Week 3 Game Preview: Central Catholic Vs. Pine-Richland

We have a WPIAL powerhouse matchup when Pine Richland (0-2) hosts Pittsburgh Central Catholic (1-1). There was a QB competition for Central Catholic during the summer, but sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147011" first="Payton" last="Wehner"]</strong> won it. Wehner is undersized but has a H/T/Q release with some zip to the ball. Decent arm strength. Right now, he is our 6^th ranked QB in the 2024 class and just inside the Top 50. Up in the trenches to protect Wehner is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95850" first="Matt" last="Aulicino"]</strong> at tackle. The offensive line is going to have a tough task with Pine-Richland D-lineman senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27601" first="Jalen" last="Klemm"]</strong>. Klemm didn’t emerge until the early offseason. Going into the season, I was expecting senior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="69214" first="Antonio" last="Pitts"]</strong> would be in the backfield, but senior athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27644" first="Gannon" last="Carothers"]</strong> has been getting most of the workload so far. Senior linebacker and Duke commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27578" first="Jeremiah" last="Hasley"]</strong> will be all over the field. Hasley became the leader of the linebacker group when [player_tooltip player_id="27253" first="Luke" last="Miller"] left last season to play at Kent State. Sophomore wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164149" first="Peter" last="Gonzalez"]</strong> transferred to Central Catholic late offseason, was hoping he’d be playing this season but seems to be ineligible. Wehner does have senior speedster in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="42751" first="Brandon" last="Jackson"]</strong>. Wehner also has senior tight end <strong>Josh Altsman</strong>. I expect Pine-Richland sophomore DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="93057" first="Nikko" last="Klemm"]</strong> to make some plays. Pine-Richland has senior QB <strong>Cole Boyd</strong>. Boyd backed up former QB [player_tooltip player_id="27363" first="Cole" last="Spencer"] the last few seasons, who made history as Pine-Richland’s QB. Boyd is undersized who is athletic. He can easily escape the pocket and make plays with his legs. He’s got a H/T/Q release with a decent arm. Up in the trenches to protect Boyd is junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139979" first="Jake" last="Beam"] </strong>and sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="98505" first="Ryan" last="Cory"]</strong>. I am interested to see how they handle Central Catholic’s and Notre Dame commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27694" first="Donovan" last="Hinish"]</strong>. In the backfield is senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91495" first="Brooks" last="Eastburn"]</strong>. Eastburn is a small back with quickness and decent speed. In the WPIAL Championship last season, he had 6 carries for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns. I fully expect Central Catholic sophomore linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97978" first="Anthony" last="Speca"]</strong> to shut down the run game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27631" first="Alex" last="Gochis"]</strong>, and Pine-Richland wide receivers are also going to have a tough task. Central Catholic is loaded back in the secondary. It starts at safety with seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27577" first="JD" last="Younger"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27582" first="Devin" last="Barren"].</strong> Younger has been productive over the last couple of years while Barren proved he can be the guy last season. Central Catholic also has freshman CB [player_tooltip player_id="169963" first="Xxavier" last="Thomas"] has made some plays, including his first INT touchdown last week. Expect for him to make more plays in this game. Going to be an exciting game.