Vikings rally to topple Ramblers

Erie powerhouse’s 28-game win streak ends in wild opener

A late field goal by Central Catholic sealed a 24-21, season-opening win against Cathedral Prep Friday night, snapping a 28game game winning streak for the Ramblers from Erie in the inaugural Western Pennsylvania vs. Everyone Showcase.

Cathedral Prep got on the board first, and in exciting fashion. Facingthird-and-10 at the 43, running back Jaheim Howard found a gap and broke free alongside the right sideline, breaking a tackle en route to a 55yard touchdown.

An extra point by kicker Colin Kelly made it a 7-0 advantage with 5:28 to go in the first quarter.

With less than seven minutes to go in the second period, Cathedral Prep quarterback Regan Schleicher missed an end-zone shot to wide receiver Ervin Williams from the 8. Cathedral Prep’s offense, however, was called for holding, leading to a 10-yard penalty and a replay. Schleicher took advantage, rushing 13 yards to the 3 and setting up a field-goal opportunity for kicker Colin Kelly. Kelly nailed the 22-yard attempt, stretching Cathedral Prep’s lead to 10-0

From that point, Central Catholic was in control.

Facing third-and-20 at their 45, Vikings quarterback Dom Pieto completed a 55-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gavin Thomas. With the extra point, that cut the deficit to 10-7 with 3:33 to play before halftime.

It was enough time for the Ramblers to put together a nine-play, 45-yard drive setting up a field goal for Kelly to expand the lead to 13-3, but Central Catholic was in command for most of the second half.

The Vikings took the lead for good at the 2:39 mark of the third quarter after a 10 play, 66-yard drive ended with a 4-yard touchdown catch by tight end A.J. Beatty, who had to reach around a Cathedral Prep defender to make the catch.

The Ramblers’ next drive lasted just three plays, as Thomas picked off a Schleicher pass and returned it to the 39 to give the Vikings good field position and a chance to put the game further out of reach.

Central Catholic expanded its lead to 2113 on the following drive, using a 10-play, 39yard drive to set up a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down by Visawn Pennix. The Vikings sealed the win with a late, 25-yard field goal to stretch their run to 21-3 and expand their lead to 11 with less than two minutes to play.

The Vikings’ final drive was saved from disaster when quarterback Pieto nearly lost the ball on third-and-9, falling on it to gain 1 yard and set up John Opalko’s game-clinching kick.

Cathedral Prep set up a comeback opportunity when Schleicher completed a 24-yard touchdown to quarterback Skyler Neely, and followed that with a 2-yard conversion to wide receiver Jack Oedekoven to slash the deficit to three with about 25 seconds to play.

But Central Catholic recovered the onside kick to seal the win and snap Cathedral Prep’s 28-game winning streak.