BUTLER TWP — Seneca Valley quarterback T.J. Holl was about to be dropped to the turf.

His team's final chance to win the game in regulation may have gone down with him — only Holl never went down.

As three Butler defenders grabbed him, Holl flipped the football to running back Mason Dehart, who turned the 3rd-and-10 play into a 14-yard gain down to the Golden Tornado 2-yard line. Two plays later, Holl found Cody Boozel in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 2:47 remaining.

The score snapped a 22-22 tie and gave the Raiders a wacky 29-22 victory Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. SV won the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy for the eighth straight year.

“He's playing on one and a half legs, but that's why he's playing,” SV coach Don Holl said of his son and quarterback. “We need him out there.”

Seneca Valley (1-4, 1-3) defeated Butler (2-3, 1-2) despite committing five turnovers and losing a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter.

“I told the kids this was like a crazy game of golf,” Coach Holl said. “A guy can hit a ball off a tree and if it goes in the hole, it doesn't matter how it got there.

“We got the ball in (the end zone) when we had to.”

The Raiders took a 22-13 lead into halftime and into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Holl fumbled at his own 16-yard line and Butler's Jared Hinkle recovered with 11:26 left in the game. Damien Pickett scored on a 5-yard run three plays later and it was 22-20.

The Tornado picked up a first down at the SV 30 on a pass interference penalty with less than eight minutes remaining. But on third down, Jamison Smith was intercepted by Richard Proper at the 13.

Three plays later, Holl was sacked in the end zone by Eric Hindman for a safety and the game was tied with 6:16 left.

“The momentum was on our side at that point,” Butler coach Rob Densmore said. “Our kids played their butts off. We played well enough to win this game.”

After receiving the free kick, Butler faced third and nine from its own 31. Smith was hit while looking for a receiver and SV's Corey Laskey recovered his fumble at the Butler 16 with 4:58 left.

That set up Holl's third-down pass that extended the game.

“The play was a double-screen, but it broke down,” T.J. Holl said. “The back-side screen guy wasn't there.

“Mason and I have been playing football together since seventh grade. It may sound corny, but he and I know what each other's thinking on the field.”

Dehart agreed.

“This was a stressful game for T.J.,” Dehart said. “They had him in trouble a lot back there and we receivers weren't coming back to the ball.

“I saw him looking around, so I ran back toward the ball and he found me.”

The sudden turn of events spoiled a heroic effort by Butler on homecoming night. Smith threw for 155 yards and a touchdown while Pickett carried 35 times for 101 yards and a score.

“We didn't play the 0-4 Seneca Valley tonight. We played the team that was picked No. 3 (in the WPIAL) in preseason,” Densmore said. “They're pretty healthy now.”

Twice after Butler scores in the first half, SV responded with explosive kick returns.

Devin Fitz booted a 20-yard field goal to cut an early Raider lead to 8-3, but Eric Mrkonja returned the kickoff 83 yards to the Tornado 5-yard line, setting up a 1-yard TD toss to Boozel.

Smith found Rob Kunst for a 17-yard scoring pass to cut the gap to 15-10, but Proper returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.

Both return men bobbled the ball before taking off downfield.

“That's when it happens,” Densmore said. “The kids see the ball on the ground, get excited and leave their lanes. We didn't stay disciplined there.”

“Special teams came up big for us tonight,” Coach Holl said. “We finally found a way to get one done. I must have made the football gods mad somehow because we've been battling injuries and turnovers all year.”

Hindman, Darrien Pickett, Tim Vernick and Hinkle recovered SV fumbles and Reid Werth intercepted a pass for Butler. Chad Izenas had an interception for the Raiders, who had three takeaways.

Fitz added a 34-yard field goal for Butler in the first half and had a 41-yard attempt blocked in the third quarter.