ERIE — The ground was impassable, so Butler took to the air.

Golden Tornado quarterback Jordan Lumley threw for 170 yards Friday night — nearly matching his total for the entire season — but he could not prevent a 42-13 loss to McDowell at Anderson Field.

Lumley entered the game with 177 passing yards. He threw for 165 yards in the first half, including a 59-yard bomb to David Hohn for Butler's longest scoring play of the campaign.

"We did some good things tonight," Butler coach Jim Rankiin said. "Our running game has issues and we lack poise on defense at times, but the kids had some fun in this game.

"If not for a few plays, we might have had a lot of fun."

Butler (0-8, 0-5) fell behind 14-0 as McDowell (6-2, 4-2) scored twice on its first five plays. Quarterback Colin Kimball raced 41 yards for a score and tailback Greg Garmon got loose for a 49-yard touchdown burst.

The Trojans clinched a WPIAL playoff berth with the win. They will finish second in the Northern Seven if North Allegheny defeats North Hills next week.

"I talked to our kids about the importance of this game and about getting ready for the playoffs," McDowell coach Mark Sobolewski said. "I wanted them to jump on Butler early so we could do some things with personnel.

"This game worked out the way we hoped."

McDowell threw only three passes, completing none. The Trojans used a nine-play, 73-yard drive, capped by a Jeremy Baronner 1-yard plunge, to take a 21-7 lead after Hohn's TD catch.

The lead expanded to 28-7 when Kimball stepped in front of a Lumley pass and returned it 46 yards for a score with 4:47 left in the half.

The Tornado drove 75 yards to the McDowell 6 in the closing moments of the second quarter. Lumley found Cole Baxter for 21 yards, and to Canan Roskovski for completions of 11 and 32 yards during the march.

On fourth-and-goal from the 6, however, Division I prospect Andrew Bennett sacked Lumley to end the threat.

Butler netted 24 rushing yards as Lumley was sacked five times.

A blocked punt set McDowell up at Butler's 10-yard line two minutes into the third quarter. Garmon scored on a 7-yard run two plays later for a 35-7 lead.

"We gave them two scores with the interception return and blocked punt," Rankin said. "Take away those and if we score at the end of the half ... this gets interesting."

Backup quarterback Anthony Lecce scored on a 53-yard run for McDowell in the third quarter.

Baxter capped a 38-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring run with 7:55 left in the game.

Garmon had eight carries for 118 yards for the Trojans, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the year.

Hohn had four catches for 100 yards for Butler.

The Tornado will try to snap a 22-game losing streak and capture the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy when it hosts Seneca Valley next Friday at Art Bernardi Stadium.