ROSS TWP - Butler came out punching Friday night at Martorelli Stadium.

But for every blow the Golden Tornado landed, North Hills had a counterpunch - and then some - in rolling to a 42-21 football victory.

The Indians (4-1, 3-0) gained 549 yards in offense, including 432 on the ground, and 20 first downs. Whenever Butler scored or gathered momentum, North Hills had a response.

"They answered with touchdowns," Butler coach Garry Cathell said. "We couldn't stop them. … Our defense is so banged up."

Butler came out with a spread offense, at times with an empty backfield, as quarterback Nick Monteleone threw for 141 yards in the first half, leading three drives deep into North Hills territory.

"That was a good job by their coaches," said North Hills coach Jack McCurry. "We weren't expecting that at all. They caught us off-guard."

"It should have surprised them," Cathell said. "We hadn't done that (formation) all year."

The Tornado (2-3, 0-3) couldn't score a touchdown on any of those first-half scoring threats, however.

A 38-yard pass to Andy Strutt moved the ball to the Indians' 24-yard line on the game's opening possession, but a holding penalty on the next play moved Butler back before Chris Haley missed wide right on a 45-yard field goal attempt.

On North Hills' first offensive play of the night, running back Connor Corcoran rambled 80 yards up the middle for a touchdown.

With the Indians leading 13-0, Butler drove 79 yards in 10 plays before settling for a 29-yard Haley field goal with 9:18 left in the half.

The Tornado drew closer four plays later when Butler's Eric Petanovich blocked an Evan Euler punt and Shane Snyder returned the ball 12 yards for a touchdown.

Suddenly, Butler was within 13-10.

Just as suddenly, North Hills answered. Corcoran's 39-yard scoring run concluded a five-play, 85-yard drive.

Again, Butler drove downfield, moving 64 yards in 10 plays. Again, the Tornado settled for a field goal as Haley hit from 23 yards out with 31 seconds left in the half.

"Limiting them to field goals was big for us," McCurry said. "They kept getting the ball down there, but we kept them out."

And the Indians weren't done. Starting from their own 20, North Hills scored in five plays, the final one being Ryan Lehmeier's 26-yard touchdown pass to Mike Rainey-Wiles with no time left on the clock.

Rainey-Wiles split the seam of Butler's secondary and caught the ball in the middle of the end zone, giving North Hills a 28-13 halftime lead.

"We're a veteran team and we don't panic," McCurry said. "We know we can score. We play out the whole game and see what happens."

The Indians shut down Butler's passing attack in the second half, as Monteleone completed only two of 14 passes with two interceptions in the latter two quarters.

Monteleone was sacked eight times on the night - four times by linebacker Mike Bosiljevac.

"When you throw that many times, sacks are gonna happen," Cathell said. "That's part of it."

Ben Ashcraft was Butler's leading rusher with 25 yards. Corcoran rushed for 196 and Rainey-Wiles had 108 yards for North Hills.

Butler's lone score of the second half was set up by an Aaron Dorondo interception at the Indians' 17-yard line. Monteleone scrambled for a 17-yard touchdown run on the next play.

Monteleone's score occurred on the final play of the third quarter and cut the deficit to 35-21.

But North Hills answered again as Lehmeier got loose for a 61-yard scoring run on the Indians' next snap.

North Hills' six scoring drives covered 80, 55, 85, 70, 80 and 61 yards - and none took more than five plays.

"We'll go home and keep working on getting better," Cathell said. "I know I've said that a million times, but it's true. Our kids won't quit."