SHALER TWP— The games have been close. The won-loss records are not.

Shaler coach Jacque DeMatteo places more emphasis on the former as his unbeaten Titans prepare to host winless Butler for homecoming at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

"It's always a battle with Butler, and it's going to be that way again,"DeMatteo said. "Their record doesn't mean anything. You can see it on film. Those kids play hard from start to finish every week."

Butler hasn't defeated Shaler since posting a 17-14 triumph at home in 2002. Since then, the Titans have defeated the Golden Tornado by scores of 39-22, 19-11, 21-17 and 21-16.

Shaler is coming off a 7-3 season in 2006 and returns 22 seniors — most of them starters — from that squad.

"We had high expectations going into this year, but that's true of any year,"DeMatteo said. "What you've done in the past and how many players you bring back means nothing if your team chemistry and work ethic aren't where they should be.

"We're winning this year because of leadership and commitment."

The Titans have defeated Baldwin 31-21, Hempfield 28-0, Plum 15-13, Canon-McMillan 28-13 and North Hills 17-0.

The victory over North Hills marked Shaler's Northern Five season opener and was at Martorelli Stadium, where the Indians rarely lose, let alone get shut out.

Shaler had been outscored 84-15 in its three most recent visits to that venue and had not won at North Hills since 1998.

"Anice victory?Yes,"DeMatteo said. "A landmark victory?No. We never put all our eggs in one basket that way. If you do that and lose the game, you've got nothing left.

"Play hard week in and week out, try to improve from the previous game — that's what we do here."

Shaler's offense success begins with its line. All five linemen are seniors with good size — Ryan Budziszewski (6-feet-0, 240 pounds), Chris Abt (6-4, 260), Rick Musgrave (6-1, 257), Garrett Smith (6-4, 265) and Joe Tappe (6-3, 270).

Senior quarterback R.J. Palso entered the North Hills game having completed 25 of 38 passes for 402 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Drew Stanny, another senior, is a 6-3 wide receiver and had eight catches for 134 yards.

Senior running back Dan Wirkowski rushed for 111 yards against North Hills and has 432 yards and seven touchdowns. Backfield mate Jesse DellaValle has 125 yards.

Shaler's homecoming week includes a pre-game parade and the moving of the game from the typical Friday night to Saturday afternoon.

While that may disrupt the routine in some places, it hasn't been a problem at Shaler.

"It is what it is,"DeMatteo said. "This is a nice weekend for the community. It's an annual thing, so we've gotten accustomed to it."

Just like they've gotten accustomed to winning. The Titans are off to their best start in DeMatteo's eight years at the helm. The program has not advanced to the second round of the playoffs since 2000.

"We've got nine seniors on offense, six on defense,"DeMatteo said. "We're facing a young Butler team that's getting better. This is high school football. Anything can happen."