The Dave Vestal era at Seneca Valley will begin with the Raiders' biggest rival Friday night as North Allegheny awaits a Northern Eight Conference showdown at Newman Stadium.

“It would be nice to start the season with a non-conference game, kind of ease into the season,” said Vestal. “On the other hand, NA is so well-coached, they are only going to get better as the season goes on.”

The Tigers return three starters on the offensive line from last year's 8-3 team that reached the WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinals — center Chuck Sanders, left guard Nick Burks and right tackle Ryan Jelinek. Josh Lugg, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound junior, moves into the starting left tackle position after making a verbal commitment to play at Notre Dame.

“He's a big kid with long arms,” said Tigers' coach Art Walker, Jr. of Lugg. “He's athletic for his size and is a worker. Schools (colleges) saw that. His GPA is above 4.0 so he has both the athletic and academic end of it going for him.”

Vestal may be a first-year coach in the conference, but he doesn't need to be briefed on North Allegheny's annual relevance in the WPIAL playoff chase.

“We watched film on NA's scrimmage against Penn-Trafford and both teams are ranked high in the WPIAL,” said Vestal. “They (Tigers) are very good up front and are committed to running the football. Their offense is very simple, but they execute very well.”

The Tigers' backfield will include senior quarterback Riley Trueman, a first-year starter, and junior running back Michael Pope, who rushed for 552 yards and four touchdowns last year.

Last season, Trueman was the backup to the graduated Jeff Clemens.

“Jeff was more of a dropback passer,” said Walker. “Riley is a more mobile quarterback who has the option to run or throw.”

Winning the battle at the line of scrimmage will be a difficult task for Seneca Valley's defensive line, but ends Cody Boozel and Gabe Miller will provide the Raiders with a puncher's chance.

“He (Miller) is only a sophomore,” said Vestal. “He's raw, but he has a motor and is very physical. We plan on rotating a bunch of guys in at defensive tackle.”

Junior Jack Cook will make his first varsity start at quarterback for SV, guiding the team's pistol and zone read scheme.

“He did a great job in our two scrimmages against New Castle and Blackhawk,” Vestal added. “He's like a running back playing quarterback. He understands what we are trying to do and his ability to run the option is going to be key for us.”

Though the Raiders are coming off a 2-7 season with new starters at key positions, Walker knows every conference game is crucial.

“Our message to the kids is that you have to work extremely hard to win in this conference,” he said. “The last five years, a team from our conference has won the WPIAL title.

“Camp has been good, but we need a game to make a true evaluation.”

North Allegheny leads the all-time series 25-8-2, including a 14-0 win last season at NexTier Stadium. The Raiders have not beaten the Tigers on the road since a 47-21 triumph in 2002.