BUTLER TWP— It was a fitting first — and a 500th.

Butler used field position, a solid running game and two critical second-half takeaways to post an 18-0 football victory over Canon-McMillan Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

The win was the first home victory for second-year head coach Jeff McAnallen and the 500th triumph in the 102-year history of Golden Tornado football.

"I've been talking about the history of this program since I came here. ... I'm from here,"McAnallen said. "This milestone means a lot."

Butler (3-1) became the 15th WPIALfootball program to reach the 500-win mark.

The Tornado rushed for 205 yards and amassed 13 first downs against a defense that limited Woodland Hills to 99 total yards and three first downs a week earlier.

Canon-McMillan coach Guy Montecalvo insisted his team did not take Butler lightly.

"There are no excuses," he said. "The story of this game is that they wanted to win a lot more badly than we did."

The Big Macs (2-2) did not begin a possession beyond their own 25-yard line in the first half. That poor field position cost them the first points of the game.

A pooch punt by Butler's Cole Harvey pinned Canon-McMillan inside its own 5-yard line. On third-and-7 from the 2, Tornado linebacker T.J. Lesniewski shot the gap and nailed quarterback Steve Roach in the end zone for a safety.

"I have to credit the coaches for that one,"Lesniewski said. "The guard pulled out and I read the play. We had that play scouted."

Ryan Soule added field goals of 35 and 27 yards in the second quarter to give the Tornado an 8-0 lead. The latter field goal was set up by an errant Roach pitch in the backfield that Butler's Luke Gilliland recovered at the Big Macs' 18-yard line with 2:03 left in the half.

Canon-McMillan suffered four turnovers, including two in the second half that cost the visitors golden scoring opportunities.

The Big Macs had a third-and-goal at the Butler 7-yard line on the first possession of the second half, but Tony Fudoli intercepted Roach's pass in the end zone.

The Tornado then marched 64 yards in 10 plays to set up a 33-yard Soule field goal with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

Soule became the third kicker in Butler history to boot three field goals in one game.

"Canon-Mac's defense is tough and we had trouble finishing off drives in the red zone,"McAnallen admitted. "To have a dependable kicker like Ryan is such a plus in situations like that."

Still alive, the Big Macs used a 47-yard run by Michael Hull to reach the Tornado 16 just before the third quarter ended. But on first down from the 11, Lesniewski slammed into Roach, causing a fumble that Fudoli scooped up and returned 27 yards.

"I wasn't going for the ball there,"Lesniewski said. "All I wanted to do was make a big hit. Tony helped out by grabbing the fumble, just like when he made that big pick in the end zone."

After the Big Macs turned the ball over on downs near midfield with 6:57 remaining, Eli Christy concluded the scoring — and sewed up the victory — with a 34-yard touchdown run.

"You can't turn the ball over inside the opponent's 15 twice and expect to win any game,"Montecalvo said. "Butler played a fine, fine football game."

Hull had 14 carries for 121 yards for Canon-McMillan. Harvey had 97 yards rushing and receiving for Butler.

"When you face an offense that can run like theirs, it's all about assignment defense and execution,"McAnallen said. "T.J. is the middle linebacker and we forced a lot of plays directly at him."

Lesniewski lauded the entire defensive unit's effort.

"Everybody did his job," he said. "We knew it'd be a physical, low-scoring game, and we were talking shutout all week. We won the fight."