Narrative
Pittsburgh Central Catholic had long been a sleeping giant. The downtown, Christian Brothers school, located near the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, was one of the only private institutions in the WPIAL and had the cache of producing Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, who led PCC to their first WPIAL final in 1978. But the Vikings meandered following Marino’s tenure, going 38-43-13 from the end of Marino’s career to the start of state playoffs in 1988. The ‘88 squad was the ultimate historical anomaly, sneaking in to the WPIAL playoffs as the #8 seed, then making a Cinderella run to the final, losing, but advancing to the state playoff when the champion turned down the invitation, then going on to win the inaugural state title. Things returned to mediocrity following the state championship and only qualified for the WPIAL playoffs once from 1989-1997. Enter Art Walker, Jr.
Walker took over as the Viking’s head coach in 1998, following three straight losing seasons. Walker was just 29 years old, but learned at the feet of his father, Art Sr., who won six WPIAL titles at Mount Lebanon and Shady Side Academy. The younger Walker was an intense, fire breathing head coach, whom the Vikings plucked from his offensive coordinator position at West Allegheny. After going 4-6 first two seasons, Walker guided PCC to an 8-3 year in 2000 and their first playoff win since the 1988 state champs. By 2003, his fifth year on the sidelines, Walker had PCC in the state finals.
That ‘03 team seemed to arrive a year early. They were no doubt talented, but featured a myriad of sophomores and juniors, and were one of the least experienced teams to make a state final. So when camp broke in 2004, the Vikings were heavy favorites to return to Hershey as they were both talented and had big game experience. The headliner was returning WPIAL Player of the Year Eugene Jarvis, a tiny (5’5) but electric tailback, who set a school record with 39 touchdowns as a junior. Quarterback Shane Murray was also back after throwing for over 1,200 yards and running for nearly 600 as a junior, and leading the team in interceptions from his safety spot. Jarvis would run behind returning lineman Jon Herman and Patrick Byrne, plus tight end John Pelusi. Defensively, seven starters were back, led by Pelusi and Graham Rihn at defensive end, Murray and cornerback Tony Colaizzi in the secondary, and budding superstar middle linebacker Nathan Williams, who had a 100 tackle sophomore season. They also had a much ballyhooed sophomore prepared to break into the lineup in Stefan Wisniewski, son of former Penn State and Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Leo Wisniewski, who was on staff as the defensive line coach.
The schedule presented a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous challenge. The preseason AP poll had five WPIAL teams in the top ten, with the #1 Vikings joined by #3 Gateway, #5 Penn Hills, #8 Upper St. Clair, and #10 Woodland Hills. Four of those teams appeared on PCC’s regular season schedule, with Upper St. Clair lurking as a playoff opponent. The Vikings also were participating in the inaugural Pennsylvania Kickoff Classic, where they had the opportunity to break St. Joseph Prep’s 35 game winning streak. The Vikings were certainly expected to be good, but they would have to earn it.
The season started with a bang. In the premier opener in the state, Pittsburgh Central Catholic took on Gateway and all world running back Justin King. King ran for 1,763 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior, and was a consensus five star recruit, who Rivals had rated as the 8th best senior in the country. The game was billed as a dual between King and Jarvis, who were two of the best running backs in the state.
King did not disappoint in the first half. He slashed his way to a 152 yards on 15 carries, capped by a 60 yard touchdown run in the final thirty seconds to put the Gators up 20-13 at the break. It was King’s second touchdown of the day, and answered a 34 yard strike from Murray to Tony Colaizzi to retake the lead. But it was a brutally hot and humid August night, and King had to be hooked up to an IV at halftime to get fluids. The Gator star had to sit out virtually the entire second half, and the Vikings defense took over. PCC took the second half kickoff, then marched 73 yards in six plays, with Jarvis shimmying in from 9 yards to put the Vikings up 21-20. Two drives later, Gateway fumbled a snap and Murray tossed his second touchdown pass of the day to account for the 28-20 final margin. Jarvis ran for 164 yards on 19 carries, while Gateway only had three first downs in the second half. The Gators only crossed midfield once in the second half, after King returned for their final drive, and were clearly not an offensive threat without him. Much was made after the game of Gateway being the better team, and the Gators even moved up the state polls, jumping #2 North Penn, following the loss.
Week two did not get much easier. It was the first year of the Pennsylvania Kickoff Classic, a three game event played at Gateway, highlighted by Pittsburgh Central Catholic and St. Joseph’s Prep. Prep was ranked #9 in the country and riding a 35 game winning streak, the longest active streak in Pennsylvania. In 2003, Prep finished #3 in the country, and had built a case that it was superior to 4A state champ North Penn, who beat PCC in the state final. The Hawks were led by running back John Shaw, who ran for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore in 2003 and Notre Dame bound wide receiver/linebacker Steve Quinn. This was the first matchup ever between schools from the WPIAL and the Philly Catholic League.
The Vikings struck first, on a Matt Wilson 35 field goal on their opening drive. After forcing a three and out, PCC went back on the attack, with Murray picking apart the vaunted Hawks defense, then scrambling for a 5 yard touchdown to go up 10-0. After the teams traded punts, Murray went over the top on play action and hit wideout Charlie Totten for a 42 yard touchdown to go up 17-0 at halftime. The onslaught shocked the crowd, particularly the PCC defense, which yielded only three first downs in the first half. But Prep looked like they righted the ship when PCC fumbled on their first play of the second half, and SJP connected on a 30 yard touchdown pass to Quinn on the next play. The Hawks really were in business when they forced a PCC three and out and had a chance to take possession and cut it to a one score game. But a penalty on the punt gave the Vikings and automatic first down and extended the drive. Seven plays later, Murray found Dion Germany for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Eugene Jarvis popped a 75 yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 31-7. After yet another Prep three and out, Jarvis capped a long drive with his second touchdown of the day. Prep added a late 40 yard TD pass, but the damage was done. In the 38-12 win, Pittsburgh Central Catholic held St. Joseph’s Prep to 83 rushing yards on 26 carries - limiting eventual 1,737 yard running back John Shaw to 71 yards. Prep did not give up more than 21 points during their entire 35 game winning streak before, and the 38 points were the highest total yielded by Prep since the 1999 season opener. Shane Murray was the star of the show, throwing for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns, rushing for 53 yards, and intercepting two passes on defense. Jarvis was largely contained outside of the 75 yard run, but still finished with 119 yards and a pair of scores. The message was sent, Pittsburgh Central Catholic was a force to be reckoned with.
The Vikings started division play strong, with Jarvis rushing for a school record 343 yards and 5 TDs in a 49-15 win over Penn-Trafford, then “only” running for 187 yards in a monsoon soaked 27-6 win over Connellsville. Those wins set up an undefeated showdown with Penn Hills. The Indians were ranked #4 in the state by the Associated Press and had moved up to #2 in the WPIAL following an impressive first half of the season. The Indians were led by future NFL safety Barry Church on a fast and aggressive defense and presented yet another mega talented running back in Ed Collington.
Collington showed his stuff on the first play of the game, making one cut, breaking a tackle, and racing 72 yards for a touchdown. But PCC’s offense answered right back, with a four play drive, ending with Murray connecting with Tony Colaizzi for a 34 yard touchdown. Colaizzi intercepted a pass on the following series, and Murray capped a 69 yard drive with a 19 yard touchdown scramble. However, the Vikings missed both extra points, and Collington scored an 18 yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to put Penn Hills up 14-12. But on the next play, Murray hit Charlie Totten for a 61 yard touchdown to retake the lead. Late in the second quarter, appeared for a moment as though Penn Hills would get back in the game, when Collington caught a screen for a 71 yard touchdown. But a flag on the play for an ineligible receiver downfield forced the Indians to punt, and three plays later Jarvis ripped off a 38 yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 26-14 at halftime. In the second half, Jarvis scored after a blocked punt, and caught a fourth quarter TD pass to put the Vikings firmly ahead, with Penn Hills scoring a touchdown against the reserves in the final minutes for a 39-24 final score. Collington stole the show for Penn Hills, rushing for 238 yards and two scores, but he could not overcome the stars from PCC. Shane Murray threw for a career high 231 yards, and Jarvis ran for 170 in the win - their third win in five weeks over a top five team in the state. The following week, Jarvis ran for 106 yards and 3 TDs in a 41-10 blowout of Hempfield.
The drama of week 7 came during practice. Eugene Jarvis pulled a hamstring and was not in uniform for their contest with Woodland Hills. The Wolverines were not performing to their preseason top 10 expectations, but still had future NFL players Darrin Walls and Terrence Johnson, and were talented enough to beat anybody. And the Vikings came out flat, which opened the door for Woodland Hills. Walls got things going quickly with a 63 yard touchdown run on the opening drive. Late in the first quarter, Murray threw a pick, which Jon Edwell returned for a touchdown to put the Wolverines up 14-0 at the end of the first period. The Vikings also lost wideout Charlie Totten on the first drive, and were clearly scrambling. In the second quarter, Walker made a strategic change, plugging junior middle linebacker Nate Williams in at tailback. Williams played running back on junior varsity as a freshman, but broke the varsity lineup at linebacker as a sophomore, and had not carried the football since. The rest of the game was PCC playing grind it out, three yards and a cloud of dust football on offense, and absolutely suffocating Woodland Hills on defense. Williams scored a second quarter touchdown to cut the lead in half, then scored early in the third to tie the game. With 3:55 left in the game, and the score tied at 14, Williams busted an off tackle run for a 43 yard touchdown to win the game. He finished with 23 carries for 150 yards and three touchdowns, most of his yards churned up behind the excellent Vikings offensive line. And the defense completely shifted the tone of the game, with Woodland Hills only gaining 57 yards after the Walls touchdown and turning the ball over three times.
Jarvis sat out again the following week, where PCC shut out Norwin in a rain soaked game, where they held Norwin to negative 27 yards rushing, while Williams scored a pair of TDs and Murray threw for 140 yards. Strangely, The Vikings had major struggles in the final week of the regular season with Baldwin, Walker’s alma mater. The Vikings went up 10-0 in the first half, and welcomed Charlie Totten back to the lineup with a touchdown. But Jarvis was clearly limited by his hamstring issues, and the offense couldn’t put Baldwin away. Baldwin pulled within 10-7 in the fourth quarter, but Murray led a sustained scoring drive, picking apart the secondary and hitting Totten for his second touchdown of the day to clinch the game at 16-7. Baldwin scored in the final minute to cut it close, but PCC held on for a 16-14 win and an undefeated regular season.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic finished the regular season ranked #1 in the state by the AP. Most impressively, the WPIAL had four of the top five teams, with Gateway at #2, Penn Hills at #4, and Upper St. Clair at #5. They would be the top four seeds in the WPIAL tournament. District 11 was represented in the top of the rankings by #3 Easton, who finished the regular season undefeated, including a marquee win over #6 Liberty. District 1 contenders North Penn, Neshaminy, and Pennridge came in at 7, 8, and 9, while District 3 favorite Central Dauphin was ranked 10th in the final poll. In a new wrinkle, the Philadelphia Public League had been added to the PIAA as District 12, and would be matched up with District 11 in the state quarterfinals. This shifted District 3 to the “western” part of the bracket, meaning Central Dauphin, Bishop McDevitt or whomever the D3 champ would be would hit the WPIAL winner in the state semifinals.
The opening round of the WPIAL playoffs were a mere formality, with Jarvis sitting out a 47-0 win over Kiski Area. There was a hangover effect to the quarterfinals, where PCC struggled mightily in the first quarter against Bethel Park, who outgained the Vikings 50-9, but somehow trailed 7-0 at the end of the first period. Tony Colaizzi shifted momentum in the second quarter with a 72 yard punt return for a TD, and Jarvis poured it on with two more second quarter rushing touchdowns to put the Vikings up 28-0 at halftime. On the second play of the second half, Charlie Totten beat the Bethel Park secondary for a 57 yard touchdown catch which put the mercy rule in effect. Bethel Park ran all over the PCC backups in the fourth quarter and scored a 52 yard TD in the waning minutes, but the Vikings punched their ticket to a loaded WPIAL final four with Upper St. Clair, Gateway, and Penn Hills.
Top seeded Pittsburgh Central Catholic drew fourth seeded Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL semi. Jim Render’s Panthers were led by running back/linebacker Sean Lee, who Render noted was the most heavily recruited player in his tenure at Upper St. Clair. Lee came in to the game with 1,165 yards rushing, including a 197 yard, four touchdown effort in the quarterfinal round against McKeesport (a young team whose core would win the 2005 4A title).
On the first drive of the game, Pittsburgh Central Catholic faced a third and long, and ran a surprise draw play to a seemingly healthy Eugene Jarvis, who burst 60 yards for a touchdown and an early 6-0 lead. Lee put the Panthers ahead at the end of the first quarter on special teams, with a 76 yard punt return for a touchdown. Late the second quarter, Jarvis fumbled at the USC 43. Lee carried the ball inside the 30 on their first play, then facing a fourth an inches, he picked up 12 yards to put the Panthers in the red zone. Two more carries rumbled the ball down to the four, and quarterback Josh Helmrich threw a touchdown on a bootleg play where the defense crashed on Lee. The score came with just 18 seconds left in the half and put USC up 12-6 at the break. The second half was a championship effort from PCC. On the opening drive, the Vikings ran 17 plays, officially totaling 57 yards, but they overcame thirty yards worth of penalties in the drive. Murray hit Jarvis with a 4 yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 13-12. The defense immediately forced a three and out, and the offense went on another long drive, and was able to pin USC deep in their own territory on a punt. On the Panther possession, Shane Murray intercepted a pass at the 20, and Jarvis scored on the next play to seal a 20-12 win. The defense held Lee to 91 yards rushing, while Jarvis totaled 212 yards on 31 carries. In the other semifinal, Justin King played the hero, carrying six times for 69 yards on their final drive, including a 32 yard touchdown with 1:34 left to help the Gators escape with a 10-7 victory over Penn Hills.
After twelve weeks, we were right back where we started in the WPIAL. Terry Smith predicted after the opening week loss to PCC that Gateway would see them again at Heinz Field and he was absolutely right. The game would test the theory that the Gators would have won the opening week showdown had Justin King stayed healthy. King had every bit the year anticipated, rushing for 1,796 yards and 33 touchdowns headed in to the final. That Monday, King committed to Penn State over Ohio State, Michigan, and Florida (eschewing the favored Gators after they fired Ron Zook). They hype extended beyond just western Pennsylvania. The Vikings and Gators were ranked 1 and 2 in the state, and the USA Today had them ranked 8th and 20th nationally. The WPIAL final was named the National High School Game of the Week by the paper and was billed as a running back showdown between King and Jarvis, who merely had 1,455 yards despite missing three games with the hamstring injury.
Despite the running back hype, the first quarter was a slugfest, with both defenses looking fast and physical in a 0-0 game. Pittsburgh Central Catholic got things going a little in the second quarter, opening up the passing game and driving all the way to the Gateway 26, but got stuffed on fourth down near the end of the half. But Gateway tried to go into a two minute offense, which spelled disaster when linebacker Julius Hopson picked off a pass at the 40 and returned it to the 25 with 1:22 left in the half. Shane Murray completed a pair of passes following the pick, a 19 yard strike to Charlie Totten and a 6 yard touchdown to Tony Colaizzi, giving the Vikings a 7-0 lead and all the momentum at the break. PCC had the lone score, but had moved the ball in the first half, while Gateway only mustered two first downs and King was a total nonfactor.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, getting Jarvis going on runs between the tackles. After a big pickup positioned the Vikings inside the 10, Jarvis coughed the ball up before he could give PCC a two score lead. Gateway matched their first down total from the first half on the next drive, but was forced to punt. On the final play of the third quarter, Jarvis took a pitch and cut upfield for a 76 yard touchdown run. It looked as though Gateway would answer, as the Gators crossed midfield for the first time all day, but Nate Williams stuffed King on a fourth and one from the 31 to give the ball back to the Vikings. Jarvis capped the ensuing drive with a 17 yard touchdown run and the game was effectively over. PCC added one more score after a Tony Colaizzi interception in the waning minutes of the game. Jarvis grabbed the headlines, setting a WPIAL championship game record with 221 rushing yards, 155 coming after halftime. But the real star was the Viking defense. Art Walker noted that his team was “sick of hearing that they would have lost if King was healthy in the second half” and that they felt totally disrespected by Gateway and the media. They responded by clamping down, holding the Gators to 141 yards of total offense in the first shutout in a WPIAL final in any classification since 1990. They held King to 93 yards on 25 carries, the only time all season King did not break the 100 yard mark. It was a far cry from the season opener and the Vikings left no doubt as to who the best team in the toughest league in the state was in 2004.
The rest of the weekend featured a slew of classics. In the District 1, Neshaminy erased a 17 point second half deficit against Coatesville, scoring in the final minutes to escape with a 23-20 win. In the other semifinal, defending state champion North Penn won a thriller against Pennridge in a match up of top 10 opponents. After the Rams scored with 1:39 left to tie the game, Brandon Turner returned the kickoff out past midfield and Adam Hearns completed two huge passes to set up a 32 yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining to keep the Knights title defense alive in a 24-21 win, and avenged a regular season loss to Pennridge. This set up a highly anticipated District 1 final between Neshaminy and North Penn, who met during the regular season and North Penn won a 31-30 overtime game.
In District 11, two top six teams in the state met in the ultimate defensive slugfest, with Easton beating Liberty 14-7 on the strength of a blocked punt and fumble recovery for touchdowns. The Rovers only gained 47 yards of total offense, but forced five turnovers in their second victory of the year over the otherwise unbeaten Hurricanes. And for the first time in PIAA history, the Philly Public League participated in state playoffs, with George Washington advancing with a 30-12 win over Northeast on the strength of a 153 yard effort from quarterback Chuck Hughes after star tailback Jerry Butler went down with a knee injury.
Out west, Bishop McDevitt upset top seeded Central Dauphin in the District 3 tournament, 36-34, on the strength of a D3 playoff record 387 yards by junior running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy also had 127 yards receiving in the win. McDevitt would meet Carlisle in the D3 finals, who blew out Wilson West Lawn, 40-12 to punch their first ticket to the D3 final.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s quarterfinal opponent was Erie McDowell, winner of the D6/8/10 subregional. McDowell blew out D8 champion Brashear, 47-21, and got a school record 350 rushing yards from Justin Hammond and another 150 from Jayshon White. McDowell had one of the most potent rushing attacks in the state, with Hammond and White combining for over 2,700 yards on the season. It was the third week in a row that the Vikings would face an elite rushing offense.
After a 12 play scoring drive to open the game, the five Pittsburgh Central Catholic offensive linemen came sprinting to the sideline yelling that “we can run on these guys.” Erie McDowell head coach John Cacchione noted that “their line blocks people longer than any group I have seen in my career” and that “we’ve played some good teams in my 21 years, I’ve never coached against a line like that.” The Vikings pummeled Erie McDowell offensively and defensively for the rest of the game. Eugene Jarvis went over 4,000 yards for his career with a 22 carry, 230 yard performance and he found the end zone four times. Meanwhile, Hammond followed up his record setting week with negative one yard. Jayson White was held under 100 yards for the first time all year, and McDowell finished the game with just 148 yards of total offense. Tony Colaizzi picked off three passes, all of which set up PCC touchdowns. The 44-3 win was the biggest margin ever in the state playoffs by a WPIAL team. The Vikings were headed back to the western final.
In the eastern quarters, Neshaminy ran wild against North Penn, knocking out the defending champs in a 51-34 shootout. They took advantage of North Penn missing eight starters due to the resolution of a court case from an offseason brawl. Georg Coleman dominated the short handed North Penn defense, rushing for 280 yards and five touchdowns. Their eastern final opponent would be the Easton Red Rovers, a 15-10 winner over George Washington, two days after a 31-0 drubbing of undefeated New Jersey sectional champ Phillipsburg. The Rovers pulled out the win over GW, with senior Ovid Goulbourne and freshman Jarred Holley combining for 269 yards, including a six play, 61 yard touchdown drive to win the game after George Washington took a 10-9 lead with 5:30 to go.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Final Four opponent was Bishop McDevittt, a 48-28 winner over Carlisle in the District 3 championship game. LeSean McCoy continued his record setting playoff run with 346 yards and seven touchdowns against the Herd, giving Bishop McDevitt their first D3 title in 4A. Despite a 10-2 record, McDevitt was absolutely loaded. McCoy set the PIAA sophomore rushing record in 2003, and followed that up with a monster junior season. Going in to the western final, McCoy had rushed for 2,779 yards and 34 touchdowns. He hit his stride at the end of the year, with 1,715 yards and 23 touchdowns in the five games leading up to the match up with Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Walker noted that as good as Justin King is, McCoy is clearly the better and more versatile running back. Blocking for McCoy was an offensive line that went 280-305-270-325-340 across with no shorter than 6’3, and included Division I recruits Jason Kates (Michigan) and Tucker Baumbach (Syracuse). To keep defenses honest, they also had Division I recruit and future NFL defensive back Aaron Berry at wide receiver and four star and top 100 junior quarterback Jeremy Ricker to throw him the football.
There was no doubt Bishop McDevitt was loaded, and the result was jaw dropping. Pittsburgh Central Catholic broke their own record for margin of victory by a WPIAL team in a state playoff game with a 44-0 execution of Bishop McDevitt. After the game, LeSean McCoy commented that “I’ve never seen a defense like that and I’ve never been hit like that in my whole life.” While McDevitt had monster size on the offensive line, they were thoroughly dominated up front by Graham Rihn, Pat Byrne, Stefan Wisniewski, and John Pelusi, who blew up the line of scrimmage all day. McDevitt head coach Jeff Weachter noted that whatever PCC defensive coordinator Terry Totten was getting paid, “it’s not enough.” McCoy followed up his 300+ yard efforts with 26 carries for 39 yards and he was held out of the end zone for the first time all year. Jeremy Ricker was sacked for a safety by budding superstar sophomore Wisniewski on the opening drive of the game, and things devolved from there. Shane Murray followed the safety with a 31 yard TD pass to Charlie Totten and the rout was on. Jarvis scored three times in the first half, and Tony Colaizzi added a 65 yard pick six to give the VIkings a 38-0 halftime lead. PCC held McDevitt to just 79 yards of total offense and six first downs in the shutout.
Their state final opponent was Neshaminy, back to Hershey for the second time in four years. The Redskins survived a bizarre 21-14 game with Easton when Andrew Flogel hit Georg Coleman for a 24 yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left. Easton hit on a 58 yard pass play and had the ball in the red zone in the final seconds, but their tight end dropped what could have been the tying touchdown on third down with eight seconds left, and a desperation heave was intercepted at the goal line on the game’s final play. Georg Coleman ran for 158 yards and the Redskins did not punt in the game, but turned the ball over four times and missed three field goals to allow the Red Rovers to hang around.
Neshaminy was 13-1 on the season, only suffering a one point loss to North Penn, which they avenged in the District 1 final. Mark Schmidt’s team was junior heavy, but was led by All State running back and Temple commit Georg Coleman. Coleman cracked the 2,000 yard mark against Easton, and entered the state title game with 2,004 yards and 28 touchdowns on the year. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Flogel had also rushed for over 600 yards. Kicker Kevin Kelly was a Penn State commit and a major weapon. Neshaminy was unsung on defense, and gave up more than 25 points per game on their run to the final. Still, in the Philly Inquirer preview, St. Joseph’s Prep coach Gil Brooks noted that he thought Pittsburgh Central Catholic was about as good as Cardinal O’Hara and was prime for an upset by Neshaminy. This found its way on to the Viking bulletin board, which was not appreciated by Mark Schmidt.
The first half was one of the great annihilations in state finals history. Pittsburgh Central Catholic scored on their first five possessions and outgained the Redskins 239-9 in the first half. Neshaminy did gain a first down when PCC jumped offsides with 1 minute left in the first half, but otherwise could get less than nothing going offensively. Coleman was limited to 13 yards on 11 attempts in the first half, with PCC’s defenders usually hitting him at or behind the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, Eugue Jarvis scored three times in the first half and Shane Murray threw and ran for a touchdown as the Vikings went up 35-0 at halftime. They kept their starters in for the third quarter, as Jarvis scored two more times to tie the state finals record with five touchdowns. He finished with 192 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving on the night. Pittsburgh Central Catholic finally took their first team defense out of the game with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. To that point, Neshaminy had one total yard of offense. Neshaminy finally crossed midfield with 10:26 left in the game, and Coleman responded with a 151 yard fourth quarter and a 67 yard touchdown, but at that point, the coronation had long been official. Pittsburgh Central Catholic was the 2004 4A state champion, becoming the second program to win multiple titles and the first WPIAL team since 1995 to take home the big school trophy.
In their playoff run, Pittsburgh Central Catholic outscored their opponents 267-36. On their run to the title, they dominated two different 2,000 yard rushers, a 2,700 yard duo, and three future NFL players. The destruction of LeSean McCoy was legendary but the successive bottling of Lee, King, White and Hammond, McCoy, and Coleman is one of the great defensive runs in PIAA playoff history. Eight of the Viking’s defensive starters played FBS or FCS football, and ten of the eleven starters played at the next level. Seven of Viking defenders earned All State honors from at least one publication.
The postseason honors were plentiful. The Vikings set a record with five selections on the Associated Press’s first team - tight end John Pelusi, center Jon Herman, running back Eugene Jarvis, linebacker Nate Williams, and safety Shane Murray. Cornerback Tony Colaizzi earned second team honors, as the Vikings tied 1995 Penn Hills’s record with six overall selections to the AP All State team. A staggering twelve Vikings were named to the PA Football News teams, with Herman (center), Jarvis (running back), Pelusi (tight end), Colaizzi (cornerback), Murray (safety), Williams (linebacker), and Graham Rihn (defensive end) on their first team, Patrick Byrne (offensive guard), Charlie Totten (wide receiver) on the second team, while Stefan Wisniewski (defensive tackle), Julius Hopson (linebacker) and Pat Illig (offensive tackle) earned honorable mention honors. Jarvis earned his second straight WPIAL Player of the Year honor, but lost out to LeSean McCoy for State Player of the Year. He finished his career as PCC’s all time leading rusher and was third in WPIAL history. Murray, Pelusi, and Graham Rihn were all selected to play in the Big 33 game. Head coach Art Walker was named AP Coach of the Year for the second straight season. The USA Today ranked the Vikings #6 in the country at the end of the year.
Despite his size, Eugene Jarvis earned an FBS scholarship to Kent State. After a productive redshirt freshman year, Jarvis blew up as a sophomore, rushing for 1,669 yards, good for fifth in the country, and earning All MAC andhonorable mention All American honors. He was an All MAC pick again as a junior, despite battling ankle injuries. But his career and NFL hopes were cut short when he suffered a lacerated kidney as a senior. Shane Murray also had a promising career cut short by injury. Murray signed with Pitt, where he played safety as a freshman, then bulked up to outside linebacker as a sophomore. He finished the year Pitt’s third leading tackler and led the Big East in forced fumbles. However, a series of knee injuries effectively ended his career.
Stefan Wisniewski was a budding star in 2004 and became a bona fide superstar. He earned All State honors in 2005 and 2006 and continued the family legacy by signing with Penn State. He was a two-time All Big Ten pick for the Nittany Lions, and earned consensus All American honors as a senior. The Oakland Raiders drafted him in the second round of the NFL draft. Wisniewski has been a seven year starter at guard and center for the Raiders, Jaguars, and Eagles, and won a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles in 2018.
Wisniewski was not the only member of the ‘04 Vikings to earn an NFL shot. Offensive tackle Pat Illig initially decided against college football, passing up MAC offers to go to Penn State as a student. But after missing the game, he transferred to FCS power Wofford, where he immediately slotted in at guard. He was a two-time all conference pick for the Terriers, earning SoCon Offensive Lineman of the Year honors as a senior and was named to a handful of All American teams. Illig signed with the Detroit Lions, but was cut during the preseason.
Nate Williams earned All State honors in 2005 and set Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s career tackles record with 277. He signed with Northwestern, where he was a three year starter and All Big Ten linebacker for the Wildcats. John Pelusi also had a notable FBS career, starting for two years at tight end for Pitt. Graham Rihn was a captain and All Ivy League defensive end/outside linebacker at Cornell. Julius Hopson was a four year starter and team captain at Bucknell. Bobby Helt started at Georgetown as a sophomore before an injury ended his career. Tony Colaizzi played football at Duquesne, then returned to join the staff at Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
Art Walker Jr.’s shocked the Pennsylvania football world when he left Pittsburgh Central Catholic a month after winning the state title. On January 20th, Walker was announced as the new head coach at North Allegheny, succeeding the legendary Jim Rankin (see 1990 North Allegheny entry). Walker was hired as an English teacher in the North Allegheny school district and expressed a desire to coach where he was teaching. It didn’t hurt that North Allegheny was one of the top jobs in the WPIAL. Walker finished his Pittsburgh Central Catholic career with a record of 61-23 in seven seasons, capped by a 54-10 run with two state finals and a championship in his final five seasons. At North Allegheny, Walker has continued his wild success, winning state titles in 2010 and 2012, making him the only head coach to win state titles at multiple schools. As of last season, Walker had a career record of 197-57 with eleven WPIAL finals, five titles, four state finals, and two state titles in 22 years as a head coach. He was succeeded at Pittsburgh Central Catholic by his defensive coordinator, Terry Totten, who this series will revisit in 2007 and 2015.
