WPIAL football: Central Catholic knocks out Seneca Valley, makes 6th straight championship game
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Seneca Valley junior Tommy Wuycheck takes a moment after losing to Central Catholic in the WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley senior Zach Mashuda bows his head during the end-of-game team huddle for the last time after losing to Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley quarterback Andrew Loebig throws a touchdown pass against Central Catholic during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley quarterback Andrew Loebig runs with the ball. The Raiders were defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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A Seneca Valley player is consoled after losing to Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley was defeated by Central Catholic 38-14 in a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's band performs during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's band performs during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's band performs during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley cheerleaders get the crowd excited during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's band performs during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's band performs during a WPIAL Class 6A football semifinal game against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. Central Catholic won 38-14. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
WEST MIFFLIN — Seneca Valley entered Friday’s WPIAL Class 6A football semifinals heavy underdogs.
The Raiders were unable to pull off the sizable upset. No. 1 Central Catholic punched its ticket to the WPIAL championship game for a sixth year in a row with a 38-14 Friday night at West Mifflin High School.
“We are a team of young guys that are undersized,” Raiders head coach Ron Butschle said. “We fought hard all year, and not one of the guys gave up on us. That is a really good Central Catholic team. We did not have enough gas in the tank, but that’s OK because none of them quit.”
Butschle said he let his team know after the game he didn’t want them to hang their heads too low after the loss and they should be proud of themselves for how they played.
“I thanked them for not quitting and thanked them for fighting,” Butschle said. “I appreciate the effort that these guys gave all year. They are great kids and they will just get better.”
Central Catholic (9-2) finished the regular season atop the Quad-County 6A Conference, averaging 42 points per game entering Friday’s contest, and will face No. 2 North Allegheny on Nov. 15 at Norwin High School after the Tigers defeated third seed Mt. Lebanon 48-14 in the other semifinal.
“I’m really excited for my team,” Central Catholic head coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “I thought our guys played with tremendous effort tonight. I thought there were some procedural things that we need to clean up, but that’s football and we are going to get back to the drawing board and we are really excited for next week.”
In the early going, the Raiders could not stop the legs of Vikings running back Elijah Faulkner, who rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
Fourth seed Seneca Valley (3-7) only mustered one first down on offense the entire first half.
Despite the cold weather and an hour-and-a-half drive south, the Raider faithful showed up strong and finally had something to cheer about in the second half when Jake Challingsworth ended the shutout with an 8-yard touchdown grab from quarterback Andrew Loebig.
Seneca Valley then followed up with a Loebig 5-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit a little, but it was not enough as the Vikings were able to run out the clock on the next drive to secure the 24-point victory and date with North Allegheny next week.
SV has plenty of young talent returning next year such as Loebig but do lose some veterans like receiver/defensive back Jayden Price, who will play at Division I Toledo next year.
“These guys will be alright moving forward,” Butschle said.
Seneca Valley 0 0 7 7 – 14
Central Catholic 10 21 7 0 – 38
First Quarter
CC – Billy Lech 23 field goal, 3:54
CC – Elijah Faulkner 6 run (Lech kick), :43
Second Quarter
CC – Faulkner 7 run (Lech kick), 10:46
CC – Max Roman 35 pass from Jy’Aire Walls (Lech kick), 2:29
CC – Faulkner 11 run (Lech kick), 1:14
Third Quarter
CC – Amari Shields 3 fumble recovery (Lech kick), 11:50
SV – Jake Challingsworth 8 pass from Andrew Loebig (Max Eisenhut kick), :49
Fourth Quarter
SV – Loebig 5 run (Eisenhut kick), 7:16
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Seneca Valley, Andrew Loebig 8-19, Chase Mazanek 16-69, Cayden Parker 3-(-3). Central Catholic, Jy’Aire Walls 5-10, Elijah Faulkner 18-148, Amair Shields 3-61, Jayden Alexander 11-78.
Passing: Seneca Valley, Andrew Loebig 4-13-46-0. Central Catholic, Jy’Aire Walls 6-16-109-0.
Receiving: Seneca Valley, Brayden Wise 1-21, Jayden Price 2-17, Jake Challingsworth 1-8. Central Catholic, Elijah Faulkner 1-8, Max Roman 1-9, Bradley Gompers 2-41, Chrys Black 1-32, Xxavier Shields 1-17.
