SHALER TWP — Seneca Valley knew it was coming.

But the Raiders were unable to stop it ... three separate times.

Shaler successfully executed three fake punts, the last coming on a fourth-and-3 play at the Titans' 27-yard line with under three minutes to play that allowed the host team to run out the clock in a 35-32 football thriller Saturday afternoon.

The Titans' final possession began with 4:19 to play.

Three runs by Jesse Della Valle yielded just seven yards.

On fourth down, Shaler lined up in punt formation, but the snap went directly to Della Valle, who gained four yards and the Titans had a fresh set of downs.

Three plays later, facing a third-and-5 from his own 36, Shaler quarterback Tyler Bills connected with John Orr for eight yards and the competitive aspect of the game was over.

Della Valle also gained first downs on Shaler's other two fake punts earlier in the game.

One led to a touchdown run by Anthony Waskiewicz in the first quarter and the other kept a Titans' drive going late in the second period.

"Those weren't the first fake punts we've tried this year," said Shaler coach Neil Gordon. "We've probably run it 10 or 11 times this season.

"We had to find a way to work in a few trick plays this season and give the kids opportunities to make things happen."

SV coach Ron Butschle was not caught off guard by the Titans' trickery, but was certainly disappointed in the results.

"We weren't surprised by it at all," he said. "Not the first time, second time or the third time.

"But we've got to find a way to stop it," Butschle added. "No matter what formation we got, we've got to make a tackle."

It wasn't a good day for SV's special teams.

The Raiders had an extra point blocked after scoring a second quarter touchdown and, on the ensuing kickoff, Shaler's Dan Swiderski raced 83 yards for a touchdown and a 21-13 lead.

"It's frustrating because we certainly spend enough time on special teams in practice," said Butschle.

SV trailed 21-19 at haltime and 35-19 entering the final period.

But the Raiders' offense came alive.

On a drive that began at the Raiders' 33 with 1:52 left in the third, SV drove 67 yards in eight plays, capped by C.J. Brown's one-yard plunge into the endzone.

Trying to make up for the aforementioned blocked extra point and a failed two-point attempt just before halftime, the Raiders again went for two, but Brown's pass fell incomplete.

Still, with 10:38 left in the game, the Raiders were well within striking distance, trailing 35-25.

After forcing a Shaler punt, SV marched 81 yards in 11 plays, with Tyler Mack scoring from five yards out.

Hugo's extra point made the score 35-32.

But SV kicked off to the Titans and never saw the ball again.

Though Shaler was outgained on offense 406-343, the consistent passing of Bills kept the Raiders' defense back on its heels much of the day.

The junior signal caller completed 10-of-13 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

The first of those was a 13-yard strike to Della Valle that gave the Titans a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

The second, 31 yards to Bryan Gray, increased Shaler's edge to 28-19 with 8:20 left in the third quarter.

Bills also completed aerials of 60 yards and 56 yards to Rob Holtz and Steve Wirkowski, respectively, during the game.

The Titans (6-1, 2-1) benefitted from Bills' ability to draw SV defenders toward the line of scrimmage with play-action fakes.

"We emphasize, 'No fake, no play,'" said Gordon. "This year, Tyler has had to learn a whole new offense, but he's out there audibling into different plays for us. Anytime Tyler can come out and run the show, it's a good day for him."

Brown connected with Evan Hetzel for a 12-yard scoring pass for SV's first touchdown.

The senior quarterback also threw touchdown passes to Pete Vicente and Matt Plautz in the first half, the latter coming from 39 yards out on the final play of the second quarter.

The Raiders' momentum gained steam, as junior Luke Mueller recovered a fumble on the second-half kickoff.

But the Raiders (3-4, 0-3) were penalized five yards for a false start on the next play and were forced to punt after gaining just seven yards on three plays.

For the game, the Raiders committed 10 penalties for 71 yards.

"You can't start drives 1st-and-15," said Butschle. "Whatever advantage you might have, it's taken away when you commit a penalty.

"It's disappointing because I'd like to think that we're a disciplined team."

Notes: Brown threw for 255 yards and one interception to go with his four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) ... Mack gained 117 yards on 16 carries ... Plautz caught six passes for 114 yards and Vicente six for 75.Shaler 35, Seneca Valley 32

Seneca Valley 7 12 0 13—32Shaler 7 14 14 0—35SV S25 First Downs 1533-151 Rushes-Yards 36-142255 Passing Yards 20120-33-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 10-13-0406 Total Yards 3431-0 Fumbles/Lost 1-110-71 Penalties-Yards 7-55

First QuarterS — Anthony Waskiewicz 1 run (Steve Hamilton kick), 6:25SV — Evan Hetzel 12 pass from C.J. Brown (Will Hugo kick), 1:58

Second QuarterS — Jesse Della Valle 13 pass from Tyler Bills (Hamilton kick), 9:30SV — Pete Vicente 6 pass from Brown (kick blocked), 4:56S — Dan Swiderski 83 kickoff return (Hamilton kick), 4:44SV — Matt Plautz 39 pass from Brown (pass failed), :00

Third QuarterS — Bryan Gray 31 pass from Bills (Hamilton kick), 8:20S — John Orr 15 run (Hamilton kick), 2:00

Fourth QuarterSV — Brown 1 run (pass failed), 10:38SV — Tyler Mack 5 run (Hugo kick), 4:19

Individual Statistics

Passing: Seneca Valley, C.J. Brown 20-33-255-1. Shaler, Tyler Bills 10-13-201-0.

Rushing: Seneca Valley, C.J. Brown 16-32, Tyler Mack 16-117, Evan Hetzel 1-2. Shaler, Anthony Waskiewicz 9-13, Jesse Della Valle 17-100, Dan Swiderski 2-13, Tyler Bills 5-(-8), Dan McGinley 2-9, John Orr 1-15.

Receiving: Seneca Valley, Chris Dorogy 4-45, Evan Hetzel 4-21, Matt Plautz 6-114, Pete Vicente 6-75. Shaler, Steve Wirkowski 4-77, Jesse Della Valle 2-21, Rob Holtz 1-60, Bryan Gray 2-35, John Orr 1-8.