BUTLER TWP — Butler has been limiting its mistakes on the football field so far this season.

But when they've made them, those mistakes have come in bunches.

“We need to put together four solid quarters,” Golden Tornado coach Rob Densmore said. “We've come close. We know we can do better.”

Butler (1-2, 0-1) travels to Shaler (0-3, 0-2) for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday. The game will be the Titans' homecoming.

The Tornado allowed 21 points in the first 10 minutes of a 28-10 loss at Altoona. They surrendered 21 points in the final five minutes of the first half in last week's 35-7 loss at North Hills.

“In both cases, we came back out and competed hard,” Densmore said. “That mind-set is there now. Next step is developing other facets of our game.”

That includes the passing game, which has made strides over the past two weeks. Jamison Smith completed nine passes at North Hills, including a touchdown toss to Kelley Kuharic.

Kuharic had a number of lobbed passes toward the right sideline thrown his way last week.

“It (passing game) needs to evolve and it's coming,” Densmore said. “We're working on putting a few more plays in this week. We'll continue to get stronger there.”

Butler will be in particular need of a more versatile attack if running back Damien Pickett is unable to play Saturday. Pickett left the North Hills game in the first quarter with an ankle sprain and did not return.

Densmore said Pickett will be evaluated day-to-day. A decision on his playing status will be made in the next day or so. Pickett has rushed for 378 yards in the first three weeks.

If Pickett can't play, Robert Burdine and Tim Vernick will handle the tailback duties. Lucas Dubyak had some carries from that position last week.

“We're more comfortable with Dubyak and (Jeremy) Hanford staying at fullback,” Densmore said.

Densmore lauded the play of safety Reid Werth against North Hills.

“He came up and contributed on a lot of tackles and we didn't have breakdowns in coverage while Reid was making all of the secondary calls,” Densmore said. “North Hills has athletes and they made some plays on us.”

Connor Frost returned five kickoffs for 134 yards, three of those returns going for more than 30 yards.

Densmore took the blame on the Indians' lone second-half touchdown — a 60-yard burst up the middle by Nick Santucci.

“I decided to bring the house on that play, trying to get the ball back. That one was on me,” he said.

Butler will face a game-breaking receiver in Robby Reinheimer come Saturday. He scored on an 85-yard reception against Woodland Hills last week.

“Woodland Hills has speed and that kid just blew past them,” Densmore said. “He's the fastest receiver we've seen so far.”

Shaler has lost to Pine-Richland (42-0), Central Catholic (31-0) and Woodland Hills (47-14) thus far. The Titans have dropped 25 straight games, dating back to 2011.

“They've played three top opponents and fell behind by a lot early,” Densmore said. “We don't know if we've seen their regular package or plays they ran because they were playing from behind.

“We're looking to go 2-2, but I'm sure they've had this game circled on their calendar They're anticipating the old Butler and they're hungry for a win. We have to be ready.”