Some offenses do not strive for balance, electing instead to use a pass-heavy or run-heavy approach.

Don't count Seneca Valley among them. First-year Raiders' football coach Dave Vestal knew before the season that his offense needed to threaten opposing defenses both on the ground and through the air.

Now into the second half of the season, he likes what he sees.

The Raiders (3-2, 3-1) are averaging 204 yards rushing per game, 169 passing and most notably, 33.4 points per contest.

“The important thing is that we're doing what we need to do to move the ball and win games,” said Vestal. “Balance is important, especially in this conference and (offensive coordinator) Ron Butschle has done a nice job with what we're doing on offense.”

Seneca's attack will need to be just as potent this Friday when the team travels to Northern Eight Conference leader Pine-Richland. The Rams are coming off a 47-7 drubbing of North Hills and sport a perfect 4-0 conference mark (5-0 overall).

Pine-Richland won the WPIAL Class AAAA title last year and did not suffer defeat until the state championship game. Star quarterback Ben DiNucci graduated in June, but sophomore Phil Jurkovec has proven to be a lethal dual-threat.

The 6-foot-5 Jurkovec has thrown for 887 yards with seven touchdowns and just one interception. He also leads the Rams in rushing with 538 yards and has five touchdowns on the ground.

“We take pride in our quarterback development here,” Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “We feel like that's an important part of the game.”

“He is outstanding,” Vestal said of Jurkovec. “He can run and throw. Scheme-wise, they make you defend the entire field.”

Senior wide receiver Anthony Battaglia leads the Rams in receptions with 17 for 240 yards. Five Rams have more than 100 yards in pass receptions and five have caught touchdown passes.

Besides Jurkovec — who has four 100-yard rushing games — Jimmy Graf has rushed for 473 yards and 10 touchdowns.

While SV averages 33 points per game, Pine-Richland averages 47. And the Rams are allowing just 10.5 points per contest.

“Shootout is an ugly word as far as I'm concerned,” Kasperowicz said. “Seneca Valley may be the most balanced offense we've faced so far. This will be a good test for us.”

Pine-Richland's defense is led by third-year starting middle linebacker Zach Lemirande, third-year starting end Matt Hampson and safety Battaglia.

The Raiders will try to avoid Pine-Richland's early onslaught. The Rams have outscored their five opponents 82-7 in the first quarter this season.

A lot of responsibility will be placed on SV's starting secondary — cornerbacks Jack Cook and Will Briscoe and safeties Corbin Kessler and Brock Gresock.

Junior halfback Hank Royal's emergence has had a lot to do with the success of Seneca Valley's offense.

In the first two games of the season, Royal totaled 56 rushing yards, but he is averaging 117 yards over the past three games.

Hollidaysburg at Knoch 7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: The Tigers have won four straight, including victories over Franklin Regional and Gateway to move into contention for the Greater Allegheny Conference. ... Mac Christy leads Knoch with 257 yards rushing and picked up 90 yards on the ground last week. Tight end Brennan McTighe has 12 catches for 211 yards for the Knights. ... Jarret Cavalet has thrown for 473 yards and seven TDs for Hollidaysburg while Zach Kovach has rushed for 391 yards.

Karns City at Union 7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: The Gremlins have not scored fewer than 41 points in a game this year and defeated the Golden Knights 56-20 and 53-20 the past two years. ... Union's 28-18 win over KC in 2012 snapped a 16-game losing streak against the Gremlins. ... Union's Dugan Gallagher is second in the Butler County area with 669 yards ruihing. ... Karns City's trio of Chandler Tuirner, Colin Dunmyre and Maverick Kelsea have combined for 912 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing.

Warren at Slippery Rock

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: Slippery Rock junior QB Bailey Mertens missed last week's game and his status is unknown for this week. ... Trent Porter had 160 yards on 30 carries for the Rockets (3-2, 1-2) in the loss to Hickory last week. ... The Warren (1-4, 1-3) running game has struggled this season, amassing just 112 yards in four games. By contrast, the Rockets have four players with more than 200 yards rushing.

Clarion at Moniteau

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: Moniteau (1-4) has only cracked more the 20 points in a game this season once. ... QB Derek Boben has been a bright spot, passing for 502 yards and rushing for another 324. ... Clarion (4-1) struggled last week in a 20-16 win over Keystone, needing a late defensive stand to preserve the victory.

Grove City at Sharon

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: Grove City (1-4, 1-3) QB Kameron Patterson continues his strong play with 913 yards passing and a completion percentage of 63.0 to go along with 177 rushing yards. ... Sharon's offense is explosive behind QB Andrew Tomko, who has thrown for 1,092 yards and has rushed for 440 yards.

Punxsutawney

at A-C Valley

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: The Chucks (2-2) dropped a 47-13 decision to DuBois Area last week. A-C Valley (0-4) lost to Clarion-Limestone 40-12. ... Punxsy senior DL Brandon Douthit has six quarterback sacks on the season. ... In last week's defeat, Lane Chalmers (120) and Eric Pirl (106) both rushed for more than 100 yards for the Falcons.

Fort Cherry

at CW North Catholic

12:30 p.m. Saturday

What to look for: The Trojans improved to 5-0 with a 65-3 non-conference win over Riverside; The Rangers lost 28-6 to Avonworth, falling to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in Black Hills Conference play. ... Junior running back Nick Cook leads Fort Cherry with 357 rushing yards on 72 carries. ... Trojans RB Mario Latronica is second in the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy race with 48 points.

Deer Lakes at Summit Academy

12:30 p.m. Saturday

What to look for: The Lancers fell to 4-1, 3-1 in the Allegheny Conference with a 33-7 loss to Highlands; the Knights fell to 0-5, 0-4 with a 35-8 loss to Shady Side Academy. ... Summit Academy is 4-2 all-time against the Lancers. ... Deer Lakes is off to its best start in school history.