JACKSON TWP - Butler got off to a bad start Friday night at Raiders Stadium before Bob Alexander ran the Golden Tornado out of trouble.

Then he just kept on going.

Butler's junior tailback carried 28 times for 259 yards and three touchdowns - after having one score called back - to lead the Tornado to a 33-15 high school football victory over winless Seneca Valley.

The win enabled Butler (1-8, 1-6) to avoid its first winless season since 1921. It also enabled the Tornado to win the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy two straight years for the first time in the trophy's 12-year history.

"We really needed this," Butler coach Garry Cathell said. "It feels good, but I'm happier for our players and our coaches."

Butler took the opening kickoff, marched downfield and apparently drew first blood when Alexander scored on a 4-yard run. An illegal procedure penalty nullified the score.

Jeremy Gorniak intercepted a Nick Monteleone pass - Butler's first pass of the night - on the game's next play. The Raiders (0-9, 0-7) then used big plays to drive 97 yards in 16 plays for a 7-0 lead.

Seneca Valley converted two third-and-10's, a third-and-17 and a fourth-and-10 along the way.

Junior quarterback Kevan Smith, making his first start of the season behind center, hit Marshall Lee for 15 yards on one third-and-10. He found Gorniak for 20 yards on third-and-17, then Zach Duggan for 35 on another third-and-10.

The Raiders faked a punt on fourth-and-10 and Nate Bradley rambled 18 yards for a first down to the Butler 16. Shawn Eagle caught a touchdown pass from Smith two plays later.

"They were executing an inside-outside passing game on us and we had to apply more pressure on the quarterback," Cathell said. "That was the biggest adjustment we made.

"Even after that start, I still felt like we could run the ball."

Alexander returned the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to the Raiders 43-yard line. Fullback Ben Ashcraft broke up the middle for 40 yards to set up Alexander for a 2-yard scoring run.

After a Mark Renyck 55-yard punt pinned the Tornado inside their own 5-yard line in a tie game, Alexander broke free for an 86-yard run, setting up Ashcraft's 1-yard plunge on fourth down.

"I thought I was gonna score there," Alexander said of his 86-yard burst. "I had to slow down enough and that's when the guy (Gorniak) caught me.

"It's easy to run when you get holes like our offensive line was giving me tonight."

Butler increased its lead to 19-7 before the half on the arm on Monteleone. An 84-yard march was highlighted by Ashcraft catching a 16-yard pass, tight end Josh Wachter catching 13 and 14 yard tosses, Jordan Roycroft a 22-yard pass and Shane Snyder a 22-yard toss with 58 seconds left in the half."This was the offense we wanted to have all year: Control the ball on the ground and complete a high percentage of 10 to 15 passes," Cathell said.The Tornado had 479 yards of offense in the game, including 310 by halftime."We haven't been able to stop the run all year," Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle said. "It's not like we're getting caught off-guard. We're just not as physically strong as the team we're playing."We work on it every day, week after week … It's frustrating."Alexander scored on runs of 37 and 17 yards in the second half as the Tornado built their lead to 33-7. The scoring drives covered 77 and 84 yards.Alexander needs 98 yards in Thursday's season finale to reach 1,000 for the year."It's a goal of mine to hit 1,000 in my junior year," he said. "It's a goal of our line, too."The Raiders' final points came when Jason Davis blocked an Andrew Goettler punt and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown with 1:49 remaining.Butler did not throw a pass in the fourth quarter, yet Seneca Valley's offense had the ball for one play during the final 12 minutes - a fumbled snap recovered by Butler.Smith threw for 202 yards in his first start. He required wrist surgery two weeks before the start of training camp and missed seven weeks."He's a talented kid back there, but he's raw," Butschle said. "He needs experience, that's all."The Raiders close the season at 7 p.m. Thursday, hosting Fox Chapel."We need a win. We have to salvage something from this year," Butschle said.Notes:Dan Tatangelo and Noah Hartung had interceptions for Butler. … Lee had 16 solo tackles from his free safety position for Seneca Valley. … Monteleone threw for 110 yards.