NEW KENSINGTON — Much like a sports car defrosting in winter weather, North Catholic's offense needed only to warm up Friday evening. After a sluggish pair of drives to open their road matchup with Valley, sophomore quarterback Jason Siket and the Trojans found their groove and trounced the Vikings, 49-0.

The game was the Allegheny Seven Conference opener for both teams.

“You see (flat starts) at every level,” North coach Patrick O'Shea said. “There's no magic elixir for it. Sometimes, when that human part isn't there, the soul, it takes a little while to get going. It's entirely up to the kids to find it. Tonight, they found it.”

After forcing the hosts into a three-and-out early, and a 29-yard punt return by senior Liam Straub, the Trojans began their first possession at Valley's 12-yard line. Still, they came up empty, with sophomore Jack Fennell coughing the football up as he strained toward the goal-line.

During its next drive, North found itself facing a 2nd-and-34 on the edge of Vikings territory as a result of a pair of holding infractions.

In his first-ever varsity start, Siket wasn't fazed. He hit Fennell for a 17-yard pickup before connecting with Straub for a 32-yard scoring strike with 3:26 left in the opening quarter.

The touchdown would ultimately open the flood gates.

“All week, coach had been preaching patience,” Siket said. “It's all about patience. As long as we keep our patience, we're going to do great. I was just thinking about getting the ball down the field.”

Before the half, Siket tossed another three touchdowns — two to senior Kyle Tipinski and another to Straub. Tipinski's second came as time ran out in the half, initiating the running mercy clock in the final 24 minutes. Nearly the entire first half was played on Valley's side of midfield.

With good field position courtesy of Fennell's 64-yard return of the second half kickoff, junior Chase Arrington scored on an eight-yard rush little over two minutes out of the break. Siket launched a 74-yard touchdown pass to senior Tyler Maziarz before the quarter ended, closing out the scoring.

“Last week was a really good opportunity for me to be prepared for this week,” Siket said. “I was completely ready.”

Siket ended his night having gone 10-of-12 for 217 yards and five scores. O'Shea was understandably impressed by the young triggerman's leadership and nearly-flawless performance.

“There wasn't even a fluctuation,” O'Shea said. “He put a little extra time in this week to make sure everything went smooth. If he was on another football team, he might be the starter.”

Valley (0-1, 0-4) dressed only 17 players and went three-and-out on all but one of its series. The Vikings didn't manage to pick up a first down until the final quarter. They rushed on 25 occasions and could only gain seven yards.

North (1-0, 4-0) faces East Allegheny next Friday.

North Catholic 14 21 14 0 — 49

Valley 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

NC – Liam Straub 32 pass from Siket (Ethan Marsico kick), 3:26

NC – Liam Straub 21 run (Ethan Marsico kick), 0:00

Second Quarter

NC – Kyle Tipinski 30 pass from Siket (Ethan Marsico kick), 8:54

NC – Liam Straub 16 pass from Siket (Ethan Marsico kick), 6:09

NC – Kyle Tipinski 30 pass from Siket (Ethan Marsico kick), 0:00

Third Quarter

NC – Chase Arrington 8 run (Ethan Marsico kick), 9:44

NC – Tyler Maziarz 74 pass from Siket (Ethan Marsico kick), 2:10

Individual Statistics

Rushing: North Catholic, Liam Straub 2-36, Jason Siket 2-19, Danny Franco 3-19, Chase Arrington 3-15, Eli Wentz 2-14, Jack Fennell 4-12, Kyle Tipinski 1-10. Valley, Xavier Wilson 11-3, Chuck Perkins 1-1, Micah Hughes 1-0, Dallas Price 3-(-1), Konye Miller 3-(-1), Jeremy Hughley 3-(-4), Tristin Goodwin 3-(-5).

Passing: North Catholic, Jason Siket 10-12-217-0. Valley, Tristin Goodwin 3-6-17-0, Micah Hughes 0-1-0-0, Mason Simmons 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: North Catholic, Tyler Maziarz 1-74, Kyle Tipinski 2-60, Liam Straub 3-56, Jack Fennell 4-32. Valley, Dion Lyons 2-10, Micah Hughes 1-7.