MOON TWP — The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic football team thought everything was going its way. With less than 10 minutes remaining, the Trojans benefitted from good field position after a play in which a Washington player inadvertently blocked his own punter's kick.

But every time the Little Prexies messed up during a WPIAL Class AA semifinal at Moon High School, the defense bailed them out.

Washington, which turned the ball over five times, including on three straight possessions, won 19-14.

“That's how life goes,” Trojans coach Patrick O'Shea said. “We thought things were going our way. Sometimes when things don't go your way, teams will start to backpedal. They never faded. It didn't faze them at all. That's a mature, respectful team.”

The Little Prexies will play Steel Valley, which beat Riverside 13-10 in overtime, in the WPIAL final next Saturday at Robert Morris University.

Washington, which last won a title in 2001, will make its first championship game appearance since 2012.

“The whole thing was ugly,” Little Prexies coach Michael Bosnic said. “All that matters is we are playing for a championship.”

Both teams scored their first touchdowns on fourth-down plays. Washington quarterback Zack Swartz found Dan Walker for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:10 left in the first quarter to open the scoring.

The Prexies slowed down North Catholic quarterback Zack Rocco, holding him to 53 yards passing.

“I really think our key was the pass coverage tonight,” Bosnic said “It's always great.”

Rocco's lone touchdown pass, on a fourth-and-9, gave the Trojans their only lead, 7-6, with 8:17 left before halftime. He floated a pass in the flat that nearly alluded Ryan Maziarz's fingertips, who tipped the ball to himself before catching it.

Washington went back ahead on the next possession. The Little Prexies opened the drive with a 43-yard run by Nick Welsh, who finished with a game-high 112 yards rushing.

He would cap the drive with a 17-yard run with 6:59 left in the half.

The Little Prexies defense then clamped down. When Isaiah Schoonmaker, scored on a 61-yard run in the third quarter, the lead seemed insurmountable.

Schoonmaker, who primarily plays wide receiver, finished with 107 yards on seven carries. While the Trojans would get the ball on the other side of the field five times, Washington's defense wouldn't give.

“It tightened up,” O'Shea said. “It's what I talked about the last couple days. Their man coverage with their secondary was the best coverage we've seen all year. They locked down our receivers. That was all credit to them.”

North Catholic did capitalize on one miscue, cutting the lead to 19-14 with 10:43 left in the fourth quarter when Rocco recovered a Welsh fumble in the end zone.

Despite grabbing an interception and another fumble recovery, North Catholic never got close to recording a go-ahead score.

“We had a lot of fumbles and a lot of ugliness,” Bosnic said. “We did enough to win. That's all matters.”

CWNC 0 7 0 7 — 14

Washington 6 6 7 0 — 19

First Quarter

W — Dan Walker 15 pass from Zack Swartz (kick failed), 7:10

Second Quarter

CWNC — Ryan Maziarz 9 pass from Zack Rocco (Max Kunzman kick), 8:17

W — Nick Welsh 14 run (pass failed), 6:59

Third Quarter

W — Isaiah Schoonmaker 61 run (Lily Christy kick), 8:47

Fourth Quarter

CWNC — Rocco fumbled recovery in end zone (Kunzman kick), 10:43