Dave Vestal does not need to be told just how good Pine-Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec is.

He has seen it first-hand.

In last season's 35-28 loss to the Rams, Seneca Valley's head coach watched Jurkovec pass for 247 yards and two scores while rushing for 209 more yards and one touchdown.

Vestal is now prepping his defense to face Jurkovec, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound Notre Dame recruit, once again. The Raiders and Rams will open Northern Seven Conference play against each other Friday at Pine-Richland's Santacroce Stadium.

The Rams (1-1) are coming off a 42-31 win over Mount Lebanon. Jurkovec passed for 351 yards and added 124 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

“He does it all,” said Vestal. “He has a strong arm and can get it to the edge right now. He can throw the ball 60 yards on a rope and put it right where it needs to be. You better have the numbers (in coverage) to match their numbers. And you don't want him to start running the ball. Once he gets going, he's like a train.”

Jurkovec is off to a hot start, throwing for 637 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception through two games. He also leads the team in rushing with 221 yards and five touchdowns. But according to Rams' coach Eric Kasperowicz, one of his quarterback's best qualities is his desire to improve.

“I don't care if you're Le'Veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger or Phil Jurkovec, there's always room to improve,” Kasperowicz said. “For Phil, it's things like reading defenses. He is a student of the game and he continues to work to get better.”

Jurkovec's top target thus far is junior wideout Ray Falcone (6-foot-1, 185 pounds), who has 11 receptions for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Raiders' starting secondary will include cornerbacks Walik Shebazz and Will Briscoe and safeties Jack Cook and Brock Gresock.

“They're all seniors,” Vestal said. “Hopefully, they can all step up and make plays.”

The defensive backfield will be counting on the line and linebackers to get pressure on Jurkovec. In last week's 48-24 win over Peters Township, the Raiders (1-0) sacked Indians' quarterback Jake Cortes seven times in the first half alone.

Jake Holl had three of those sacks, Evan Schillero had two, Drew Robinson and Dante Santelli both added one.

“We didn't bring any pressure in our scrimmages, we saved it for the first game,” said Vestal. “If you can get pressure on the quarterback, it makes your coverage look a lot better.”

The Raiders are also coming off a stellar effort on offense. Senior quarterback Jack Cook passed for four scores and ran for two others.

Senior halfback Hank Royal led the team's ground attack with 84 of SV's 126 rushing yards. The total was more than 150 yards before SV's reserves entered the game in the second half.

The offensive effort began with a dominating performance up front by center Schillero, guards Nolan Nagy and Shane Stadtfeld, tackles Eric Hudanick and Jake Warner and tight end Holl. The same group will start against the Rams on Friday.

“They came off the ball and blocked to the whistle,” said Vestal. “They will need to do the same thing this week.

“We were happy to come out of the first week healthy along the offensive line,” he added. “Keeping cohesion up front is key.”

Pine-Richland's loss was a 28-27 setback to St. Edward (Ohio) Aug. 27. The Eagles are ranked No. 9 in the nation by Maxpreps.com.

“We learned a lot about ourselves in that game,” said Kasperowicz. “We played a good opponent and took them down to the wire.”

The Rams reached the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals last season after going 8-1 in the regular season. Other than a 7-point loss to Central Catholic, it was Seneca Valley that provided the Rams with their stiffest test prior to the postseason.

Kasperowicz sees another challenge Friday.

“They're Seneca Valley,” he said. “They played us tough last year. They have a good quarterback, good halfback and a couple of good linemen. We're excited about the challenge.”