The 11-point difference on the scoreboard had less to do with the different styles of offense run by Central Catholic and McKeesport than ball protection.

The Central Catholic quick-strike offense and the slow, grind-it-out McKeesport flex-bone attack were effective, but the Tigers could not overcome the five lost fumbles, including two in the fourth quarter, as Central Catholic (12-0) advanced to the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game with a 24-13 victory against McKeesport (10-2) at West Mifflin's Titan Stadium.

The Vikings play Gateway, a 28-27 overtime winner against North Allegheny in the other semifinal, at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Heinz Field.

A first-quarter fumble by McKeesport led to a Tino Sunseri 20-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Williams. In the first half, McKeesport lost three fumbles. Sunseri had two touchdown passes and finished with 136 yards on 9-of-14 passing.

The difference in offensive attacks is evident in the time of each scoring drive. Central's four scoring drives lasted 3:49, 1:23, 57 seconds and 18 seconds. McKeesport's two touchdown drives lasted 8:55 and 5:20.

"That was the whole idea keep the ball away from them," McKeesport coach George Smith said after the game. "[Central] showed what kind of team they are."

After a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped off by J.J. Eckels 10-yard touchdown run, the Tigers cut the lead to 14-6 and swung momentum back to their way. That momentum was short-lived as Andrew Taglianetti took a handoff for an 83-yard touchdown run on Central's first play of the ensuing drive. Taglianetti finished with 150 yards on 12 carries.

"They started getting momentum back on their side and, when Tags split that seam and scored, that was huge," Sunseri said of Taglianetti's touchdown dash.

Sunseri made an outstanding play to give Central an early lead. He appeared to be headed out of bounds 8 yards deep in the pocket, but he sidestepped defenders, kept the play alive and then threw across his body to find Brian Friend in the middle of end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass.

"I felt pressure but I kept looking downfield," Sunseri said. "Brian waved his hand and I found him. I didn't get to see it because I got knocked down, but I heard it was a nice catch."

Sunseri credited his offensive line for all the protection he got throughout the game. He was sacked once for a loss of 7 yards.

The bulk of the Tigers' offense was running back Nico Price and quarterback J.J. Eckels. Price finished with 106 yards on 31 carries and Eckels 92 yards on 20 carries. McKeesport only attempted one pass, a 31-yard completion from Eckels to Shadrae King on a critical fourth down.

Two plays later, Eckels ran 1 yard for a touchdown to cut the Central lead to 21-13.

"Our offensive line was coming off of the ball, and J.J made some big plays. He is a passionate player," Smith said

McKeesport had the advantage in nearly every offensive category. They were 8 of 13 on third-down conversions and 3 for 3 on fourth downs and had 17 first downs to Central's 12. .

Matt Oczypok converted all three extra points for Central and made a critical 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make it a two-possession game.

After watching its season end in the semifinals the past two seasons, Central Catholic advances to Heinz Field for the first time since 2004, when it defeated Gateway, 28-0.