Jeff Metheny learned a lesson at Art Bernardi Stadium last year.

After watching his defense allow 426 yards and get dominated along the line of scrimmage in a 42-14 loss, the Bethel Park coach made a few adjustments up front.

"We moved Todd Jones (6-foot-4, 255 pounds) from linebacker to nose guard, did some other tweaking and we got better on defense," Metheny said.

The Black Hawks wound up winning a WPIAL playoff game before losing to WPIAL finalist Upper St. Clair in overtime in the second round.

Bethel Park (4-2, 3-1) returns to Butler for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday. Though the Black Hawks are facing a winless team, they have the same concerns.

"Butler is so big up front and they really posed a problem for us last year," Metheny said. "Nate Hartung is a great player and that tight end (Josh Wachter) is tough to deal with.

"We've got to find a way to win the battle up front if we're going to win this game."

Only two defensive starters - Jones at tackle and Scott Brucker at outside linebacker - return from last year.

Three starters - Jones, Matt Jaworski (6-1, 230) and Rob Recker (6-3, 230) - return to the Black Hawks' offensive line.

"We don't have a lot of starters back, but we rarely do," Metheny said. "We have 30 seniors, kids who have been in the program and have developed to the point where we expect them to go in and do the job."

Bethel Park has been led by a two-pronged running attack featuring senior tailback Chris Boris and senior fullback B.J. Bytner. Boris has 450 yards rushing while Bytner has 350 with a handful of touchdowns.

Quarterback L.J. Michalski is a senior and team captain. He has thrown for fewer than 400 yards, but has been accurate.

"We threw more than 20 times last week against Upper St. Clair and we don't like to do that," Metheny said. "If we're throwing that often, we're usually in trouble."

Metheny said Michalski had a particularly strong game against North Allegheny, completing seven of 11 passes.

"He threw two away and had two others dropped," the coach said. "When L.J. gets in a rhythm like that, we can be tough to stop."

Upper St. Clair defeated the Black Hawks, 31-0, last week at Bethel Park.

"They are awfully good, but, hopefully, we're not that bad," Metheny said. "Given that game and what happened to us at Butler last year, I'd think our kids will be going up there looking to turn things around a bit."

Bethel Park's Quad North victories are over Seneca Valley 30-8, North Allegheny 35-21 and Shaler 28-0.

The Black Hawks have allowed 101 points in six games, but Metheny insists that's a misleading number for his defense.

"We've thrown a couple of picks that have been returned for touchdowns and our punt coverage has been poor," the coach said. "We've given up points with our punt team and that's a shame.

"I know Butler has been struggling with its punting game, too. Special teams could play a factor in this game."

He added that turnovers and having to play from behind have proven costly to Butler this season.

"I'm sure they've thrown the ball more than they've wanted to," Metheny said. "This is a tough league. Every week, you have to bring it.

"I don't care what Butler's record is. This will be a tough game."