The top-ranked team in WPIAL Class AAAA has fallen.

Mt. Lebanon ran through the Central Catholic defense as if it were Swiss cheese en route to a 36-21 victory against the Vikings, the Post-Gazette's No. 1 team in Class AAAA.

The Blue Devils (2-1) rushed for 237 yards, which helped make up for a passing attack that completed just three passes for 16 yards in the upset.

The non-conference loss was Central Catholic's first of the season and takes some of the glamour out of Thursday night's contest at Upper St. Clair (3-0).

The Blue Devils' offense and defense got started early. Three first-quarter touchdowns -- on a run, a pass and an interception return -- put Mt. Lebanon on top, 20-0. But the Blue Devils weren't done yet.

Mt. Lebanon tacked on 10 more points before Central Catholic got on the scoreboard.

The Vikings (2-1) made a mid-game run to try to reel in the Blue Devils.

Running back Damion Jones-Moore and quarterback David Smyers connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass before halftime, which cut the deficit to 23.

Central Catholic scored two touchdowns in the third quarter that pulled the Vikings to within nine points. But the Vikings would come no closer.

Just as important as Mt. Lebanon's run game was its run defense.

The Blue Devils held Jones-Moore in check. Although defenses couldn't keep Jones-Moore under 200 yards in the Vikings' first two contests, Mt. Lebanon didn't allow him to gain more than 100 yards yesterday afternoon at Carnegie Mellon University's Gesling Stadium.

• Laurel 31, South Side Beaver 7: A clash between No. 4 and No. 5 in Class A lacked a lot of conflict. The fourth-ranked Spartans silenced the Rams' offense, allowing just 47 total yards.

At halftime, the game was still in doubt. Laurel had four first-half turnovers, and the score was tied, 7-7, at the intermission.

Laurel coach Jerry Holzhauser said he didn't say much to his Spartans at the half. "All we did was correct the mistakes we made in the first half," he said.

The Spartans blanked the Rams in the second half, 24-0.

• Beaver 31, Freedom 13: Steve Neeley rushed for 96 yards, averaging more than 10 yards per carry, and scored on a 45-yard run to lead the Bobcats to their third Class AA MAC win of the season. Beaver (3-0) jumped out to an early 28-0 lead to put away Freedom (1-2).

• Western Beaver 21, Monaca 13: The Golden Beavers scored 15 fourth-quarter points to overcome a six-point deficit and win their first game of the year. Western Beaver (1-2) held the Indians (1-2) to 45 yards passing in the Class A Big Seven conference contest.

• Shenango 36, Neshannock 14: Anthony Kosciuszko scored three touchdowns, and Ricky Matthews added two more to lead the Wildcats (3-0) to a Class A Big Seven Conference win against the Lancers (1-2). Shenango had 401 yards of offense.