McKEESPORT — It was the kind of start Seneca Valley was hoping to avoid.

McKeesport quarterback Tymar Sutton scored on a 57-yard run just 19 seconds into Friday's WPIAL Class AAAA first-round football playoff.

The Tigers (9-1) didn't let up, scoring four more first-half touchdowns in a 48-0 victory at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium.

“First, give credit to McKeesport,” said SV coach Dave Vestal. “They have good talent and are well-coached. Their guys made plays.”

McKeesport tallied 250 rushing yards in the first half and 422 for the game.

“It's tough to simulate McKeesport's flexbone offense in practice, but our defense got 185 reps of it the last few days. We were ready, but just got out-executed.”

McKeesport's second score — a 22-yard pass from Sutton to Khaleke Hudson — made it 14-0 later in the first quarter. By the time SV picked up its initial first down, the Tigers' lead had swelled to 21-0.

“Seneca's defense didn't allow a touchdown in their last two games,” said Tigers' coach George Smith. “They have talent and I was worried. It took a lot of work on our players' part to get this win.”

The Raiders displayed two flashes of their capability on offense in the first half when junior halfback Hank Royal rumbled for gains of 33 and 26 yards on separate drives. The second effort set the Raiders up at McKeesport's 36 early in the second quarter, but the Tigers (9-1) forced a turnover-on-downs four plays later.

Royal finished with 108 yards.

Raiders' quarterback Jack Cook, whose passing sparked Seneca time after time during the season, completed just four of his 17 pass attempts for 25 yards. He was victimized by several drops by intended receivers in the first half.

“McKeesport's defense has a lot of speed,” said Vestal. “We were still intact early on, but struggled to control the tempo, which was one of our goals.”

Hudson rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown.

Seneca Valley finishes Vestal's first season with the team at 5-5.

“You look at our body of work, I'm really proud of what we accomplished with a lot of inexperience,” Vestal said. “The kids fought hard.”