SOUTH FAYETTE TWP -- Momentum, if you believe in such things, isn’t something that teams can snap their fingers to create. The North Catholic football team had it, albeit briefly, Friday night at South Fayette Stadium.

But the seventh-seeded Trojans didn’t find a way to harness their early fortune, ultimately falling to No. 10 Trinity 49-0 in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

Six plays into the game, North Catholic forced Hillers quarterback Jonah Williamson to fumble and the Trojans fell on the ball. Taking over at the Trinity 50, the Trojans moved the ball to the 33. But North Catholic wouldn’t get any further, turning the ball over on downs.

“I don’t want to credit the entire momentum of the game to that one moment,” North Catholic coach Chris Rizzo said. “But it’s tough any time you turn over a quarterback like that. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, when you get a chance to make a guy like that make one, you want to capitalize. There’s a lot stuff in-between those quarters that shifted the momentum.”

North Catholic was limited to 83 yards of total offense.

This was Trinity’s first playoff win since 2007. The Trojans were shut out for the first time since losing 26-0 to Aliquippa on Sept. 9, 2022.

Trinity coach Don Knause was elated with the win.

“It’s huge,” Knause said. “I think it’s been 16 or 17 years since there’s been a playoff win. These kids have earned it. They came in at 6:45 a.m. all summer. They earned it.”

The Trojans’ offense was stuck in neutral. North Catholic committed four turnovers, three via interceptions, and a lost fumble. Trinity (7-4) turned two of those turnovers into touchdowns. Luke Lacock returned a tipped pass thrown by Trojans quarterback Kaden Sarver 45 yards for a touchdown with 4:20 left in the third quarter to put the Hillers ahead 28-0. Seventeen seconds later, the snap went between Sarver’s legs and Caden Vogel scooped it up and ran 25 yards for another score.

“They have a particularly stout defensive line,” Rizzo said. “When those guys showed up to play, they executed their game plan well.”

Trinity broke the game open in the second quarter on special teams. Hillers punt returner Austin Durig caught the ball at the Trinity 11, took a few steps backwards before hitting a spin move, and racing down the sideline for a touchdown with 10:58 left before halftime to put the Hillers ahead for good, 7-0.

“We had an emphasis all week that their punt team struggled getting downfield,” Knause said. “We had to capitalize on it. He’s our top threat. We wanted the ball in our hands.”

North Catholic’s next possession also didn’t go well. Hillers defensive back Dante DeRubbo intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards to the Trojans 29-yard line. Seven plays later, Williamson scored on an 11-yard run.

Williamson finished with a game-high 106 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Trinity put any hopes of a comeback out of North Catholic’s reach to start the second half. The Hillers forced the Trojans into a three-and-out. Trinity would then drive the ball 50 yards in five plays, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run by Lacock to stretch the lead to 21-0.

The Trojans were never able to get comfortable and Trinity never let up.

“Our big-time players made plays on both sides of the ball tonight,” Knause said. “We were sputtering offensively with self-inflicted mistakes. Our defense dominated the game.”

Trinity 0 14 21 14-49

North Catholic 0 0 0 0-0

Second Quarter

T - Andy Durig 89 punt return (Andy Palm kick), 10:58

T - Jonah Williamson 11 run (Palm kick), 6:46

Third Quarter

T - Luke Lacock 3 run (Palm kick), 9:40

T - Lacock 45 interception return (Palm kick), 4:20

T - Caden Vogel 25 fumble return (Palm kick), 4:03

Fourth Quarter

T - Durig 8 run (Palm kick), 10:00

T - Mekhi Bouman 8 run (Palm kick), 1:28

Rushing: Trinity, Jonah Williamson 15-106, Austin During 12-80, Nico Mauro 1-18, Mekhi Bouman 7-12, Luke Lacock 1-3. North Catholic, Jack Fennell 13-36, Danny Franco 3-7, Gavin Karmody 2-6, Kaden Sarver 4-1.

Passing: Trinity, Jonah Williamson 6-20-48-1, Luke Lacock 0-1-0-0. North Catholic, Sarver 7-31-37-3.

Receiving: Trinity, Anthony Giorgi 4-34, Luke Lacock 1-9, Nico Mauro 1-7, Mekhi Bouman 1-(-2). North Catholic, Ryker Kennedy 4-26, Will Waskiewicz 1-5, Jack White 1-3, Brady O’Hara 1-2.