BUTLER TWP — Butler has a shot at ending a couple of streaks come Friday night.

The Golden Tornado (2-6, 0-5) travel to rival Seneca Valley (6-2, 3-2) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at NexTier Stadium. Butler will try to stop the Raiders from becoming the first team to win the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy five successive years.

The Tornado are also looking to halt a Northern Seven Conference losing streak that has reached 21 games. Butler hasn't won a section game since claiming the Eagle Trophy with a 14-0 victory over SV in 2006.

Since then, Seneca Valley owns wins of 27-13, 18-14, 35-17 and 41-17 last year.

“It's nice to be playing for a trophy, but this is a tall task for us,” Butler coach Clyde Conti said. “Seneca Valley has been hitting on all cylinders and they're coming off two big wins that have gotten them into the playoffs.

“Jordan Brown is the leading passer in the WPIAL. Their offense brings high energy.”

While the Raiders are in the playoffs, how they fare against Butler will go a long way in determining their seeding.

“That's big because you don't want to finish fourth going in (to the playoffs),” Conti said.

Butler just wants to finish strong, period. The Tornado have not been competitive in their section, getting outscored 198-20 in five games, accumulating 38 first downs while allowing 96.

“I knew the teams we'd be playing in this league would be pretty darn good,” Conti said. “I've gotten a better gauge on what we need to do to improve ourselves.

“While we need to entice more kids to get involved, our main focus as coaches have to be on the kids who want to to play.”

Conti noted that of the 50 players comprising last year's Butler freshman team, only 15 returned to the Tornado football program as sophomores.

“Too many kids are dropping off at that point and we need to fix that,” Conti said. “We have to strengthen the work ethic and work on getting our kids more focused, accountable and disciplined.

“That mindset has to change. I believe in my coaching staff and we have to get the kids to believe in themselves.”

While Conti plans on returning next year, he said he will dearly miss the current crop of seniors.

“People can simplify things and just look at wins and losses if they want, but we try to view the big picture,” he said. “As coaches, we preach about the journey, the quest.

“Yeah, we need to improve our blocking and tackling, but hopefully, we've had an impact in some way on these kids that will go far beyond football.”

Conti isn't afraid to take criticism for the Tornado's win-loss record.

“I'm thick-skinned,” he said. “I just try to be fair to the kids. We'll focus on the positives more than the negatives about this season.

“People think I can't wait to get this over with ... I will miss this season tremendously. Now I'll support these kids in their off-season endeavors — wrestling, baseball, the school musical, whatever — I'm here for them.”