2025 PIAA Class 6A Championship Preview: Pittsburgh Central Catholic (13-1) vs. La Salle College High School (12-1)

This marks the fourth year that Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field will be hosting the three-day PIAA state football championships.

This year, three defending state champions return, all looking to repeat: At Class 1A, District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle; At 3A, District 11 titlist Northwestern Lehigh; and at 5A, District 3 champion Bishop McDevitt.

There will be two rematches: undefeated District 7 champion Avonworth against defending state champion Northwestern Lehigh at 3A and defending state champion McDevitt against District 12 champion Roman Catholic at 5A.

Of the 12 teams playing in the six classifications, three are undefeated: Both 3A state finalists Avonworth (14-0) and Northwestern Lehigh, and 4A finalist Twin Valley (14-0).

Two teams will be making their first appearances in a state final, which happens to be for the Class 4A state championship between Southern Lehigh and Twin Valley, while coaching legend Jim Roth goes for his unprecedented 15th state championship for Southern Columbia, which takes on District 10 champion Farrell for the 2A championship.

Seven of the 12 teams that have reached the state championship are public school teams (Clairton, Southern Columbia, Farrell, Southern Lehigh, Twin Valley, Avonworth and Northwestern Lehigh), while five are private (Bishop Guilfoyle, Bishop McDevitt, Roman Catholic, Pittsburgh Central Catholic and La Salle College High School). Three of the games will feature an all-public matchup: Southern Columbia/Farrell at 2A, Avonworth/Northwestern Lehigh at 3A and Southern Lehigh/Twin Valley at 4A, while Class 5A (McDevitt/Roman) and 6A (Pittsburgh Central Catholic/La Salle) are all-private-school matchups. The one private-against-public matchup is at 1A between defending state champion Bishop Guilfoyle against Clairton.

District 7 has the largest representation in the state finals with three teams (1A-Clairton, 3A-Avonworth, and 6A-Pittsburgh Central Catholic), followed by two teams each from District 12 (5A-Roman Catholic, and 6A-La Salle), District 3 (4A-Twin Valley, and 5A-McDevitt) and District 11 (4A-Southern Lehigh, and 3A Northwestern Lehigh), with one each from District 6 (1A-Bishop Guilfoyle), District 4 (2A-Southern Columbia) and District 10 (2A-Farrell).

While Southern Lehigh and Twin Valley will be making their first appearances in the state championship, of the remaining 10 schools, Avonworth (3A) and Roman Catholic (5A) will be joining those two teams in search of their first state championship. Clairton (1A) has not won a state title since 2012 (20-0 over Dunmore in the 1A championship), La Salle has not won a state title since 2009 (24-7 over State College for the 4A championship under the 4A system), becoming the first Philadelphia Catholic League team to do so, Pittsburgh Central Catholic has not won since 2015 (21-18 over Parkland for the 4A championship under the 4A system), Farrell last won in 2019 (10-7 in overtime over Guilfoyle for the 1A crown) and Southern Columbia last won in 2023 (21-20 over Westinghouse for the 2A championship).

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball [twitter.com].

Here is a thumbnail bio of 6A:

Class 6A Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cumberland Valley HS

(District 7) Pittsburgh Central Catholic (13-1) vs. (District 12) La Salle College High School (12-1)

This is a rematch of La Salle’s season-opening 23-6 victory over the Vikings. La Salle has not won a state title since 2009 (24-7 over State College for the 4A championship under the 4A system), becoming the first Philadelphia Catholic League team to do so. Pittsburgh Central Catholic has not won since 2015 (21-18 over Parkland for the 4A championship under the 4A system). This will be La Salle’s third trip to the state finals, after going a decade without reaching the state playoffs, having to get over the mountainous obstacle of nine-time state champion St. Joseph’s Prep. Once that was conquered, beating Prep twice, the Explorers have rolled. They suffered a slight hiccup in their District 12 championship game against Imhotep Charter, getting out to a 24-0 lead before hanging on to win, 31-16. La Salle has since outscored its last two opponents 98-21. The Explorers have yet to play their best game this season, and are stocked with firepower, beginning with Notre Dame-bound two-way star Joey O’Brien, Missouri-bound quarterback Gavin Sidwar, and emerging junior receiver Owen Johnson. Explorers’ coach Brett Gordon could make history with a state title as the only father-son combination in the 37-year history over the PIAA state football playoffs to have won state titles, sharing the honors with his late hall of fame coaching father Drew Gordon, who guided La Salle to its 2009 Class 4A state championship.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic will rely on sophomore tailback Chrys Black Jr., who rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 32-14 victory over a very good Harrisburg team in the semifinal. What could determine this game is how well the Pittsburgh Central Catholic offensive line of junior left tackle Jimmy Kalis (6-foot-7, 285 pounds), junior left guard Jon Sassic (6-6, 285), senior center Matt Bowers (6-4½, 285), senior right guard Cole Bayer (6-0, 295) and junior right tackle James Halter (6-5, 270) can sustain long drives in keeping the Explorers’ explosive offense off the field. La Salle counters with some heft of its own up front in 6-foot-3, 285-pound senior right tackle Danny Lawyer, 6-2, 290-pound junior right guard Andrew Sorge, 6-2, 265-pound senior center Jacob Jackson, 6-3, 290-pound junior left guard Chris Bernesky and 6-foot-8, 285-pound Notre Dame-bound senior left tackle Grayson McKeogh. If they can give Sidwar time, La Salle could win its first-ever Class 6A state title and first state title in 16 years. If the Vikings can run against La Salle, they could capture their first 6A title and first state title overall in a decade.

Playoff scoring stats