MCCANDLESS TWP — The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic football players weren't going to let their 24-game winning streak end on senior night.

Facing a Shenango team that only lost to two playoff-bound teams, the Trojans cruised to a 49-16 non-conference win Friday night at Stone Field in North Park after scoring on their first three possessions and recovering a blocked punt in the end zone for a fourth score.

Leading 28-0 after the first quarter, the Trojans continued their dominance — adding three more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 49-0 half-time lead.

The Wildcats scored touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters to avoid the shutout.

“I thought we played very well as a team, very well,” North Catholic coach Bob Ravenstahl said. “Both sides of the ball, offense and defense. We knew they were good, coming from the Big Seven, it's a tough conference. They have a good record, they lost to two playoff teams. So, we were expecting a heck of a game. We were executing pretty good.”

Ravenstahl said he is very proud of his senior class and what they have accomplished the past three seasons.

“I'm proud of them, it's a great group of kids,” Ravenstahl added. “They're just a great bunch of guys and great athletes.”

With the win, the Trojans improved to 9-0 on the season and extended their winning streak to 25 games in a row.

Next up is a first round WPIAL playoff match up Friday night against an opponent to be determined. Shenango fell to 6-3 but still made the postseason.

The game started off badly for the Wildcats, as on their first play from scrimmage, starting quarterback Evan Kendall threw an interception to Darian Mercurio.

The Trojans needed only three plays to score the opening touchdown — a 30-yard strike from quarterback Adam Sharlow to Vashon Graham.

The Wildcats went three and out on their next possession and pinned the Trojans deep in their own territory with a nice punt.

The poor field position was no obstacle for the Trojans, as North Catholic embarked on its longest scoring drive of the night, going 88 yards in 10 plays — capped by an 8-yard scoring dash by Eric Timbers.

The wheels officially fell off Shenango's bus on their third possession, when a punt by Dylan Kleckner was blocked by Trojan junior Keith Wells and the ball was recovered in the end zone by senior Joe Sadler for a third score.

Up 21-0, the Trojan defense held stout on a fourth down try by the Wildcats at the Trojan 41-yard line. It took one play to extend the lead, as Jerome Turner burst through a hole and shrugged off several would-be tacklers en route to a 59-yard touchdown run.

The Trojans didn't let up the gas in the second quarter, scoring three more touchdowns — two by P.J. Fulmore and one by Mario Latronica.

Proving they can also pass the ball, Ravenstahl let Sharlow throw the ball at will on one drive and the senior put on a passing clinic — completing six passes in a row topped by a 19-yard score to Fulmore.

For the night, Shenango managed 225 yards of offense — 95 of which came on a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Tyler Root. North Catholic totaled 546 yards of offense, including 368 on the ground.

Shenango Head Coach Mike Commesso said he expected his team to be more competitive but the Trojans quashed any hopes of a win immediately.

“From what I could tell on first blush is that, they're fast, they're fast,” Commesso said of the Trojans. “We weren't able to match that quickness. I think they were out to prove who they are tonight. I think they were real focused and executed real well. I think they were trying to send a message to the WPIAL committee.”

The Trojans got contributions from all aspects of the team, as six different players scored touchdowns and the defense was more than up to the task — holding the Wildcats on two fourth down attempts and getting two turnovers.

Fulmore had 99 yards rushing with one touchdown; Turner had 87 yards on the ground with a score; Latronica added 76 yards and a touchdown; and back up quarterback Khalil Weathers ran the ball 16 times for 99 yards in the second half.

Sharlow finished the night hitting nine of his 10 passes for 165 yards and two scores.

Fulmore, who also caught a scoring pass, said the game went much easier than he expected.

“They're a pretty good team,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a much tougher game.”

“The festivities before were nice and everything, but we new what we had to do, we had to come out and win the game,” Fulmore added. “It being senior night, just gave us another reason to win the game and had everyone fired up.”