Victorious Vikings bring home title
Central Catholic basketball player Tyson Thomas, who hit the game-winning shot in the PIAA Class 4A boys basketball championship game March 25, shares the trophy with teammates Tuesday at the high school in Allentown. The school held a Mass and a ceremony at Rockne Hall to celebrate the Vikings’ state championship team.
Tuesday was the first day all Central Catholic High School students were allowed to be back together inside the building in more than a year due to the pandemic.
It was the perfect time for everyone to gather because there’s no better way to bring people together than to celebrate something special.
Central Catholic did just that with a mass and special ceremony honoring the school’s recently crowned PIAA Class 4A boys basketball champions.
It came just 12 days after the Vikings beat Hickory 41-40 in a championship game thriller at Hershey’s Giant Center to end a 35-year state title drought for Lehigh Valley boys basketball teams.
The ceremony unfolded inside Rockne Hall where the team’s golden ride began in November, and it was able to persevere through the ups and downs of a 20-4 season that was often overshadowed by COVID-19. CCHS students, often called either Viking Nation or the Rockne Rowdies, were not allowed to attend games until the district finals at PPL Center and then later the state finals in Hershey.
Principal Randy Rice said it has been a confusing time with all the changes prompted by the pandemic, but seeing “Viking Nation” together again was a reassuring sight and made it seem as though all was right in the world again.
He also added praise for the team and quoted Rocky Balboa, the fictional fighter from Philadelphia portrayed by Sylvester Stallone in numerous movies, saying: “It’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Well, this team kept moving forward into Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Hershey and brought this back for us.”
Longtime CCHS teacher and historian John Rosenberger, who has been connected to the school in almost every way possible since he was a Vikings student in the 1970s, told the players that they did something special that meant so much to so many.
“We’ve been incredibly blessed at Central Catholic in terms of all the state championship teams we’ve had and I am especially blessed because I have been able to see most of them,” he said. “This is not just some nice little championship you won during the COVID year of absolute depression. You are a part of something much larger. Central Catholic has been blessed, and you can’t take it for granted.
“Thirty-five years from now, you’re going to hopefully hear that Central Catholic has won again,” Rosenberger added. “And when that happens you will
think back to that night when you were all jumping over the wall at the hockey arena and joining the student body in celebrating a state championship victory and having a tremendous time.”
Even though nearly two weeks had passed, emotions were still running high.
Central Catholic coach and athletic director Dennis Csensits got choked up when it was his turn to speak and he talked about how special the 14 players and six coaches were to him and how special a 10-night run it was.
“An accomplishment of this magnitude doesn’t occur without contributions from the entire community,” he said.
“And we have an incredibly strong community here a Central Catholic. A parent once told me that he thought we pump something into the air, our ventilation system, here at Central that creates a special school spirit. I don’t know how it happens, but Viking Nation is something very special.”
The basketball team was also special. In the PIAA tournament, Central had to beat four teams, all district champs, and had just two days in between games. The Vikings trailed at some point in each contest and won the four games by a combined total of 11 points.
They had to overcome a two-point second quarter against Pope John Paul II in the state opener at Rockne Hall and then had to beat both Archbishop Carroll and Middletown on their home floors. Against Carroll, CCHS had to rally from a 17-point deficit in the second half.
Against Hickory in the last game, Central squandered a 19-point lead, but kept its composure and regained the lead on a final shot by Tyson Thomas, who was 0-for-13 from the field at that point.
The four games had enough plot twists to make an almost unbelievable Hollywood film, and ultimately, it had a happy ending that won’t soon be forgotten.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Thomas said.
“It has been surreal. It has been a while since we won it, and I still don’t think it has set in yet. A lot of guys even from rival teams have reached out and said congratulations. Everybody around Allentown has been so supportive; it’s like one big family.”
That family will have a day in its honor on Wednesday.
Allentown Mayor Ray O’Connell, a former Whitehall player who has been a big high school basketball fan his entire life, read a proclamation making April 7 “Allentown Central Catholic Boys Basketball Team Appreciation Day” in the city.
“This championship was very exciting and meant a lot to our city and all of Lehigh County,” he said. “It brought us all together.”