BUTLER TWP — Seneca Valley has never defeated Butler four years in a row.

The Raiders (2-6, 0-5) will try to accomplish that feat when they invade Art Bernardi Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the teams' Northern Seven Conference finale.

"I don't know about any of that stuff," Butler coach Jim Rankin said. "All I know is our kids need a win."

The Golden Tornado (0-8, 0-5) are trying to snap a 22-game losing streak and this might be their last opportunity to do so this fall. A potential 10th game against winless Altoona next week fell through Tuesday.

"They decided they didn't want to come here," Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said. "I'm going to check with the coaches about the possibility of scheduling somebody else."

The Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy will be presented to the winner of the Butler-Seneca Valley game Friday. Rankin said he'd love to see his team awarded that trophy.

"That would be a wonderful thing," he enthused.

The Tornado were able to throw the football successfully in the first half at Erie McDowell last week. Jordan Lumley threw for 165 of his 170 yards in the first two quarters.

David Hohn had four catches for 100 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown. Lumley and Hohn nearly doubled their season's production in that one game.

More of the same might be needed Friday if Butler is to prevail.

"Most of the damage done to (SV) has been over the top of their defense," Rankin said.

The Tornado coach lauded the play of Hohn and Canan Roskovski in the passing game last week and said sophomore fullback Claude Clark, who made his first varsity start, played "at a good enthusiasm level. He's got some good upside."

Rankin admitted the run blocking still isn't there. No Butler player has rushed for as many as 200 yards this season.

The lack of a ground game has stifled the Tornado offense. West Shamokin is the lone WPIAL team to score fewer points than Butler's 40. Connellsville and Albert Gallatin also have scored 40 points.

"I don't have an adjective to describe how frustrating that's been. It's overwhelming, actually," Rankin said of Butler's inability to run.

"Looking back on it, the triple option might have been a good fit for this team. But Jordan Lumley had the head injury early, Zach Rader did well for a while. ... We've had no continuity in running the ball.

"We've had to play musical chairs at right tackle, center, tight end. ... That hasn't helped, either," he added.

Injuries and player performance have pushed more sophomores into the Butler lineup during the latter stages of the season. Three of them, linebacker Bobby Vernick, tight end Travis Reed and lineman Austin Cranmer, earned starting positions early in the year only to be sidelined by injuries themselves.

Right guard Jordan Allen was injured at McDowell and will be replaced by T.J. Hays, with sophomore Curtis Hunka staying at center.

"These kids still want to win. They're attentive to the plan in practice and I'm impressed by that," Rankin said.

He said the same thing about Seneca Valley.

"Watching their North Hills tape, their kids still looked enthusiastic about playing football," he said. "Once you're eliminated from postseason hopes, a team can have dead-head guys. You lose a number of games and think you're in the tank.

"I didn't see any of that on film."

BUTLER-SV SERIES

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Since the inception of the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy in 1993, Seneca Valley has a 9-8 lead in its football series vs. Butler:

Year B SV2009 17 352008 14 182007 13 272006 14 02005 47 292004 33 152003 29 72002 0 322001 6 212000 17 71999 6 151998 17 71997 18 211996 17 141995 21 341994 12 481993 21 8