Raiders still in control of destiny
JACKSON TWP — The 2014 season has not gone as planned for the Seneca Valley football team.
But despite the Raiders' 0-4 start, they still control their own destiny when it comes to making the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs for a fourth straight year.
With little room for error, Seneca will travel to take on Butler Friday at Art Bernardi Stadium, with the winner earning the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy.
Seneca will likely have to win three Northern Eight Conference games to guarantee itself a playoff spot. With only four conference games remaining, including heavyweights Pine-Richland (Oct. 3) and Central Catholic (Oct. 10), Friday's clash with Butler (2-2, 1-1) has major playoff implications for both teams.
“The kids understand how it works,” said Raiders' coach Don Holl. “The only game that matters to us right now is the next one. I hope our kids are committed to winning this game as much as we think they are.”
The Raiders played their best game of the season at North Hills last week, but suffered a 16-15 defeat.
Two key players who missed that game are still nursing injuries — senior tackle Tyler Hudanick (leg) and senior receiver Brad Hensler (ankle).
“Both are a bit ahead of schedule and we are hoping to get them back soon,” said Holl.
Junior receiver Mark Smith filled in for Hensler last week and contributed five catches for 35 yards, including two grabs that moved the chains.
“He had been doing a great job in (junior varsity) games and in practice,” Holl said. “We were trying to get him into the mix, but Brad's injury may have sped that process up a bit.”
Seneca Valley has won seven straight games against its cross-county rival, but the Golden Tornado have been re-energized by first-year head coach Rob Densmore.
Butler piled up 429 rushing yards in a 42-7 thumping of host Shaler last Saturday. The effort came even though junior Damien Pickett, who has tallied 378 yards, an 8.4 yards-per-carry average and three touchdowns, did not play due to injury. He is expected to play against the Raiders.
Seneca has proved susceptible against the run this season. The Raiders surrendered 206 rushing yards in a loss to Fox Chapel and 261 against North Hills while giving up 10 total touchdowns on the ground thus far.
“Without question, Butler is committed to running the football,” said Holl. “On our end, it's basic stuff. We have a few non-negotiable things on defense, like understanding our assignments and lining up correctly. On every play we draw up defensively, we have a goal of no gain or a loss of yardage.”
The formula for winning has not changed for the Raiders. It is the team's inability to execute that has led to its poor start.
“Taking care of the ball, converting on third downs, getting stops on defense and scoring in the redzone are things we're not doing well right now,” said Holl. “You can see that when evaluating any of our games this year.”
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
The Butler-Seneca Valley football series began in 1977 and has been played every year since the Raiders moved up to Quad A in 1990. Butler leads the all-time series 15-14, but Seneca has won seven straight.Year Winner Score1977 B 39-91978 B 27-61979 B 21-141980 B 20-61981 B 35-01990 B 30-61991 SV 14-91992 B 16-71993 B 21-81994 SV 48-121995 SV 34-211996 B 17-141997 SV 21-181998 B 17-71999 SV 15-62000 B 17-72001 SV 21-62002 SV 32-02003 B 29-72004 B 33-152005 B 47-292006 B 14-02007 SV 27-132008 SV 18-142009 SV 35-172010 SV 41-172011 SV 47-212012 SV 24-92013 SV 28-3
