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The Vikings were so dominant they drew immediate comparison to Mike Pettine's 1998 Central Bucks West squad, which most longtime observers of the PIAA playoffs had considered the best Class AAAA team dating back to the beginning of state playoffs in 1988.
Suppose, however, that Central Catholic had not participated in states, that their season had stopped with their winning the WPIAL championship at Heinz Field.
"In 2004, we knew we were the best team in the state," Walker said. "But if we weren't in the PIAA playoffs, we wouldn't have been able to prove it."
The Vikings did prove it, demolishing Neshaminy 49-14 in a state final that wasn't even as close that lopsided score.
"If we hadn't had that opportunity," Walker said, "it would have been an injustice."
Now you see the seriousness, and danger, of District Seven football coaches and administrators threatening to pull out of the state playoffs if their WPIAL championships are tampered with.
"These guys are adamant, 'Do not mess with our system, and if you do, we'll stick with what we have,'" said Walker, who is the current head coach at District Seven's North Allegheny.
"Most of them, though, haven't coached in a state championship game. To go to a state championship, that's special."
Bill Cherpak can relate.
Since 2004, he has led Thomas Jefferson to three state titles in Class AAA, including back-to-back crowns the last two seasons.
Like Walker, Cherpak has coached in both the WPIAL title games in Heinz Field and in the PIAA championships in Hersheypark Stadium. He said he's sought to explain to his District Seven coaching brethren that the heady thrill they get from coaching in the WPIAL championship can be duplicated a couple of weeks later.
"A lot of coaches around here would rather win the WPIAL than win states," Cherpak stated. "The viewpoint in District Seven is, and this is a difficult way to say it, but the viewpoint is other districts don't have championships like we do.
"It's special and we don't want to lose it. I think about some of the great teams that have come out of Western Pennsylvania, and I think, 'What if they didn't have the chance to compete in states?'"
The current controversy stems from the PIAA seeking to expand the enrollment classifications from four to six for the 2010 season. The vote has been postponed to July 23-24, when the 12 district chairmen and their representatives convene a strategic planning committee.
"We'll come up with a recommendation (to the PIAA Control Board) on how we want to proceed," District Seven chairman Rich Constantine said. "Different areas have different needs. But I'm confident we'll have a compromise."
What that compromise might look like no one is prepared to say. It's not just the WPIAL's "Super Saturday" — a slate of four title games at Heinz Field — that's at stake.
There's also Western Pennsylvania's desire to maintain the status quo and keep the 16-week season rather than reduce it to 15.
"Both (proposals) present a problem for us," Constantine said. "If we go to six classes, we're going to have a transportation problem. Longer bus rides mean additional costs and kids getting home later. That's a problem. We're also going to lose some traditional rivalries."
District Seven coaches and administrators look at the PIAA proposals and naturally think, "What's best for the West?"
Districts in the East do the same. Everyone has their kids' best interests at heart. Problem is, what's best for kids in Western Pennsylvania isn't necessarily what's best for their counterparts in the East.
"It's definitely an East-West thing," Cherpak said. "I can't fathom why they don't leave it up to the districts."
Walker's father, Art Sr., coached Mount Lebanon to four WPIAL titles. Art Jr. grew up in Western Pennsylvania; he understands the tradition, he gets the history.
"The WPIAL championship was the thing when I was growing up, and it's still a major accomplishment," he said. "No disrespect to anyone in the East, but when you're playing games in Heinz Field, Three Rivers Stadium, Pitt Stadium, those are great venues.
"The state championships have become bigger than they were in '88, but the WPIAL championship haven't faded. They haven't lost their luster."
Said Constantine, "I've been to both (the PIAA and WPIAL title games), and our district championships are more spectacular. A state championship is the pinnacle, but ask any kid or coach out here where they would rather play, and they would say Heinz Field.
"We just want to be able to continue to hold the playoffs the way we want to."
E-mail: egruver@lnpnews.com
