WEST VIEW — Seneca Valley dared North Hills to throw the ball.

And did it ever.

Leading the Raiders 24-21 late in the third quarter, the Indians took to the air and never came down.

Senior quarterback Justin Heinauer threw three touchdown passes in the span of 3 minutes, 32 seconds as North Hills turned a game into a 52-21 rout at Martorelli Stadium.

"Seneca Valley kind of surprised us when they came out in a 5-2 defense tonight," said Indians coach Jack McCurry. "They usually play a 4-4."

SV changed the scheme to help its defenders stop the run.

For much of the first three quarters, North Hills (5-1, 2-0) stayed on the ground, with junior halfback Elijah David scoring his team's three touchdowns from 8, 50 and 6 yards out.

"We put more guys in the box tonight and they were going to get a big play sooner or later," said Raiders coach Ron Butschle.

But Butschle was not expecting North Hills to turn into, well, Seneca Valley.

Heinauer tried for the deep ball a few times earlier in the game, but the passes bounced off the fingertips of his intended receivers.

Eventually, he found his groove.

Following an SV punt, the Indians took over at the Raiders' 33-yard line with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

Heinauer connected with Max Creighan for nine yards before finding Lloyd Phillips wide open for a 24-yard touchdown.

Anthony Chiapetta's extra point gave the Indians a 31-21 lead.

The Raiders' next drive stalled near midfield, and, after a punt, Heinauer found Phillips again from 65 yards out.

SV's C.J. Brown was intercepted shortly after that and Heinauer's third scoring strike of the evening went for 37 yards to Mike Hirt on the first play of the fourth period.

In just over 3Z\x minutes, the Raiders went from trailing by three points to facing a 45-21 deficit.

"I told the guys we can't change who we are," said Butschle. "But we can change what we are, and, right now, that's a team that's not playing fundamentally sound football."

Heinauer passed for 82 yards in the first two quarters, but ended the night by completing 17-of-25 passes for 284 yards.

"That's his best game yet," said McCurry. "And we needed him to play well for us to have a chance tonight.

"Brown is the best quarterback we've faced, and (Matt) Plautz is the best receiver we've faced," added McCurry. "They're going to score points, but we felt we were going to score a few tonight as well."

It was Brown's 22-yard touchdown pass to Plautz early in the second half that gave the Raiders their third and final lead of the night at 21-17.

The first half was a seesaw affair.

Brown scored on a one-yard sneak with 4:08 left in the first quarter and Tyler Mack added a two-yard run with 4:57 to go before halftime.

But after each of the Raiders' scores, the Indians answered with a touchdown run by David, who ended the night with 158 yards on 17 carries.

Chiapetta kicked a 31-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining before halftime to give North Hills a 17-14 edge at the break.

Brown connected on 13 of 28 passes for 248 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

He was dodging North Hills defenders in the final quarter, as the Indians had the lead and were playing aggressively on defense.

"Our line did not block well, and I'm the offensive line coach, so I'll take the blame," said Butschle.

Notes: SV's Dustin Anewalt grabbed six catches for 103 yards. ... The Raiders (3-3, 0-2) will play at Shaler Oct. 11.