| Date/Time: |
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| Location: |
North Allegheny
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| Score: |
28-7
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| Winner: |
Woodland Hills |
Woodland Hills punches out Central's lights, 28-7
By: John Grupp
When the electricity went out at North Allegheny's Newman Stadium during halftime Friday night, the Woodland Hills players found themselves sitting in a pitch-black locker room.
"Everybody thought one of us did it," junior running back Marcel Farrish said.
Later, a lot of Woodland Hills players pulled the plug on Central Catholic.
The Wolverines routed No. 1 Central Catholic, 28-7, in a WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal. In front of an overflow crowd of nearly 9,000 fans, Woodland Hills pushed around Central Catholic's top-ranked defense to avenge a 23-13 loss to the Viking six weeks ago and earn its fourth WPIAL title game berth in the past seven years.
"There's no doubt, they were the better football team tonight," Central Catholic first-year coach Terry Totten said. "They definitely beat us up physically up front."
Fifth-seeded Woodland Hills (10-2) will play No. 6 McKeesport, a 39-18 winner over Mt. Lebanon, at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday at Heinz Field in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game.
The loss ended Central Catholic's 28-game winning streak against WPIAL teams, dating to a 49-48 overtime loss to Woodland Hills in the 2003 season.
Central Catholic also was denied a chance to become the first team to win three consecutive outright WPIAL Quad-A titles.
Farrish gained 235 yards and scored two touchdowns on 22 carries, and junior Vondre Griffin threw a pair of long first-half touchdown passes.
Woodland Hills forced four turnovers, including two interceptions by Brandon Watters, and held the Vikings to 196 total yards.
The Wolverines also stifled WPIAL leading rusher Lamont Smith, who entered the game with 1,960 yards. Smith finished with 102 yards but gained only 19 in the first half as Woodland Hills took a 14-0 lead. Twenty-one of his 27 carries went for three yards or fewer.
Farrish, held to 20 yards on 15 carries in the first meeting, gained more than that on his first five carries. He scored on touchdown runs of 38 and 86 yards in the first half.
Central Catholic (10-2) avoided the shutout on fullback Nate Williams' fourth-down, 1-yard touchdown run with 3:27 to play.
"Nobody would imagine us doing what we did against that defense," Farrish said. "They are a great defense. But our line picked up the blitzes and did a good job.
"Last time (we played them), we weren't able to run. They got us mentally. They were coming out hard and our linemen weren't really sure who to pick up. Today, we were ready for them."
The Woodland Hills offensive line -- tackles Mike Dykes and James Page, guards Ron Then and Teountae Hall and center Joe Drakulic -- manhandled the Vikings.
Central Catholic was playing without 275-pound starting nose tackle Luke Nasiadka, who was suspended for academic reasons.
The Wolverines used a pair of touchdown passes from Griffin and a swarming defense to take a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Griffin found junior tight end Devan Johnson open over the middle for a 46-yard touchdown with 4:46 to play in the first quarter.
"(Johnson) is a good receiver. We thought he could get deep, and he did," Woodland Hills coach George Novak said. "Vondre threw a nice pass."
Woodland Hills scored again late in the second quarter on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Griffin to senor wide receiver Rashad Odom with 1:13 to play in the half.
After the start of the second half was delayed 15 minutes due to the power outage, Woodland Hills scored on its opening drive. The Wolverines marched 82 yards on seven plays, taking a 21-0 lead on Farrish's 38-yard touchdown run.
Next up, Woodland Hills will try to win its fifth WPIAL title against a surging McKeesport squad.
"They are scary," Novak said. |
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| Name: |
Pittsburgh C.C.
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| Seed: |
1
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(no notes entered)
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