PITTSBURGH — Central Catholic linebacker Gannon Carothers flexed his muscles early to showcase what makes the Vikings so dangerous.

Seneca Valley's football team stopped the Vikings from scoring on their first possession. Raiders running back Nolan Dworek took a handoff and was 14 yards up the sideline with more room to maneuver on their first play from scrimmage.

Carothers was alongside Dworek, however, and stole the ball away as they fell to the turf. Vernon Settles caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Payton Wehner on the next play, setting the tone in the Vikings' 35-0 conference win.

“We were aggressive with the strips and flying around on defense,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said.

The Raiders turned the ball over five times, including four in the first half.

“That was as bad a first quarter as far as the way things went that I've been around in a long time,” Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle said. “We gave them short fields and opportunities. The defense, the rest of the night, put up a donut. They didn't drive down the field and manhandle us.”

Central Catholic (5-1, 3-0) made quick work of the short field.

On the Vikings' second possession, it was an 11-yard punt that set Central Catholic up at the Seneca Valley 38-yard line.

The Raiders would also have a 9-yard punt later in the half.

“We were trying to kick away from one of their guys,” Butschle said. “It just didn't happen. The execution was bad. We gave up a lot of yards on that and you can't do that against a good team.”

Four plays later, Carothers scored on a 10-yard run to double the lead. Vikings defensive back Xavier Thomas stopped the Raiders' next drive with an interception.

Wehner would find tight end Josh Altsman on a 33-yard scoring strike to stretch the lead to 21-0 with 5 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first quarter.

Seneca Valley (4-2, 2-1) responded with its best drive of the first half, moving the ball to the Central Catholic 25. Aiden Lyczek hauled in a 30-yard pass from Graham Hancox on a 3rd-and-18 to extend the drive.

Disaster struck again when a Seneca Valley fumble was picked up by Robert Fulton and returned 70 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings ended the first quarter with a 28-0 lead.

“They were opportunistic off turnovers,” Totten said. “We got up a couple scores early, which is important in a game like this.”

Seneca Valley never quite found a way to break through for a score. Hancox passed for 293 yards, including 97 to Brandon Ross.

But the Raiders were held to minus-22 yards rushing.

Butschle thought Seneca Valley was prepared for the challenge despite not playing for two weeks due to a forfeit win over Norwin last week.

“That had nothing to do with it,” Butschle said. “I thought we had one of our best weeks of practice this week, that goes to show how much I know about football. I thought we practiced well and were prepared. When the ball is kicked off on Friday night, you have to execute.”

Seneca Valley 0 0 0 0 — 0

Central Catholic 28 0 0 7 — 35

First Quarter

CC — Vernon Settles 38 pass from Payton Wehner (Matthew Schearer kick), 9:24

CC — Gannon Carothers 10 run (Schearer kick), 6:54

CC — Josh Altsman 33 pass from Wehner (Schearer kick), 5:42

CC — Robert F ulton 70 fumble recovery (Schearer kick), 2:42

Fourth Quarter

CC — Antonio Pitts 4 run (Schearer kick), 8:47

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Seneca Valley, Nolan Dworek 8-23, Wyatt Craver 2-(-1), Graham Hancox 13-(-44). Central Catholic, Gannon Carothers 16-81, Antonio Pitts 9-25, Payton Wehner 3-2, Samy Bayer 3-2, Matthew Schearer 1-1.

Passing: Seneca Valley, Graham Hancox 20-34-293-2. Central Catholic, Payton Wehner 9-15-131-1.

Receiving: Seneca Valley, Brandon Ross 5-97, Luke Lawson 8-78, Nick Hemer 2-48, Aiden Lyczek 4-50, Nolan Dworek 1-10. Central Catholic, Brandon Jackson 7-60, Vernon Settles 1-38, Josh Altsman 1-33.