The Central Catholic Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Harrisburg Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Central Catholic comes in on 12 and Harrisburg on 13.
Central Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Everything went their way against State College as they made off with a 42-21 win. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Little Lions are ranked 29th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Aiden Nasiadka
| 11/21/25 @ State College | 138 |
| 10/03/25 @ Shaler Area | 78 |
| 11/07/25 vs Canon-McMillan | 72 |
| 09/12/25 @ Mt. Lebanon | 69 |
| 10/17/25 @ Seneca Valley | 52 |
Central Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Chrys Black Jr, who rushed for 107 yards and one TD on only 14 carries, and also caught one touchdown. Aiden Nasiadka did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 138 receiving yards.
Central York typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Harrisburg proved too difficult a challenge. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 38-10 victory over the Panthers. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Cougars had established a 22-point advantage.
Central Catholic better keep an eye on Messiah Mickens. He was instrumental in Harrisburg's win, rushing for 228 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 11.4 yards per carry. What's more, Mickens posted two rushing touchdowns, the most he's had since back in August. The team also got some help courtesy of Mikal Shank Jr, who threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Harrisburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 353 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Harrisburg's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB three times. Mickens refused to say out of the backfield, picking up 1.5 sacks all by himself.
Central Catholic's record now sits at 12-1. As for Harrisburg, their record is now 13-0.
Saturday's game might be decided on the ground. Central Catholic has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 173.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Harrisburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 190.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Central Catholic didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Harrisburg in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, but they still walked away with a 38-33 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
