HARRISBURG, Pa. — Harrisburg may have claimed its fourth straight District 3 Class 6A championship with last week's 42-14 rout of Wilson, but the Cougars have no time to rest on their laurels.
Up next is a PIAA Class 6A semifinal matchup with Pittsburgh Central Catholic, which is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona.
It's the state playoffs, so it's not like there are any gimmies left on the schedule. But it's safe to say Central Catholic represents Harrisburg's biggest challenge of the season.
The Vikings are riding an 11-game winning streak into Saturday's matchup, which includes a 41-19 rout of State College last week in the state quarterfinals.
Harrisburg held off State College 7-6 in their regular-season meeting back in September. While the two teams shared the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference title, it was the Cougars who kept the bragging rights.
Here's a closer look at Saturday afternoon's matchup.
Harrisburg (11-2) vs. Central Catholic (11-2)
Saturday, 1 p.m. at Mansion Park, Altoona
ABOUT CENTRAL CATHOLIC: The Vikings opened the season with losses to St. Francis Academy (44-16) and Pine-Richland (22-17), but no one has come close to beating them since.
During its 11-game winning streak, Central Catholic has beaten its opponents by an average margin of 32.7 points. Only Northern Allegheny, who lost 27-14 to Central Catholic on Sept. 27, has come within 20 points of the Vikings during their hot streak. (Central Catholic beat the Tigers 45-14 in their rematch in the WPIAL title game two weeks ago.)
Quarterback Jy'aire Walls leads the Viking offense with 2,396 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air. A dual threat, the 6-2, 190-pound senior has nine rushing touchdowns as well.
But the Central Catholic ground game goes through senior Elijah Faulkner, a 5-11, 190-pound bruiser who has 1,451 yards and 19 touchdowns on 244 carries.
The Vikings' top receivers are Bradley Gompers (27-795, 11 TDs), Xxavier Thomas (29-624, 7 TDs), and Max Roman (29-462, 4 TDs). Gompers and Thomas are seniors; Roman is a sophomore.
Central Catholic won the first-ever PIAA championship as a Class 4A team in 1988 and has collected three more state crowns since, the most recent coming back in 2015.
The Vikings finished as a runner-up to St. Joseph's Prep in the inaugural Class 6A title game in 2016.
ABOUT HARRISBURG: The Cougars won their seventh District 3 title with last week's rout of Wilson. It was the fifth straight win for Harrisburg, whose only losses this season came against La Salle College (45-7 in the season opener) and Cumberland Valley (24-21 on Oct. 12).
It's been a challenging season for the Cougars. They learned just before their season opener at La Salle College that their All-State quarterback, University of Pittsburgh recruit Shawn Lee Jr., had been ruled ineligible to compete by the PIAA, who determined he had used up his athletic eligibility.
Harrisburg also survived injuries to two other star players, Syracuse recruit D’Antae Sheffey and Penn State recruit Kevin Brown, who was sidelined in Week 2 and only returned to action during the District 3 playoffs.
But the Cougars just kept winning.
Harrisburg's offense is full of firepower. Junior Messiah Mickens, a 1,100-yard rusher who has found the end zone 23 times this season, is already committed to Penn State. Nehemiah Ewell (87-468, 11 TDs) and QB Jaiyon Lewis (95-526, 3 TDs) are also dangerous out of the backfield for Harrisburg, which averages nearly 200 yards per game on the ground.
Lewis, a junior, stepped in for Lee at quarterback and has completed 62% of his passes for 1,814 yards and 18 TDs. He's got a bevy of targets to choose from, led by junior Elias Coke (45-824, 9 TDs), but Coke was banged up against Wilson last week and his status for Friday is uncertain.
But the Cougars really shine on defense. Last week, they limited Wilson to 167 total yards, including just 37 on the ground, and forced a pair of turnovers. Mickens, who also plays defensive end, registered three sacks against the Bulldogs.
Harrisburg has made two trips to the Class 6A state finals since 2018 but has never won a title.
Saturday's winner will take on either District 1 champion Downingtown West (13-1) or District 12 kingpin St. Joseph's Prep (9-2) in the PIAA Class 6A final on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Cumberland Valley High School.
