NORTH HUNTINGDON TWP — From horrible to heartbreak, with a whole lot of good in between.

Butler saw its stirring comeback spoiled by two Norwin touchdowns in the final three and a half minutes Friday night as the Golden Tornado fell 35-28 to the Knights in non-conference football action.

The host Knights (5-3) returned a game-opening squib kick 73 yards for a touchdown, recovered a Butler fumble on the ensuing kickoff and took a 14-0 lead on a 60-yard pass play to stellar receiver Anthony Dellefemine.

Butler (2-5) turned the ball over three times in the first half — five times to Norwin's zero for the game — and trailed 21-7 at halftime.

“You can't turn the ball over five times and win ... yet we almost did,” Butler coach Rob Densmore said.

“That first half was the worst we've played since I've been here. We couldn't do anything right. We didn't run hard. We didn't block well. It was downright horrible.

“In the locker room at halftime, I challenged the kids to show more pride in themselves and pride in the program,” Densmore added.

They must have listened.

After Dallas Hays threw for 128 yards while the Tornado rushed for just 24 in the first two quarters, Butler scored the first three touchdowns of the second half to take the lead — without throwing a single pass.

Luke Michalek returned the second-half kickoff 48 yards, setting up a brief 33-yard drive that ended with a Michalek 7-yard scoring run. Butler tied the game on its next possession as a Hays 2-yard run capped an 80-yard drive with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

Hays scrambled for an electrifying 35-yard touchdown run on the Tornado's next possession, giving his team a 28-21 lead with 7:19 to play.

“I don't fault any part of this loss on that kid,” Densmore said of Hays. “The kid was incredible. He played his heart out.”

Hays wound up throwing for 144 yards, rushing for 112 and three touchdowns. He found John Michalek for deep throws of 58 and 35 yards in the first half.

“They came out in the second half and just grinded it on us,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said. “We helped them a little by not tackling well, but No. 5 (Michalek) and No. 2 (Hays) really ran hard. And that (lineman) Jake Kradel manhadled us.”

Still, Norwin had an answer.

Knights quarterback Brock Dieter threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for one himself. Two of his TD passes came late, including a 15-yarder to Cameron O'brien that tied the game with 3:14 to play.

When Butler got the ball back, Hays tried another deep throw, but Tevin Washington intercepted, giving the Knights' possession at their own 24 with 1:06 left.

On third-and-8, Aaron Carr caught a screen pass, juked a couple of Butler defenders in the middle of the field and outran the pursuit for a 74-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining.

“We called timeout right before that and told the kids to watch for a screen, a flare, something funky,” Densmore said. “We were in position to make the play and didn't. Their kid made the play and that was the difference.”

Brozeski praised his team's execution at the end of the game.

“When we needed to make plays, we did,” he said.

Butler drove to Norwin's 40 for a first down with 23 seconds to go, but Hays was hit as he threw and John Piekut pulled in the wobbly pass to seal the deal.

“We did some growing up tonight,” Hays said. “We came out in the second half and played hard. But we have to do that for four full quarters, not just two or three.”

“We're getting there,” Densmore said. “I'm proud of the way our kids fought back. Now we have to learn how to finish.”