Butschle leads Raiders into new era

By DEREK PYDA Eagle Staff Writer

August 26, 2004 Last Updated: January 06, 2005 12:14 PM High School

The Seneca Valley football team will officially begin a new era Friday night.

Ron Butschle, the eighth head coach in the program's history, will lead the Raiders into Penn-Trafford's Warrior Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

"We've had a few scrimmages, but a game is a whole different story," Butschle said. "We've made just about all the changes we're going to make and have been clicking on all cylinders in practice. Hopefully, all the preparation will pay off."

Against Penn-Trafford, the Raiders will be exposed to an offensive scheme not prevalent at the high school level: the shotgun attack.

"They like to spread the ball around," said Butschle. "The key for us is to put heat on the quarterback and have everybody on the same page."

That quarterback is junior Tyler Huether, who split time last season with Mike Rasky, who now plays wide receiver.

Huether's 991 passing yards and eight scores through the air helped the Warriors finish 5-2 in the Quad East and qualify for the WPIAL playoffs, where they lost to North Hills in the first round.

"He got a lot of experience last season," said Penn-Trafford coach Art Tragesser. "And he's improved in camp."

Rasky could prove to be the team's best receiver.

"He's got great hands and size," said Tragesser.

Others who might figure into Penn-Trafford's passing game are Alex Mack, Joe Kolano, Caleb Casino and Brad Sperenza.

Tragesser is still sorting out his squad's running game, with the top spot up for grabs among Kevin Mullen, Mike Tropiano and Chavare Chism.

"We don't know about that position yet, but all three should get carries," he said.

Whoever the Warriors feature back turns out to be, he will be running behind an experienced offensive line.

All five starters are seniors, led by right tackle Jason Kacinko (6-feet-6, 300 pounds), who is a Division-I prospect with several schools expressing interest, including Pitt.

Butschle brought the Pro Form I offense with him to Seneca Valley.

The Raiders' backfield has Marshall Lee at quarterback, Ben Edwards at fullback and Pat Prazer and Evan Braithwaite splitting time at tailback.

"This is going to give us a chance to see how our guys react in game situations," said Butschle.

The Warriors run a 33 Stack defense, which consists of three down linemen, five linebackers and three defensive backs.

Linebacker Mullen and defensive end Dave Bucar are two players Tragesser will count on to spark his defense.

"Those are two of our bigger guys," he said. "But we'll end up moving a lot of kids around on that side of the ball."

Butschle took over for Bob Ceh in February.

Coincidentally, Ceh's tenure as Seneca's coach began on Sept. 1, 2000, at Penn-Trafford. The Raiders lost that game 21-9.

"This might be an exhibition game, but I'm looking at it no differently as if it were Mt. Lebanon or North Allegheny. We're playing to win," Butschle said.