AKRON — A huge challenge awaits the Central Catholic boys basketball team .

Expect the Crusaders to meet it head on in a few days after they achieved a program first Saturday : winning three straight district championships.

Central (18-6) overwhelmed its third straight postseason opponent to win an OHSAA Division V Northeast 2 district title at Firestone High School. The Crusaders trailed only briefly in the early minutes before pulling away to a 62-34 win over Trinity.

“We built this team for a run,” Central head coach Matt Creamer said. “It’s why we played the people who we played. Our schedule was mammoth. We’ve seen Richmond Heights. We’ve seen Warren Harding. And we’ve seen Massillon, GlenOak, Perry. ... We played bigger schools than what we are to be ready for these games.”

Richmond Heights, the three-time reigning state champion in Division IV, awaits Central in the regional semifinals Wednesday night at Canton’s Memorial Field House. Richmond Heights beat Chagrin Falls 94-49 in Saturday’s second district final at Firestone.

The two played each other back in December, with Richmond Heights breaking open the game in the third quarter to beat Central 87-56.

Richmond Heights and Central each landed in Division V this year after the OHSAA expanded the basketball tournament from four to seven divisions. Central’s previous two district titles came in Division III. Reigning Division III state champ Lutheran East and 23-2 Norwayne are in the other regional semifinal at the Field House.

Central was ranked second behind only Lutheran East among Northeast Ohio’s 34 Division V teams in the RPI formula OHSAA uses, a testament to its strength of schedule.

“The schedule we play helps our kids understand where we want to go,” Creamer said. “We’ve started to climb the mountain. But we’ve still got to get to the top. I think we’re in the toughest region in the state in any division.”

The Crusaders have won their three tournament games by 42, 32 and 28 points.

“We’ve played a lot of better teams than this to get us ready,” Central senior Luke Vlacovsky said.

Vlacovsky scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds. He was one of three Crusaders to score double figures Saturday. His younger brother Lance Vlacovsky led the way with 12 points to go with six rebounds. Easton Miller scored 11 points to go with four assists and four rebounds.

Luke Vlacovsky entered the tournament as Stark County’s top scorer at 22.5 points per game. But he knows the Crusaders are far more than him offensively.

“The last five teams we played in the regular season all face guarded me. But I’m really comfortable and really confident in them,” he said, referring to his teammates.

To make the point of how potent the Crusaders can be even if he is not scoring, Central put the game away with a 19-2 run in the third quarter. Luke Vlacovsky did not score a point in that four-minute stretch which gave the Crusaders a 44-23 lead.

“We’re a third-quarter team,” Luke said.

Lance Vlacovsky scored seven of the points, twice scoring after passes from his brother, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

“We are in sync with each other,” Luke said. “We move the ball well. It’s swing, swing, swing, shot. We rely on each other. And it clicks for us.”

Jake Bowling came up with a 4-point play in the run, while big men Jonathan Stangl and Will Minor also added buckets. Trinity never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

In winning their third straight district championship, the Crusaders increased their overall total of district titles to six in the 12 years under Creamer. The program had never won a district title before his arrival.

“We’ve challenged them and they’ve changed the culture,” Creamer said. “We’ve been able to get to this game eight times in the last 12 years and win it six times because these kids accept the challenge.”

Another challenge awaits. Creamer is eager to attack it with this group.

“The effort and mentality they have is all about toughness,” he said. “I get after them. And they understand that. They want to be coached.

“Luke Vlacovsky is one of those guys who wants to be coached. He wants to be really good and he accepts that coaching. That’s special. And they all see that, and they all want to be coached, too. ... The character of these kids is great.”