Roman Thompson's Three Rushing TDs Highlight Central Catholic's WPIAL Title Victory
GIBSONIA, Pa. — While it might be just another WPIAL title-winning season in the storied history of Pittsburgh Central Catholic, it has been a storybook year for one of its leaders, Roman Thompson.
A junior running back and linebacker, Thompson racked up a team-high 21 touchdowns on offense throughout the course of the season while being a stud defender on a defense full of Division-I talent.
“That dude is a war daddy,” Central head coach Ryan Lehmeier said about Thompson. “I love him to death. He is what this sport is about. He plays this thing the right way, he is a captain, he is an underclassman and our team takes on Roman’s temperament and that works out for us.”
“Name it,” Lehmeier said about what being a war daddy means. “We’ll play here, in the parking lot, at midnight. We’ll play them on the equator with that dude.”
He added to his historic season in Saturday’s 42-7 WPIAL Class-6A Championship win over North Allegheny as he totaled 95 yards on just seven rushes for three touchdowns on offense while he tallied a sack and a near interception on defense.
“I want to thank my teammates,” Roman Thompson said about his championship performance. “My teammates were setting me up for success and I did my assignment that they made easier for me.”
The troubling thing for many football programs in western Pennsylvania is that Thompson is just a junior.
After already being one of the best players, in the highest classification of football, across the entire state, he has another whole season to do it all over again.
That is not to say that his junior season is over just yet. Thompson and his Pittsburgh Central Catholic teammates now turn their attention to the team’s PIAA quarterfinal matchup against State College next week.
“Super excited,” Thompson said about playing more football this year. “It is just more opportunities to prove myself and to go up against really good talent. In Pennsylvania, we have a ton of good football talent so I am excited to see what the future holds for us.”
On top of the numbers that he racked up in addition to the now two WPIAL titles that he has helped win with the Vikings, Thompson’s recruitment recently heated up as he picked up offers from power-conference programs such as Penn State and Pitt.
“I am just blessed,” Thompson said about his last 12 months. “All glory to God. He blessed me with these opportunities and the talents that I have today. None of this would be possible without him so I am just thankful every step of the way.”
