St. Joseph’s Routs Central Catholic for Ninth State Title

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Since the inception of the 6A classification in the PIAA, St. Joseph’s Prep has never missed the state championship game as the Hawks returned for the ninth-straight year to face a Central Catholic team making its first trip to the finals since 2016, a year in which it would lose to those very Hawks.

Under the lights at Chapman Field, St. Joseph’s Prep utilized explosive plays to roll past Central Catholic 35-6 to claim its ninth state title in school history and seventh since that 2016 season.

Junior running back Khyan Billups paved the way on the ground, scoring on big strikes of 80 and 45 yards, along with a 1-yard score. He totaled 26 carries for 228 yards behind a strong offensive line that features Syracuse signee Khalil Stewart and Ohio State signee Maxwell Roy.

With Central Catholic falling, it marks the first time since 1992 that a WPIAL (District 7) team did not win a state title.

For Central Catholic, it could not draw up a more disastrous start as Billups took the first snap straight up the middle and sped past the defense for an 80-yard St. Joseph’s touchdown.

A Central Catholic team that scores an average of 42.1 points per game looked out of sync to start the game, going three-and-out on their first three drives of the game.

As the Vikings offense started cold, St. Joseph’s was clicking and starting its third possession in plus territory. After two strong runs from Billups, sophomore quarterback Charlie Foulke, who holds offers from Pitt, Georgia, Maryland and Syracuse, dialed up a pass to wide open freshman receiver Jett Harrison for a 19-yd touchdown reception. It was the 10th touchdown reception of the season for Harrison, who is the son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison and brother of Marvin Jr.

St. Joseph’s would go up by three scores with Billups racing down the sideline past the Vikings defense for a 45-yard touchdown, once again setting off the celebratory light show put on at Cumberland Valley High School. Billups would add another 1-yard touchdown before the end of the first half.

The lone bright spot in the first quarter came on two excellent kick returns from Penn State signee Xxavier Thomas, with the second run setting up the Vikings at the Hawks’ 29. However, Thomas would leave the game after that play with an injury.

With its best starting field position, Central Catholic converted after running back Elijah Faulkner ripped off a 23-yard pick up on the ground on a fourth-down play. From the 1-yard line, quarterback Jy’Aire Walls kept the snap and score. With the extra point getting blocked, St. Joseph’s still led 21-6.

At halftime, St. Joseph’s Prep led Central Catholic 28-6 as the Hawks out-gained the Vikings 312 yards to 85.

Central Catholic never backed down in the second half, forcing the Hawks to punt on four-straight possessions. Still, the Vikings were unable to convert on offense, going scoreless in the second half.

The Hawks added a late touchdown thanks to a 44-yard dash by senior Will Vokolos to make it 35-6.

For Central Catholic, Walls completed 12-of-32 passes for 129 yards all while he was sacked seven times. He added 26 yards on the ground. Maceo Watkins led the Viking receivers with five receptions for 76 yards. Faulkner rushed for 76 yards.

Notre Dame commit Anthony Sacca led the St. Joe’s defense with seven total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. John Boggs also added a pair of sacks.

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A version of this story first appeared at our partner site, Pittsburgh Sports Now.