PIAA quarterfinals: Elijah Faulkner’s season-best performance propels Central Catholic past State College

Central Catholic’s Elijah Faulkner appears to be saving his best for last.

After running for a season high in yards in last week’s WPIAL championship game, Faulkner went even higher Friday in his team’s PIAA opener.

Faulkner, a senior running back, carried 38 times and ran for season highs of 238 yards and four touchdowns to lead WPIAL champion Central Catholic to a 41-19 win against District 6 champion State College in a PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium.

The win pushes Central Catholic (11-1) into the semifinals for the first time since 2019. The Vikings will meet the winner of Saturday’s District 3 championship between Harrisburg and Wilson West Lawn. State College (10-2) fell to 1-9 in its last 10 PIAA games against WPIAL opponents.

Faulkner, who rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown in the WPIAL final against North Allegheny, touched up the State College defense for 118 yards in the first half and 120 yards in the second half. His touchdowns came on runs of 1, 1, 1 and 33 yards. Faulkner upped his season totals to 1,439 yards and 19 touchdowns.

While Faulkner was the offensive star, Central Catholic boasted standouts on defense and special teams, as well. Xxavier Thomas (two), Colsen Gatten and Seamus Mahon all intercepted passes, while Billy Lech booted two field goals.

The only Central Catholic touchdown Faulkner wasn’t involved in was the first one. That came when Jy’Aire Walls connected with Bradley Gompers for a 40-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Faulkner added his first 1-yard scoring plunge later in the quarter and chipped in another early in the second quarter to give Central Catholic a 21-0 lead.

State College came into the night riding a nine-game win streak and had scored at least 55 points five times this season. That offense finally came alive in the second quarter when Eddie Corkery uncorked touchdown passes to Cooper Brushwood (45 yards) and Hank Lustig (28 yards) to pull the Little Lions within 21-13 with 4:14 left in the half.

Faulkner, though, added another 1-yard scoring run late in the first half to make it 28-13. He then ran for a 33-yard touchdown and Lech kicked a 30-yard field goal to extend the Central Catholic lead to 38-13 with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Corkery’s third touchdown pass of the night, a 7-yard strike to Ty Salazer, pulled State College a little closer in the closing seconds of the third. The Little Lions then recovered an onside kick and drove inside the Central Catholic 10, but Gatten intercepted Corkery in the end zone to thwart the scoring opportunity. Lech then kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:37 left in the game to close the scoring.