Football Preview: Central Catholic Vikings vs. State College Little Lions
Central Catholic has won ten straight games at home (dating back to last season), while State College has won ten straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Central Catholic Vikings will welcome the State College Little Lions at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Central Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They blew past North Allegheny, posting a 45-14 victory. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 31-0.
Central Catholic had a senior duo take command as Elijah Faulkner rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown and Jy'Aire Walls threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes. With that strong performance, Faulkner is now averaging an impressive 100.1 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Maceo Watkins Jr., who picked up 90 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask State College). They claimed a resounding 75-14 win over Williamsport. Given the Little Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 11th, while the Millionaires are ranked 206th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eddie Corkery was his usual excellent self, throwing for 282 yards and five touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ty Salazer, who picked up 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
State College didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Kellen Williams, Henry Lustig, and Cooper Brushwood picked up one apiece.
Central Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 10-2. As for State College, their win bumped their record up to 11-1.
Friday's game will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Walls and Corkery. Walls just won't slow down this season and has thrown 25 touchdowns (and and only 4 picks) while averaging 190.4 passing yards per game. Corkery has been a dominant force too and has thrown 35 touchdowns (and and only 6 picks) while averaging 236.2 passing yards per game.
Central Catholic skirted past State College 24-21 when the teams last played back in November of 2019. Will Central Catholic repeat their success, or does State College have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
