North Catholic is ready to be a contender again.

That’s what players and coaches said during heat acclimatization week with the 2024 high school football season closing in. The Trojans have some momentum on their side: a second year under their head coach, about a dozen seniors dead set on washing the taste of 2023 out of their mouths and a move back to Class 3A.

The season of big expectations begins Aug. 23 against Seton-LaSalle. Here’s what to know about the Trojans:

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There’s no mincing words: The Trojans do not want a repeat of 2023.

They went 5-6 and were trounced 49-0 by Trinity in the WPIAL Class 4A first round last season, an abnormally poor yearlong performance for a proud program.

That followed a 5-5 season where they missed the postseason.

But North Catholic players aren’t just talking a winning season, they’re thinking state championship.

“State championship's the one thing that coach always makes us trust in our mind is every state championship team, players lead, coaches coach and the players will get us to the championship,” Brady O’Hara, a three-star tight end/offensive line prospect and Penn State verbal commit, said during heat acclimatization week. “The WPIAL is a good trophy to have. You can have it in our school. But one thing we're really looking for is a state trophy.”

That’s a bold goal. North Catholic, which dropped back down to 3A for the next two-year PIAA cycle, has won one state title, back in 2013 when it claimed the Class A crown over Old Forge. It’s also the only year the program won WPIAL gold.

The Trojans are confident. They’re more comfortable under second-year head coach Chris Rizzo, more in-tune with the offensive and defensive schemes he and his staff are running (Rizzo calls defensive plays during games).

The offense, headlined by the 6-foot-6, 245-pound O’Hara, has several weapons teammates are high on, with junior Joey Felitsky distributing the football at quarterback. And Rizzo doesn’t feel there were many position battles to sort out during the preseason and no glaring holes in the lineup.

The Trojans will not have it easy in a tough WPIAL section. But last year’s uncharacteristic record is motivating.

“Everything that we do is geared toward trying to play as deep in December as humanly possible,” Rizzo said. “And I think the nice thing is, is that this senior class from last year's less-than-stellar end, they've had a chip on their shoulder all offseason, and they remember what that tastes like, right?”

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1. Tough tests to tackle

NC won’t be able to cruise during the regular season. If they want to prove the lofty expectations they’ve established for themselves are warranted, the Trojans must knock off some of the WPIAL’s best teams in 3A Section 1, the Western Hills Conference.

A three-week gauntlet in October will test the Trojans unlike any other part of the season.

Powerhouse Central Valley — which has made the WPIAL playoffs 14 times in 15 years of existence, won three straight conference championships from 2019-21 and made a fourth straight title game in 2022 — will host an Oct. 4 meeting. Then NC hosts Beaver before visiting Avonworth, which has made consecutive WPIAL Class 3A championships and lost.

“I think our schedule this year is one of the hardest schedules out there, so it's going to be huge testament to what our team can really do,” O’Hara said.

2. Plenty of hands to feed

Seniors Roman Sylvester (center, defensive tackle) and O’Hara believe the offense’s strength lies in its bevy of pass catchers.

O’Hara is the blue chip headliner. The team is also high on tight end Joe Safar, who had two runs, an RBI and two extra-base hits in NC baseball’s WPIAL Class 4A championship win in the spring. He holds two football scholarship offers.

At receiver are “five, six, maybe seven receivers that could start,” Sylvester said.

Rizzo was mum on the exact rotation or starters, but Jack White should be one of Felitsky’s top targets out wide, and junior Riker Kennedy, who will see plenty of snaps at cornerback again, will get time at the slot.

3. Strength in the trenches

Sylvester will serve as pivot on the offensive line after two years at guard and a starter at defensive tackle. O’Hara will be a sixth blocker (and receiver) at tight end while bringing pass-rush juice off the defensive edge.

The Trojans are high on their line play beyond those two. Senior guard Joey Strano is the only other returning starting blocker, but Landon Walker saw rotational snaps and will have a bigger role this season.

“I think we have a really good team, and the coaching staffs really coming together,” Sylvester said.

On defense, Rizzo is excited to see defensive tackle Max Lindner healthy after a productive season with a cast on one hand.

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* Connotes division/conference game