ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Wheeling Central went nearly a quarter-of-a-century before winning its first OVAC boys’ soccer championship. It now has two in as many seasons, with both coming against Steubenville Catholic.

However, the top-seeded Maroon Knights (10-2) had an easier time this year as they continued their fine season with a dominating, 5-0, triumph over No. 2 Steubenville Catholic (7-4) Saturday afternoon on the sun-filled, but breezy artificial pitch inside Red Devil Stadium. They prevailed in a penalty kick shootout last fall.

“It was a little bit easier, but it was just as hard if you know what I mean,” Wheeling Central head coach Brian Komorowski said. “They (Steubenville Catholic) played hard. We haven’t been giving up many scoring opportunities, but today they had a couple where we had to defend.”

The Maroon Knights scored on their second shot of the game as Maddox Ochap leaped high above the crowd to head in a corner kick by Mason Smith. Moments later, Smith was awarded a penalty kick. When the Crusaders goalkeeper broke to his left, Smith pounded the ball right down the middle of the crease to make it 2-0 in the 36th minute.

“Scoring early was one of our goals,” Komorowski added. “Our next objective was to get a second goal and we were able to accomplish that. Once we got the 2-0 lead it made it that much more difficult for them because they’ve had some trouble possessing the ball.”

Luke Magruder would tickle the twine twice in the second 40 minutes as the margin grew to 4-0. Ochap capped the scorefest with a blast from the box.

With the game well in hand, Komorowski sent Cade Taylor between the posts to relieve Tino Sperlazza who was credited with just one save. However, Taylor was immediately put to the test to keep the shutout intact. Steubenville Catholic’s Santiago Descalzo was awarded a penalty kick in the waning minutes, but Taylor was a stone wall, blocking the shot with his chest before diving to smother the loose ball.

“Cade is the ultimate trooper,” Komorowski stressed. “He started playing (soccer) last year and decided he wanted to be a goalie. He has put everything he has into it. He could be a starting keeper for a lot of teams. He just has Tino in front of him.

“Our back six were all phenomenal. They all played great today,” Komrowski said of his defense. “It took a total team effort. It all starts with Tino and he played great again today, but in front of him is Carter Oliver who cleans up all the messes. They’ve both got another year, so that’s a good thing.”

Steubenville Catholic head coach Steve Kopcha had nothing but praise for the Maroon Knights.

“They got off to a good start and kept putting pressure on us the entire game. We weren’t able to really get into our game. They deserve a lot of credit for the way they played.”

He said the penalty kick denial was just the way the day went.

“That was typical of the day. We were just a little off today and didn’t have enough to challenge today.”