Narrative
The WPIAL was once again the focus of high school football in Pennsylvania for the 2007 season. In the preseason AP poll, the top three teams, and five of the top seven, hailed from District 7, led by unanimous number one Gateway. The Gators returned 18 starters, led by Rivals #1 inside linebacker in the country Shayne Hale, and were ranked #10 in the country by the USA Today.
Firmly at #2 were the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings. The seniors on the 2007 team were the freshman on the 2004 state champs, and while expectations had been incredibly high in their careers, the Vikings had not won another WPIAL title since the immortal ‘04 team. Head coach Terry Totten was starting to hear the grumbling that he was not his predecessor. But the Vikings were the favorites in the Foothills Division and were shaping up as one of the best teams in the state. They returned tons of impact talent from the 2006 group that was upset in the WPIAL semifinals after being the top seed in the tournament. The headliner was defensive end Quentin Williams, younger brother of Nate, who held offers from Oklahoma, Michigan State, and Stanford in the summer before his senior season. Tino Sunseri was also back after throwing for 1,408 yards and 14 TDs as a junior, and was looking to avenge an ugly game in the WPIAL semi. Sunseri made news that summer when he committed to Louisville. The defense was expected to be a strength again, as it always was with Totten at the controls, and impact players Dan Vaughan, Terrell Anderson, and Andrew Taglianetti were all back on that side of the ball.
The offense, however, had to overcome a serious injury bug that bit in the preseason. Sophomore running back Dom Timbers, expected to be the next great back in line for PCC, tore his ACL in their first scrimmage against McKeesport and was done for the year. Taglianetti and sophomore Jeff Knox would have to expand their responsibilities from just defense to carrying the ball. Junior two-way lineman Stephen Mitchell, also an FBS recruit, broke his foot in scrimmage number two with Perry and also was out for the year, and the Vikings did not have tons of depth along the offensive line.
The WPIAL was the strength of the state, with Gateway, PCC,#3 North Allegheny, #6 Upper St. Clair, and #7 Penn Hills all expected to compete for a ticket to Hershey. In the east, two-time returning state finalist Liberty lost state player of the year Dan Persa to graduation, but imported five star linebacker Brendon Beal to anchor the defense along with a plethora of talented sophomores and juniors. Easton, the only 4A team in eastern PA to beat Liberty since 2003 was ranked #5, while fellow D11 team Parkland, who spent most of 2006 at #1 in the state, was ranked 10th in the preseason. The other two teams in the AP poll were District 1 favorites North Penn at 8 and Downingtown West at 9.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic had another headline opener in 2007. They were traveling to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton for the Kirk Herbstreit Classic. The Vikings were slated to take on Northmont (OH) in the third year of the national event. Gateway was also slated to participate in the classic, taking on Ohio powerhouse Cardinal Mooney out of Youngstown. PCC trailed 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, but got a spark from a 68 yard TD pass by Sunseri, which opened the floodgates for 34 straight points. Sunseri finished the day with 122 yards and two touchdowns, while the Vikings used a running back by committee effort looking for a Timbers replacement. Meanwhile, Gateway dropped a 24-6 game to the eventual Ohio Division IV state champions.
Week two was another highlight non-conference match up, with the Vikings traveling to Erie to take on the Cathedral Prep Ramblers. It was a one score game at halftime, but the Viking offense took over in the third quarter, scoring on three consecutive drives to take a 42-14 lead. Sunseri threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns while running for one, and Quentin Williams, Andrew Taglianetti, Dan Vaughan, and Jeff Knox all scored touchdowns, showing the vast array of weapons at the Vikings’ disposal.
The rest of the regular season was a formality, with Pittsburgh Central Catholic only playing one game within 21 points. In week 5, the Vikings slaughtered Woodland Hills, giving the Wolverines the worst loss in program history, 45-7, led by a 198 yard, 3 TD performance from Sunseri. The only “close call” the Vikings had was a 28-20 win over Norwin, where PCC raced out to a 28-0 lead and pulled their starters, then Norwin scored three fourth quarter touchdowns, to account for the final margin.
PCC finished the regular season undefeated and ranked first in the state. Hot on their heels was their former head coach, as Art Walker had quickly turned around North Allegheny and had the Tigers unbeaten as well at the end of the regular season. Gateway had rolled through the Pennsylvania portion of their schedule and was #3, while McKeesport would be seeded fourth in the WPIAL tournament and was ranked #6 in the state. The other major undefeated was Parkland, who finished the regular season ranked 4th and were ready for a highly anticipated match up with #7 Liberty. George Chaump’s Harrisburg squad was ranked 8th and were the class of District 3, while D1 was looking at #5 CB South, #9 Ridley, and #10 Neshaminy ready to battle things out for a playoff spot in the east.
The first round of the WPIAL playoffs looked a lot like the regular season, with PCC crushing Plum 45-0. The Viking defense had a record setting day, with seven sacks (three from linebacker Terrell Anderson) as they held plum to a WPIAL record negative 44 yards rushing. The quarterfinals were a match up with Bethel Park, led by a huge offensive line and bruising tailback Lyle Marsh. But the Vikings scored three touchdowns in the first eleven minutes of the game and piled up 231 yards of offense in the first quarter. Sunseri set a WPIAL record with a 99 yard touchdown pass to Taglianetti near the end of the first half, and the star quarterback finished the day 13 of 15 for 220 yards and completed 11 passes in a row to start the game. Jeff Knox ran for 116 yards for good measure and the Vikings outgained Bethel Park 402-117.
The Bethel Park win put Pittsburgh Central Catholic into the WPIAL semifinals for the fifth consecutive season. Their opponent was McKeesport, who featured one of the best defenses in the WPIAL with FBS recruits Dana Brown, Nico Price, and Marvase Byrd tasked with stopping the Vikings offense. McKeesport was on a ten game winning streak after losing their opener to Gateway. Things started off as well as possible for the Vikings, as they marched right down the field for a touchdown, capped by a highlight reel scramble away from pressure by Sunseri, who found wideout Brian Friend (back for the playoffs after missing most of the regular season with an ankle injury) broken free in the end zone for a 22 yard TD. The Vikings forced a fumble from the Tiger wishbone on their first drive, and Sunseri threw a TD to Quentin Williams two plays later to give the Vikings an early two touchdown score. McKeesport seemed to get momentum back, driving 65 yards in 10 plays to cut the lead to 14-7 in the second quarter. But one man highlight show Andrew Taglianetti ripped off an 83 yard touchdown run on the Vikings first play of the next drive to reassert command in the game and the Vikings never looked back in the 24-13 win. THe defense forced five McKeesport fumbles, including two in PCC territory in the fourth quarter that sealed the game. Taglianetti ran for 150 yards and the TD, while Sunseri continued his brilliant senior season with 136 yards and two touchdowns. The Vikings returned to the WPIAL final for the third time in five years.
Meanwhile, Gateway beat North Allegheny in the premier playoff game in the state. Gateway trailed 21-7 in the fourth quarter, but came back to tie things at 21 in the final minute of regulation. In overtime, star tailback Cameron Saddler scored on the first play to put the Gators up 28-21. North Allegheny also scored on their opening possession, but Art Walker opted to go for two and the win. Linebacker Dorian Bell stuffed North Allegheny quarterback Geoff Greco at the one yard line on the try, and the Gators advanced to their second WPIAL final in the playoff era with a 28-27 win.
Gateway had a plethora of stars, led by Saddler, who rushed for 240 yards against North Allegheny and 190 in their quarterfinal win over Upper St. Clair. For the year, Saddler had 1,578 yards and 27 touchdowns. Defensively, Gateway was led by Hale, the most coveted defensive recruit in the state, who bounced between defensive end and linebacker. Bell was quickly becoming the top junior in the state, and cornerback Corey Brown was also emerging as a big time recruit. The game was a sort of homecoming, as Terry Totten and Gateway coach Terry Smith coached together at Duquesne in the 1990s before joining the high school ranks. The game is widely regarded as the greatest championship game in WPIAL history.
Saddler got off to a break start, bursting 23 yards off the led side for a first quarter touchdown. Just before halftime. Sunseri found QUentin Williams over the middle to knot things at 7 going into the half. It looked like the Vikings pulled away in the third quarter, when Andrew Taglianetti juked the Gateway defense out of their shoes on a touchdown run, then after forcing a three and out, Sunseri capped a 62 yard drive with a 14 yard TD scramble to put the Vikings up 21-7. Gateway answered with another Cameron Saddler touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but the Gators missed the extra point and trailed 21-13 as the clock melted away. Gateway had what looked like one final chance and embarked on a 70 yard drive in the final three minutes of the game. But, after pushing deep into PCC territory, Emmanuele Matthews picked off a pass at the 15, and returned it 85 yards for a PCC touchdown to give the Vikings a 28-13 lead with 1:02 - game over.
But that’s not exactly how things worked out. Gateway took the ball back and drove the length of the field in 30 seconds, with quarterback Rob Kalkstein making up for his mistake by hitting Corey brown for a 31 yard touchdown with 29 seconds left. Gateway recovered the onside kick and in two plays advanced to the 29. With just seconds remaining in the game and no timeouts left, Kalkstein threw what looked to be an ill advised pass in the middle of the field to All State wideout Jon Pryor. As Pryor was being tackled by Taglianetti in what looked like would be a game ender, he flipped a lateral to Saddler, just as the Gateway coaches drew it up, and Saddler waltzed into the end zone past some celebrating Vikings as time expired. Gateway had a chance after scoring on the miracle hook and lateral play. On the ensuing two point conversion, Kalkstein hit tight end Steve Horvath on a delay drag route to tie the game at 28.
In overtime, Saddler carried for six yards on first down, then Pryor caught a pass one yard short of the goal line. After Saddler was stuffed on third and goal, Kalkstein snuck in on fourth down for a Gator TD. But the snap rolled to the holder, and Gateway was unable to convert the improvised two pointer. The Pittsburgh Central Catholic possession mirrored the Gators try. Taglianetti ran for three yards on first down, then Sunseri was pushed out at the 1 after a scramble. Sunseri was stuffed on a sneak attempt on third down, but then on fourth and the season, he snuck in to tie the game. Kicker Matt Oczypok knocked his extra point try though, and the PCC sideline exploded in celebration of their 35-34 overtime win. Gateway outgained PCC 360-283 and Saddler was brilliant with 131 yards and 3 touchdowns, but the Vikings found a way to survive. Taglianetti was the star for PCC, with 105 yards and a touchdown. The championship was PIttsburgh Central Catholic’s third in five years, but the first for head coach Terry Totten.
The PCC-Gateway game was just a part of one of the wildest weekends in PIAA postseason history. District 3 had a pair of overtime games to decide its finalists. In the top half of the bracket, top seeded Harrisburg needed a 53 yard touchdown in the final three minutes from Cameron Artis-Payne to tie the game against upset minded 12th seed Wilson West Lawn, then blocked a field goal in overtime to preserve a 17-14 win. In the other D3 semi, Governor Mifflin survived a late game blitz by Manheim Township, who scored a 36 yard touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining to tie the game. Mifflin scored in the first overtime, then used a 13 yard sack to effectively end the game. In District 11, Parkland’s Sam Tajiri scored a 53 yard touchdown with six minutes left to take a 16-14 lead, then Tajiri blocked a 27 field goal as time expired to preserve the win and the Trojans’ undefeated season. The win ended the playoff run of Hazleton’s Nate Eachus, who carried 45 times for 263 yards in a double OT win over Easton in quarterfinals, ran for 387 yards and made the game winning tackle in overtime against Liberty in semis that spoiled the Liberty-Parkland final, then rushed for 188 yards in a losing effort against the Trojans.
The southeast corner of the state was relatively quiet, with Ridley soundly beating Neshaminy 27-7, by forcing four turnovers and holding the Redskins to 163 yards of offense, including shutting down 1,800 yard back Jason Ulmer and holding him to 56 yards. Meanwhile, All State quarterback Steve Egee was 15-20 for 203 yards and a touchdown to put Ridley in the first D1 final since 1990. The Green Raiders outscored their opponents 94-27 in three playoff games. In the other D1 semi, West Chester Henderson was a surprise winner over Downingtown West, as back up running back Jabair Khan ran for 308 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries. In District 12, George Washington accepted a forfeit over Bok Tech, who opted out of the playoffs.
The Vikings quarterfinal opponent was a rematch with Erie Cathedral Prep. The Ramblers were 48-14 winners over Brashear, with Akeem Satterfield scoring five times and rushing for 222 yards in the win. The PCC staff was worried about a hangover after the dramatic Gateway win, particularly against an opponent they handled in the regular season. But Sunseri would quell their fears early as he threw for 170 yards in the first quarter and the Vikings went up 21-0. He hit Jeff Knox on a 46 yard completion to set the tone on the first snap and the Vikings pulled away from there. Sunseri finished with 298 yards on 11-15 passing and PCC piled up 504 yards of total offense in the 44-6 win.
The rest of the quarterfinal round was filled with blowouts. Parkland held George Washington to negative nine yards rushing and went up 44-0 in three quarters in a 44-12 win. They would face Ridley in the eastern final, who shut out West Chester Henderson 19-0, as tailback Andrew Hodges rushed for 153 yards and two TDs and Steve Egee threw for 150 yards to win their first D1 title since 1990. Harrisburg also rolled to a date with Pittsburgh Central Catholic, winning a 49-14 laugher against Governor Mifflin, as running back Cameron Artis-Payne ran for 167 yards and scored three first half touchdowns in the win.
The western final was played in Altoona. It was also a reunion of sorts, as Harrisburg head coach George Chaump gave Terry Totten his start in coaching, hiring the Pittsburgh Central Catholic boss as a graduate assistant at IUP in the 1980s. Harrisburg had been building since Chaump left Central Dauphin, and he had his best team yet. The headliner was Artis-Paye, the future Auburn and Carolina Panthers running back had 1,841 rushing yards on the season and had broken out as a star down the stretch. The defense was also fierce, featuring future Temple star and NFL player Adrian Robinson at inside linebacker.
The game was a slog. Harrisburg started three different drives in Viking territory in the first half, including taking over at the 27, but the Cougars failed to score on any of those possessions. However, they were able to put together a touchdown drive in the early second quarter, capped by an Artis-Payne touchdown run. But even that came with a negative, as Quentin Willams blocked the extra point. PCC’s defense kept it in the game while the offense tried to find its footing. That came with 1:30 left in the first half, when Emmanuele Matthews jumped up and made a back shoulder catch for a 17 yard touchdown and a 7-6 lead at the break. That was the high point for the PCC offense.
In the second half, the Vikings mustered negative ten yards of total offense. One massive defensive play put them in finals. In the third quarter, Harrisburg was driving to take a lead, when a botched option play proved disastrous. Quarterback TJ Armstead correctly read outside linebacker John Petrigac and pitched to Raheem Bilal. But Bilala was not expecting the pitch, and the ball hit him square in the numbers and fell to the turf. Petrigac scooped the ball up and ran for a 62 yard touchdown to give the Vikings a 14-6 lead. That would stay the score, as both offenses were unable to move the ball at all. There were only 11 first downs in the entire game. Pittsburgh Central Catholic finished with 79 yards of offense, the lowest total ever for a state playoff winner. Harrisburg had just 116 yards from scrimmage, and was done under by an 0-11 showing on third down.
Parkland defeated Ridley in the Eastern Final, scoring a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to break a 21-21 tie. Ridley scored at the start of the fourth quarter to tie the game, but Parkland answered with a 50 yard run by Sam Tajiri. On Ridley’s ensuing drive, they were forced to punt, but boomed a 54 yarder downed at the one foot line, seemingly giving the Green Raiders a great shot at field position for a game tying drive. Instead, Parkland went 99 yards in eight plays, with the dagger being a 56 yard trap play to Kevin Herrod. Parkland held Ridley to 18 yards on 27 carries, including six sacks of Egee (though the star quarterback threw for 250 yards). Parkland’s Wing-T churned out over 400 yards of offense against the vaunted Ridley defense, with Herrod rushing for over 101 yards, quarterback John Laub throwing for 218 and two scores on 12-15 passing, and junior wideout Jaleel Clark catching six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Parkland was led by head coach Jim Morgans, who won 3A state championships at Allentown Central Catholic in 1993 and 1998. He took over the Trojans in 2005, and had quickly rebuilt the suburban Allentown school into a contender. After a 7-4 first season, the Trojans went 11-1 in 2006 and were ranked #1 in the state until losing on a last second field goal in D11 semis, which motivated the 2007 group. The Trojans were 15-0, led by a tough, physical defense that gave up 7.4 points per game, and Morgans’ patented Wing-T attack. The Parkland defense made headlines during the year when they went seven consecutive games without giving up a point. Offensively, five different players had at least 440 yards rushing, led by Herrod, who had 928 yards headed into the state final. But what separated this Parkland team was the passing attack. Richmond commit John Laub had thrown for 1,565 yards and 22 touchdowns with just three interceptions, and junior wideout Jaleel Clark (51 catches, 783 yards, and 10 touchdowns, plus 7 interceptions on defense) was quickly finding himself on FBS recruiting radars.
The story angle for the game was Western PA dominance. The WPIAL had won three consecutive 4A titles by a combined score of 145-37 and had four finalists in Hershey during championship weekend. On an individual level, Tino Sunseri also made headlines by flipping his commitment from Louisville to the hometown Pitt Panthers, delighting the Viking faithful.
Sunseri celebrated his college commitment by torching Parkland in teh first half. On the opening drive, Pittsburgh Central Catholic marched 80 yards in 16 plays and burned 7 minutes and 22 seconds off of the clock. Sunseri moved the chains on four third downs, and fired a touchdown strike to wideout Brian Friend to cap the drive. Parkland initially looked like they would answer. The Wing-T had the talented Viking defensive front confused, and Parkland marched down to the PCC 24. John Laub hit Jaleel Clark in the end zone, for what looked like a touchdown, but Clark was flagged for offensive pass interference when jostling with safety DJ Myers for the football. The penalty stalled out Parkland’s drive, and the Trojans missed a field goal to stay down 7-0. In the second quarter, the Vikings ruthlessly took advantage, with Sunseri hitting Friend three times for 72 yards on an 85 yard touchdown drive. A 41 yard catch and run by Friend on a third down slant set up a 12 yard Andrew Taglianetti touchdown run to give the Vikings a 14-0 lead at the break. Sunseri was 8-10 for 121 yards in the first half, with Friend having the game of his life, catching six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Much like the first half, Parkland had a shot to get back in the game with a drive deep into Viking territory on their opening drive. But after first and goal at the nine, Quentin Williams stuffed a run, Taglianetti broke up two fade attempts to Clark, and Williams and Dan Vaughan chased Laub into an incompletion on fourth down. Three plays later, Jeff Knox popped an 85 yard touchdown run, breaking at least six tackles on the run and flashing his game breaking speed to pull away for the score. After taking a three score lead, the rest of the game was mere formality, as the Vikings openly celebrated on the sidelines and counted down the rest of their coronation.
The Pittsburgh Central Catholic defense dominated the game, holding Parkland to just 101 yards rushing, and bottling up the three headed monster of Sam Tajiri and the Herod brothers to 32, 27, and 25 yards. Clark only had two catches after Parklands first drive. A lot of the credit went to the PCC defensive line, led by Williams, who Morgans said was the best football player he saw in 2007. For the Central offense, Knox ran for 118 yards, while Taglianetti added 82, as the PCC offense piled up 348 yards against the vaunted Parkland defense.
After the season, Quentin Williams became the first primarily defensive player since Charles Rush to win AP Player of the Year honors. The dynamic duo of Williams and Dan Vaughan at defensive end were both named to the AP All State first team, as was Andrew Taglianetti at defensive back. Sunseri earned second team honors at quarterback, from the AP, and first team honors from PA Football News. PAFBN also put Terrell Anderson, whose 18.5 sacks led the state, on the second team, and kicker Matt Oczypok earned honorable mention honors. Sunseri, Taglianetti, Vaughan, and Williams all were Big 33 selections. Williams was also drafted in the 38th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in june after hitting .578 during his senior season and earning All State honors.
Williams joined his brother at Northwestern, where he was a three year starter at defensive end and a two year starter in right field for the Wildcats. Tino Sunseri was a three year starter at Pitt and graduated second in school history in total offense, a third in passing yards. Sunseri played three years in the CFL, and has joined his father in college coaching, first as a quality control assistant at Florida State, and he is currently a graduate assistant on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. Dan Vaughan was a two year starter at linebacker at Syracuse and is now an actor in Hollywood. Andrew Taglianetti was a two year starter at safety for Pitt. Linebacker Sam Loughery was an All Patriot League player at Lehigh. Jeff Knox, whose 1,000 yard sophomore season turned him into a star, transferred from Pittsburgh Central Catholic to DeMatha High School near Washington DC, where he was a four star recruit. He joined Taglianetti and Sunseri at Pitt, but a domestic violence incident caused his removal from the team after a promising freshman year. Knox transferred to Cal (PA), where h was a two-way starter at linebacker and running back and an All PSAC selection. He signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, and was an All Pro as a rookie. This earned him an NFL deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has bounced back and forth between the NFL and CFL since 2015 and is currently on the Ottawa Redblacks roster.
Terry Totten was 36-4 in his first three years as Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s head coach, capped by the 2007 title. He has a career record of 154-26 with the Vikings, has five WPIAL finals appearances, four WPIAL titles, four trips to the state finals, and a pair of state championships. His 86% winning percentage is the best among active coaches in the state.
