ERIE — McDowell is experienced, winning and not planning for a letdown.

Fresh off a stirring upset of unbeaten North Hills, the Trojans (5-2, 3-2) host Butler (0-7, 0-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.

"There's always that concern in a situation like this," admitted third-year McDowell coach Mark Soboleski. "But we're fighting for playoff positioning and our kids understand the importance of that.

"Every coach in that (Northern Seven) league, except for (Seneca Valley's) Don Holl and myself, has either won or been to the state finals. We're not taking anything in this league lightly," he added.

This will be the teams' first meeting since 2007, when McDowell scored a 28-14 victory at Art Bernardi Stadium. The Trojans handed the Golden Tornado a 20-7 defeat in Erie in 2006.

The Trojans were a non-playoff member of the WPIAL's Foothills Conference the past two years, finishing third behind Gateway and McKeesport both years.

Since Terry Smith retired as McKeesport coach, McDowell is the lone team in WPIAL Quad-A running the triple option.

"It's hard for a defense to prepare for if you don't see it every week, so I guess that is an advantage for us," said Sobolewski, who is 22-9 at McDowell.

"It's a running offense, but we're throwing the ball a lot more often this year — mainly because we've gotten better at it."

The Trojans threw only 16 passes in 2010. Still, the team finished 8-3 and generated more than 4,000 yards of offense in 2009.

McDowell has 17 seniors among its 22 starters.

"We're definitely senior-oriented, so we've been able to do a few more things," Sobolewski said.

Senior quarterback Colin Kimball has completed 25-of-52 passes for 443 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has 635 rushing yards and 7 TDs.

Junior tailback Greg Garmon had 21 carries for 136 yards in the Trojans' 19-14 win at North Hills. He has 115 carries for 907 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

"Greg is a blue-chipper who has a chance to sign early," Sobolewski said. "He's already visited Pitt, Penn State and North Carolina."

Garmon has breakaway speed, running the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds, and has the strength to break tackles.

Senior defensive lineman Andrew Bennett already has received Division I scholarship offers.

Jeremy Baronner has 441 rushing yards and eight touchdowns for the Trojans. He also leads the team in tackles with 51, including 31 solos.

"Controlling the clock is important to us," Sobolewski said. "We've tried to be a little more balanced this year because we're going to need to be that way down the road."

The Trojans' lone losses this year are 21-10 to North Allegheny and 43-42 to Shaler.