This is one in a series of articles previewing this Friday night's high school football games

BUTLER TWP — A loss is a loss, but Butler football showed how close it's getting to more positive results — again.

The Golden Tornado's 49-14 loss at Central Catholic last week is a bit misleading. The Vikings scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes to break it open.

“I know I sound like a broken record, but if we execute a couple of plays here and there ... we had a touchdown called back ... We could have made that game a lot more competitive, if not win it,” Butler coach Rob Densmore said.

“The coaches began seeing it first. Now the kids are starting to see it. The belief is there that we can win. We moved the ball much better against Central than we did in my first three years here.”

Butler (2-5) hopes to put one in the victory column Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. The Tornado face Norwin (3-4) in a non-section game. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

“That's a gritty group,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said of Butler. “They may not have gotten the results they've been wanting, but they moved the ball pretty consistently against a staunch defense in Central.

“They are dangerous on special teams and they're a run-first team. We need to be ready for a physical game.”

The Knights are coming off consecutive losses of 13-7 to Peters Township and 35-20 to Mt. Lebanon last week. Norwin has allowed more than 14 points in a game only twice all season.

Jake Smetak, at 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, anchors Norwin's offensive and defensive lines. Middle linebacker John Piekut leads the team in tackles with 68 and safety Jayvon Thrift has 42 tackles and has received offers from West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Temple and Toledo.

“Jayvon is as good at coming up and stopping the run as he is in pass defense,” Brozeski said.

Densmore used the words “solid, but nothing fancy” in describing Norwin's defense.

“They just line up and play,” he said. “They are aggressive, physical and they do it really well.”

Butler's offense begins with senior quarterback Luke Michalek, who is up over 1,200 all-purpose yards for the season and has 660 yards rushing, good for 11 touchdowns.

Jacob Tilko rushed for 74 yards against Central and John Michalek has 143 yards rushing on the year.

“They want No. 5 (Luke Michalek) to get as many touches as possible,” Brozeski said. “That kid is quite an athlete. You have to be wary of him on punt and kickoff returns, too.”

Norwin has yet to score a non-offensive touchdown this season — on defense or special teams — but has blocked a few punts. Place-kiocker Carter Breen is on the soccer team and has booted three field goals in six tries.

Offensively, Knights quarterback Jack Salopek has thrown for 1,331 yards and seven touchdowns. Gianni Rizzo has 29 catches for 373 yards, Dylan Kantz 18 catches for 342.

Jayvon Thrift has rushed for 239 yards and five touchdowns, Tevin Thrift for 228 yards.

“They haven't been running the ball as much as they did last year,” Densmore said. “But they sling it all over the field and they spread the ball around.

“Our defense will have to be on its toes. We are good at pressuring the quarterback and we'll need to do that.”

Colton Frost leads the Butler defense with 21 solo tackles. Tilko has 19 and Chris Mertz 18.

“Chris Mertz is an emerging player for us,” Densmore said. “He's making some plays in the passing game and Luke has taken on a leadership role since taking over at quarterback.”

Norwin rallied late to defeat Butler, 35-28, last season. The Knights hold a 6-3 lead in the series between the teams.

“Section or non-section, this is another competitive opportunity for us,” Brozeski said. “It's our most important game because it's our next game.”