9-2) or District 2 champion Delaware Valley (12-0), who meet in a PIAA first-round game Friday in Danville.

What to watch

• Can Pine-Richland finish its dominant WPIAL season?

The Rams have scored at least 41 points in every game this season while outscoring opponents 595-153. No team has come within 20 points of Pine-Richland, which started the season ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 6A and only strengthened its favorite status.

• Can Central Catholic make it a three-peat?

The Vikings may be the heavy underdogs, but they have won two straight WPIAL championships. QB Troy Fisher, DE David Green, LB Liam Slattery and WR/DB Cam Laconi lead a senior class that’s already familiar with Heinz Field.

In last season’s 6A championship game against Seneca Valley, then-senior JJ Younger scored three times in the 42-7 victory. Younger is now a freshman at Lafayette College.

• Will this be different than Week 5?

When the Northern Seven rivals met in the regular season, Pine-Richland won 47-17. Central Catholic managed only a first-half field goal and trailed 47-3 at halftime after Rams RB Jordan Crawford scored seven touchdowns in the win.

Players to watch

• Phil Jurkovec, Pine-Richland: The Notre Dame quarterback recruit has dominated the playoffs. In two postseason games, he has passed for 667 yards and nine touchdowns, while rushing for 222 yards and two more scores.

• Andrew Kristofic, Pine-Richland: The junior is one of the top linemen in the state. He added a scholarship offer from Ohio State this week.

• Troy Fisher, Central Catholic: The Lafayette commit, who’s starting his third WPIAL championship, has thrown seven touchdowns in the past four weeks.

• Dontre Jones, Central Catholic: Injuries have hit the Vikings backfield this season, making Jones the team’s fourth RB this season. The sophomore has 368 yards and two touchdowns on 100 carries.

Stat leaders

Passing: CC: Troy Fisher, 89-150-1,081 yards, 9 TDs, 4 INTs; PR: Phil Jurkovec, 175-230-3,003 yards, 30 TDs, 4 INTs

Rushing: CC: Khalil Weathers, 69-445 yards, 3 TDs; PR: Jordan Crawford, 97-975 yards, 20 TDs.

Receiving: CC: Gavin Thomson, 21-349 yards, 2TDs; PR: Jason DeFrancisis, 54-898 yards, 8 TDs

By the numbers

All-time records: CC: 533-312-44; PR: 341-274-13

Last title: CC: 2016; PR: 2014

WPIAL titles: CC: 6; PR: 2

Did you know?

• Pine-Richland won the 2014 WPIAL title by defeating Central Catholic, 21-13

• A week ago, Jurkovec became just the seventh passer in WPIAL history with 7,000 career yards

• Central Catholic has now reached the WPIAL finals for the fifth consecutive year. The Vikings’ championship record is 3-1 in that span.

Prediction

Pine-Richland, 41-21

Tags: Central Catholic, Greensburg C.C., Pine-Richland