The performance was downright dominant, so thorough that the final 37 minutes were a formality, a span of time when all that was left was for the clock to tick away.

In truth, this one was over in the first 11 minutes.

"You get out to a lead early and good things happen," said Central Catholic coach Terry Totten, stating the glaringly obvious.

What was also obvious last night was this: Central Catholic made a push, a heavy one at that, to be considered the odds-on favorite to capture the WPIAL Class AAAA title and maybe more.

The Vikings used a first-quarter flurry, manhandling and racing past Bethel Park to pick up a 38-6 victory in a WPIAL quarterfinal matchup at the Wolvarena in Turtle Creek.

For the sixth time in the past seven seasons, Central Catholic (11-0) advances to the semifinals where the Vikings will face McKeesport next week with a trip to Heinz Field in the balance.

"Give them the credit," Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny said, pausing as he looked for the proper words. "We weren't physical enough, we didn't execute well enough and they just played an outstanding game. We couldn't slow them down. ... They took it to us."

Then again, the Vikings have taken it to just about everyone who stood in front of them this season.

Central Catholic came in as the Post-Gazette's No. 1-ranked WPIAL and PIAA team, averaging more than 43 points per game on the season. The Vikings had tallied 56, 42, 60 and 45 points in the four games prior to last night.

There were rumblings that those numbers were inflated, the product of a less than competitive Foothills Conference schedule.

"We know that people were saying we didn't really play anyone this season," Central Catholic receiver Andrew Taglianetti said. "I think this game showed a lot of people what we are capable of against a very good football team."

Central Catholic showed early that all the praise was merited, all the lofty numbers were not a misnomer. Much of that statement came on the right arm of quarterback Tino Sunseri, who finished 13-of-15 passing for a career-high 220 yards, and on the shoulders of strapping offensive linemen Ross Lapkowicz, Matt Bury, Tim Monda, Devin Martin and Zach Niznik.

"It seems like the offensive line was giving me pass protection and the receivers were running great routes," Sunseri said. "I was just the finish man."

And again, Bethel Park (7-4) effectively was beaten while some were still trying to find their seats on the cold, still evening.

The Vikings dizzied Bethel Park early with a series of haymakers, taking a 21-0 lead just 11 minutes in and accumulating an almost-unfathomable 231 yards of offense in that span.

Tight end Quentin Williams pulled in a 25-yard scoring strike from Sunseri less than three minutes in to give Central Catholic a 7-0 advantage. That lead jumped to 14-0 about five minutes later when Sunseri sneaked in from 2 yards.

Then came the big one, a stunning overhand right that effectively felled Bethel Park and ended its season.

It came in the form of a 99-yard touchdown pass from Sunseri to Taglianetti in the waning seconds of the first quarter. On the play, Taglianetti made a subtle move at the line and roared past a Black Hawks defender before yanking in the perfect spiral around midfield and coasting the rest of the way.

"[The Bethel Park cornerback] was playing off, so I just kind of made a little stutter at the line," Taglianetti said. "I left enough room on the sideline and all I had to do was run under it. Tino laid it in there perfectly."

To further quantify Central Catholic's dominance, consider this: Sunseri connected on his first 11 throws, not throwing an incompletion until 26 seconds remained in the third quarter.

Conversely, all Bethel Park could muster was two second-quarter field goals from Ethan Talbott.

In the second half, the Vikings tacked on 17 more points; Emmanuele Matthews had a 5-yard scoring grab, Matt Oczypok had a 32-yard field goal and Jeff Knox a 5-yard run.

But, for Central Catholic, there is unquestionably more business at hand. The Vikings have lost the past two seasons in the semifinals, a trend Taglianetti, for one, would like to fracture.

"My senior year, I want to make sure we get to Heinz Field," Taglianetti said. "But, I know we can do it."

They can, particularly if they play next week the way they played last night.