Many high school football players take conference wins for granted.

This group hasn't been afforded that luxury.

Seniors on the Seneca Valley football team never have tasted a conference win.

The Raiders' last Quad North victory came in 2002, when this year's seniors were freshmen and not members of the varsity squad.

But SV's seniors have one more shot, one more Quad North game to shed the dubious label of being winless in conference play.

That opportunity will come against Butler (2-6, 0-6) when the teams line up at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Art Bernardi Stadium.

The Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the winner. Butler has won the last two meetings.

The Raiders enter the contest having lost their last 19 conference games.

"We've talked about that," said Raiders coach Ron Butschle. "For our seniors, this is it for them as far as conference games go. It's very important for them to win this game."

The veteran coach is pinpointing two areas of his team's game: the Raiders' ground attack and special teams.

"We need to eliminate mistakes on special teams," he said. "I think we've had at least one mistake on special teams in every game."

In SV's last three games, which were losses to Upper St. Clair, North Allegheny and Shaler, the Raiders have rushed the football 87 times for only 197 yards (a 2.3 yard average).

The inability to run the ball has taken its toll on the team's passing game. In his last three games, quarterback Kevan Smith has thrown for one touchdown and eight interceptions.

"We haven't run the ball well recently. But if we can do that, it will open up things for our passing game," Butschle said.

The Raiders will be facing a pass-happy Butler team.

Butler lost a 50-17 decision last week at Mt. Lebanon, but in their last three games, the Golden Tornado have averaged nearly 230 passing yards per contest.

The leader of Butler's aerial attack is quarterback Nick Monteleone.

The junior has thrown for 1,360 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite targets are Jordan Roycroft and Andy Strutt, each of whom have over 30 receptions this season.

"We think (Monteleone) is a pretty good quarterback," said Butschle. "But our trouble has been field position. We've put our defense in a bad position a lot lately. Considering that, I think our defense has played pretty well the last few weeks."

In last week's 42-2 loss to Upper St. Clair, the Panthers' average drive began at their own 47-yard line.

One of the leaders of Seneca Valley's defense has been junior end Don Barclay, who has pressured the quarterback well over the last few weeks.

"We've tried to put Don in situations where he's matched up against an undersized kid, and he's taken advantage of that," said Butschle.

Other key players who will have a say in how well Butler passes the ball on Friday will be cornerbacks Sean Gress and Lee Layton and safety Shane Patsilevas.