This is one in a series of articles previewing Butler County high school football matchups this FridayBUTLER TWP — For Butler, it's time to get greedy — even if it is against your own brother.But Slippery Rock may have none of it.The Rockets (2-4) will visit the Golden Tornado (1-4) for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Slippery Rock defensive coordinator Eli Christy is the younger brother of Butler head coach Eric Christy.“That's an interesting sidelight to this game,” Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz said.But that's all it is in Wendereusz's mind. While the Rockets have a District 10 playoff game on the docket at unbeaten Hickory in two weeks, Slippery Rock will not be playing it cautiously at Butler.“When you play a game not to get people hurt, that's when you get people hurt,” Wendereusz said. “We're coming down there looking to win a football game.”Butler and Slippery Rock have never played each other in football before.The Golden Tornado snapped a 24-game losing streak last week with a 55-14 win over Hickory. Butler has not won consecutive games since 2012 — 23-10 over Hempfield, 49-7 over Fox Chapel — when former Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti was at the helm of the Tornado.“This game will be a part of history and that's pretty cool,” Eric Christy said.Left tackle Ashton Gray was Butler's Offensive Lineman of the Week against Blackhawk, but there were plenty of candidates. The Tornado rushed for 304 yards in that game.Derek McLafferty played left tackle, Markeis Frazier was at center, Jake Pomykata at right guard, Brock Popovich at right tackle and Charlie Kreinbucher at tight end. All are underclassmen.“Those guys did a phenomenal job,” Christy said.Butler's defense will be challenged this week by the most prolific passing game in Butler County. Slippery Rock's William Mokel has thrown for 990 yards and six touchdowns this season.He was limited to 80 yards in last week's 28-7 loss at Hickory.“They hurt us on third down,” Wendereusz said of Hickory. “That team has a lot of skill and their quarterback (Michael Henwood) is the real deal.“We want to get better this week. That's always the goal. We know the areas we need to clean up.”Shane Thompson leads the Rocket ground attack with 279 yards and four touchdowns. Mokel has been able to spread the ball around through the air.Thompson has 16 catches for 123 yards, John Sabo 22 for 283, Ethan Plesakov 16 for 143 and Ryan Montgomery 15 for 154.“They've got playmakers all over the place,” Christy said.Butler moved Cooper Baxter to middle linebacker defensively last week and he responded with a pair of defensive touchdowns. Baxter has rushed for 385 yards and seven TDs this year, thrown for 309 and a pair of scores.Justin Kabay has 290 yards on the ground and a 9.1 yard-per-carry average. Julian Jones and Byron Manchester have been prime ball carriers as well.“We're getting good production out of our ground game now,” Christy said. “That part of our game is coming together. With a young offensive line, it was gonna take some time.”Wendereusz recognizes the improvement in the Tornado.“I like what they've been doing, the packages they've been putting together,” he said. “This is going to be a tough, hard-hitting football game.”

The Eagle sports staff's third season of Upon Further Review, a weekly show discussing Butler County area high school football, can be viewed on the Butler Eagle Sports Facebook page.