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Monday, November 25, 2024 | 10:12 PM
Central Catholic’s Elijah Faulkner is hoisted into the air after scoring against North Allegheny on Sept. 27.
Trib HSSN football player of the week – Elijah Faulkner
School: Central Catholic
Class: Senior
Height/Weight: 5-foot-9, 185 pounds
Position: Running back, linebacker
#Earned: In the WPIAL Class 6A championship game and PIAA quarterfinals, Central Catholic has found the perfect recipe for success on offense. Have senior quarterback Jy’Aire Walls hit senior wide receiver Bradley Gompers on a long touchdown pass very early in the game, then just hand the pigskin off to Elijah Faulkner the rest of the night and watch him run while the scoreboard lights up. Against District 6 champion State College, Faulkner carried the ball 38 times and averaged 6.18 yards per tote as he gained 235 yards and scored four touchdowns on three 1-yard runs and then a 33-yard jaunt right before halftime. His efforts helped the Vikings advance to the state semifinals with a victory over the Little Lions, 41-19.
Background: For his final high school football season through 12 games, Faulkner has 244 carries for 1,334 yards with 19 touchdowns. He led the Vikings in rushing his sophomore season with 521 yards and was tops again on the team a year ago as a junior with 1,426 yards and also led Central Catholic in scoring with 19 touchdowns. Faulkner and his fellow Central Catholic seniors will graduate with three district runners-up silver and one district gold medal around their neck. They hope to add a PIAA title, which would only be the third 6A state championship by a WPIAL team following Pine-Richland in 2017 and Mt. Lebanon in 2021. Central Catholic plays District 3 champion Harrisburg on Saturday in Altoona.
Week 13 honorable mention
Tyler Eber, Thomas Jefferson
It was another clutch game for Jaguars senior wide receiver Brayden While, who only caught two passes but both went for touchdowns of 57 and 51 yards. However, the running of Tyler Eber once again made a difference in another impressive postseason victory for Thomas Jefferson. The sophomore running back rushed for 131 yards on 31 carries and scored twice, once on a 2-yard run and another on a 19-yard pass from senior quarterback Luke Kosko as TJ blanked District 9 champion Clearfield in a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals playoff game, 35-0.
Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry
In a WPIAL Class A instant classic championship game, every time Clairton looked like it was going to take control, Matt Sieg and Fort Cherry had an answer. The junior quarterback grinded out 87 yards on the ground on 28 carries while scoring short touchdown runs of 4 and 1 yard, but it is his arm that will be remembered in this win. He was 8 of 15 for 161 yards and a touchdown, which came late in the game on a fourth-down play at the Bears’ 13-yard line. Sieg faked a reverse on what was a designed play as he ran left. With nowhere to go, he tried to reverse his field to the right, but as he was about to be stopped short, he pushed a pass to a wide-open Ryan Huey for the winning score in the Rangers’ repeat, 21-20.
2024 HSSN Players of the Week:
Week 12 – Maclane Miller, Pine-Richland
Week 11 – Kemon Spell, McKeesport
Week 10 – Eric Kasperowicz, Mars
Week 9 – DevonTe Dean, Carlynton
Week 8 – Brady Brinkley, North Allegheny
Week 7 – Kymon’e Brown, Jeannette
Week 6 – Tasso Whipple, Penn-Trafford
Week 5 – Julian Dahlem, Upper St. Clair
Week 4 – Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry
Week 3 – Trey Hopper, Montour
Week 2 – Tyler Eber, Thomas Jefferson
Week 1 – Donald Barksdale, Steel Valley
Week Zero – Drew Welhorsky, South Fayette


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