Allentown, PA - August 23, 2024: The Allentown Central Catholic High School Vikings opened their 2024 football season with a 18-0 victory over Trinity High School, Camp Hill, PA, on a beautiful evening at J. Birney Crum Stadium/Andre Reed Field. Both teams came into the opener after not making the PIAA playoffs last season; the Vikings had won the District XI 4A Championship the previous three seasons. The Vikings took the opening kickoff, and under the legs of QB Patrick Cahill (10), marched right down the field into the red zone. The Vikings were stopped however by a stingy Trinity defense and a field was attempted but missed. A short time later, a fumble recovery by the Vikings' Deon Johnson (5) put the offense in great field position, resulting in a made field goal this time, Vikes up 3-0. When it appeared Trinity would answer with a touchdown in the 1st, it was called back due to a holding penalty. Then, in the 2nd quarter, the Vikings' Jiyhzik Figueroa (11) intercepted a Trininty pass and had a good return to set up an offensive surge. This drive was capped off by a 1-yard run by Manny Rosario (32) and the teams went into the half with the Vikings up 10-0. Trinity was stopped by a tough Vikes' defense and their team suffered from penalties at key times. The Vikings' offense marched down the field a couple times in the second half, with WR Aidan Sorrentino (13) snagging a nice catch in the 3rd, but their drives were stopped at times. After the Vikes turned the ball over on downs at the 1-yard line early in the 4th quarter, the Trinity QB was called for intentional grounding when he attempted a pass from his own end zone and a safety was called, giving the Vikings a 12-0 lead. The Trinity kickoff, after the safety, was fielded by the Vikes' Grayson Schmell (10) and he sprinted down the sideline and into the end zone to put the Vikes up 18-0 (the PAT was missed). The below photo shows Manny Rosario (32) celebrating with teammates in the 2nd quarter after his 1-yard touchdown run.
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