NO. 3 NORTHWESTERN (7-1) VS. NO. 1 CENTRAL CATHOLIC (5-2)
When/where: 7:10 p.m. Thursday at Whitehall’s Zephyr Stadium.
Last district title: Northwestern won the last of its four championships in 2014. Central Catholic’s most recent of 11 crowns was in 2012. It was the Vikings’ fourth in a row, a stretch that included a state title run in 2010.
Howto watch/listen: Blue Ridge Cable TV-13; Service Electric TV-2; RCN; Penn Sports radio.
Previous meeting: Central Catholic overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to win 23-22 in the District 11 Class 4A semifinal on Nov. 10, 2019. Chris Matejcek’s 29-yard field goal with 18 seconds left was the difference and Northwestern was not granted a timeout with one second left after a 57-yard pass play to the Central Catholic 1 9.
Players to watch: (Northwestern) Justin Holmes caught a 57-yard pass in the waning seconds that figured to give the Tigers one last shot at winning last year’s district semifinal.
Now he’s the trigger man of coach Josh Snyder’s ever-evolving offense. Two of his main weapons, running back Nick Henry and receiver Justin Rodda are nursing injuries and would be less than 100% if they play at all. But this has been a next-man-up scenario all season. Cade Christopher, Taylor Wikert, Wyatt Ledeboer, Cody Hallock, Dalton Clymer and others have made the most of their opportunities to shine. (Central Catholic) Jayden Williams leads the EPC in rushing with 857 yards, 6.9 per carry. The Vikings also have the EPC’s No. 2 receiver in Jack McGorry (38 receptions for 540 yards) and the No. 4 passer in Matt Rauscher (875 yards). But the defense has been Central’s strength most of the season. It’s a unit led by the Johnson brothers, Leroy and Lavon, who have combined for 108 tackles, including 29 for loss and six sacks.
The skinny: This is another thriller if Northwestern is 100%. No team this time of year is 100%, but the Tigers not having two all area-caliber players contribute at that level is tough to overcome. Central Catholic dominated rival Bethlehem Catholic twice and handled District 11 5A champion Whitehall en route to the title game. This match-up has become one of the area’s best nonleague rivalries and the Vikings haven’t forgotten the 50-13 blowout loss they suffered at Northwestern in 2018 or how hard they had to fight to get back in last year’s game. CCHS is a senior-oriented team that has pointed to this season as proof Vikings football is back from the depths of 3-8 two years ago. They have heard about the Tigers injuries, but respect the Northwestern coaching staff and personnel and fully expect this one may take the full 48 minutes to get the gold.
Tom Housenick’s pick: Central Catholic 31-21
Keith Groller’s pick: Central Catholic 24-21