PITTSBURGH — Dan Kline had enough yardage for the first down. The Butler senior wide receiver's issue was he no longer had the ball.

Kline was held up by several Central Catholic tacklers and the ball was ripped away. By the time the Golden Tornado realized what happened, Central Catholic defensive back Liam Slattery was headed 62 yards for a touchdown Friday night at Gesling Stadium.

“I was walking over to the sideline,” Butler quarterback Luke Michalek said. “I thought we got a first down. Let's score, let's go. I turned around and he was in the end zone. It was crushing.”

The fourth-down play prevented the Tornado from moving in for a potential tying score, instead putting them behind 14-0.

Butler never found a way to recover from that conversion attempt gone wrong in the first quarter, dropping a 49-14 Northern Seven Conference decision to the Vikings.

“I thought our kids battled,” Butler coach Rob Densmore said. “The wheels fell off at the end. We dug ourselves a hole with mistakes.”

Central Catholic (5-2, 4-1) didn't need any gifts from Butler. Even when the Vikings did themselves harm, they found a way to score.

On the game's opening drive, Central Catholic had a touchdown waved off, lost 11 yards on a fumble and were hit with a personal foul penalty. Vikings quarterback Troy Fisher capped that 16 play, 9-minute drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Cam Laconi, a Butler native, had the big conversion on the drive. He caught a 25-yard pass from Fisher on third-and-23.

Fisher passed for 118 yards and completed all seven of his pass attempts.

“It's rough,” Densmore said. “We had them in a third-and-25 and we missed three tackles. You have to give their guy credit, he made us miss, but you have to make those tackles.”

Following a first-drive disaster, where the Golden Tornado lost 20 yards, Butler (2-4, 1-4) showed life on its second possession.

Anthony Daviduk caught a 25-yard pass from Michalek on 3rd-and-23 to move the ball to the Viking 43. Four plays later, Michalek found Kline for six yards down to the 32 when the ball was ripped away and recovered by Slattery.

The Golden Tornado appeared to have scored on a 35-yard run by John Michalek, but had it called back on holding.

Central Catholic extended the lead to 21-0 before halftime on a 1-yard run by Khalil Weathers. Weathers, who also scored on a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter, finished with 123 yards on 12 carries.

To open the second half, Butler ran nearly nine minutes off the clock with a 15-play scoring drive. Luke Michalek got the Golden Tornado on the board with a 1-yard run.

“I credit Butler,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “(Densmore) has them playing hard-nosed football. (Michalek) is a fantastic player.”

Cam Laconi, a Butler native, ran the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards for a score to put Central Catholic back ahead 28-7.

Michalek, who finished with 83 yards on 16 carries, scored Butler's other touchdown on an 8-yard run in the fourth.

“The scoreboard doesn't reflect how we played tonight,” Luke Michalek said. “There are four or five plays that determine the game. The fumble, the touchdown called back, the early stuff killed us.”

Butler 0 0 7 7 — 14

Central Cath. 7 14 7 21 — 49

First Quarter

CC — Troy Fisher 2 run (Jonathan Olpalko kick), 4:50

Second Quarter

CC — Liam Slattery 62 fumble return (Olpalko kick), 7:18

CC — Weathers 1 run (Olpalko kick), :11

Third Quarter

B — Luke Michalek 1 run (Emerson Douthett kick), 3:32

CC — Cam Laconi 85 kickoff return (Olpalko kick), 3:16

Fourth Quarter

B — Michalek 8 run (Douthett kick), 11:13

CC — Jordan Rheingrover 27 pass from Fisher (Olpalko kick), 6:37

CC — Weathers 52 run (Olpalko kick), 5:08

CC — Marco Marchionda 18 interception return (Olpalko kick), 3:39

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Butler, Luke Michalek 16-83, Jacob Tilko 8-74, Cory Mertz 7-8, John Ryan Herold 1-2, John Michalek 6-(-2), Trent Valent 4-(-4). Central Catholic, Weathers 12-123, Fisher 8-12, Austin Vigliotti 1-3, David Green 1-1

Passing: Butler, Luke Michalek 4-5-52-0, Jake Kradel 0-1-0-1. Central Catholic, Fisher 7-7-118-0

Receiving: Butler, Cory Mertz 2-24, Daviduk 1-23, Kline 1-5. Central Catholic, Corey Thomas 2-42, Laconi 3-33, Rheingrover 1-27, Gavin Thomson 1-16