Parkland’s senior class has been wanting this for four years. They’ve been league and district football champions all four years they’ve been in high school, but they never advanced far after that.

It became a monkey on their back and there were questions about what would happen after this year’s fourth straight district championship.

But this year the Trojans are now two rounds deeper into the playoffs than they’ve been the past four years. They beat Upper Dublin in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals to advance to the state championship game for the first time since 2007. The game will be in Hersheypark Stadium Saturday night against Pittsburgh Central Catholic (14-1).

“We’re very excited to be playing in this game,” said Parkland head coach Jim Morgans. “The kids have worked really hard to get to where they are and they deserve to be here. We beat the best teams in the eastern part of the state to get here.”

But these Vikings from Central Catholic have proved to be the best team in the western part of the state. This is their fifth time playing in the big game in the last 13 years.

Central defeated Cumberland Valley 24-7 last weekend to advance to the finals. It was the Vikings’ 12th win in a row after losing a week three game to North Allegheny, 24-17 back on September 18.

After its lone loss of the season to Liberty in October, the Trojans (14-1) have won nine straight, including the double-digit 30-14 victory over Upper Dublin last Saturday.

“Both teams are playing good football at the right time of the year,” said Morgans. “It’s going to be a good game against two hot teams. It’s going to come down to who makes the plays and avoids mistakes.”

It’s going to be a tough, physical game for Parkland, one that the Trojans have yet to see this year, maybe outside of the Explorers two weeks ago.

The Vikings feature three defensive linemen who all hold FBS scholarship offers and are all at least 6-foot-3 and at least 270 pounds.

Rashad Wheeler, Kurt Hinish, and CJ Thorpe, along with linebacker David Adams, and defensive backs Damar Hamlin and Bricen Garner all are being heavily recruited by big time college programs

“Everything starts with their defense,” said Morgans. “They’re just a good, all-around solid football team, especially on defense. Defensively, they try and hold people down. They look to play physical and stop the run first and foremost.”

Good thing for Parkland that they have a well-balanced offensive attack with dual-threat quarterback Devante Cross at the helm, and tall wide receivers Kenny Yeboah and Zach Bross.

Offensively, Central Catholic features Toledo-bound running back Ronnie Jones. Jones ran for 134 yards on 16 carries last weekend.

It is the biggest game Parkland has played since 2007, when the Trojans last lost in the PIAA final to these very same Vikings 21-0.