Central Catholic has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge The Gateway Gators at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Central Catholic humbled Seneca Valley with a 42-7 victory. Given Central Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked second, while Seneca Valley is ranked 88th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Central Catholic got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Elijah Faulkner out in front who rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Faulkner is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Payton Wehner, who threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.0 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, Gateway really took it to Norwin for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-20 victory on the road. Gateway pushed the score to 41-14 by the end of the third, a deficit Norwin had little chance of recovering from.
Their wins bumped Central Catholic to 8-1 and Gateway to 5-4.
Central Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Gateway in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, winning 27-14. The rematch might be a little tougher for Central Catholic since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
