OK, it's been pretty obvious.

For the past few years, Central Catholic football has been laying the smack down on virtually every WPIAL opponent in its path.

All five members of the Vikings' offensive line are headed to Division I college grid programs. The quarterback is going Division I. So are a lot of players on their defense.

Kinda crazy.

Since the beginning of the 2013 season, Central Catholic has won 47 of its last 52 games, including playoffs. That is domination.

What really brought attention to the talent of that team was Central's 55-14 destruction of perennial power North Allegheny earlier this year.

And it makes one wonder just how good St. John's College of Washington, D.C., is, as it beat Central Catholic by three touchdowns in their season opener.

The real question here is whether or not Catholic high schools in this area have gotten so powerful that they really should just move into their own league and pound on each other.

While that argument may be made in basketball ... in football? Not so much.

Yes, Central is on quite a roll. But in 2012, the Vikings were 8-3, finished third in their section and were bounced from the playoffs early.

It could be they are reaping the fruits of a particularly powerful roster these past three years.

Will that sustain itself?

Time will tell.

When it comes to other Catholic schools in the WPIAL, football dominance has not sustained itself.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic was 47-5 from 2012-15 — matching Central's current run — but has lost three times this season and was third in its section entering play this weekend.

Seton-LaSalle went 35-10 from 2012-15, but took a 4-2 record into Freeport this weekend while in a fight for its playoff life.

During that same 2012-15 stretch, Greensburg Central Catholic was 23-17, Bishop Canevin 18-22, Our Lady of Sacred Heart 7-27 and Serra Catholic 5-31.

It's not really the private school thing in football. It's the program.

It is unlikely Central Catholic recruits. It is likely that the parents of a talented player looking to give their son a Catholic education are knocking on that school's door.

The very nature of public vs. private is unfair.

A public school has to take what it can get from within its own district.

A private school can accept students — and potentially great athletes — from all over the region.

Recruiting or no recruiting, that's not an equal situation.

But in football, where it takes numerous stellar athletes to win, private schools do not have a guaranteed path to dominance. These records bear that out.

Central Catholic is far and away the best team in WPIAL 6A.

For now.

We'll see if they maintain it.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle