GREENSBURG — Winning football and Hempfield High School simply haven't gone together.

First-year coach Rich Bowen is trying to change that.

“I believe we can win here. We're making some positive steps,” Bowen said.

The Spartans (3-3) will try to snap a two-game losing streak when they host Butler (2-4) for homecoming at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Hempfield defeated McKeesport 33-18 and Latrobe 43-7 to begin this season. The Spartans finished 1-8 each of the past two years and haven't had a winning campaign in 14 seasons.

But the team has dropped three of four of late, losing 14-10 to Connellsville, 41-13 to Gateway and 17-14 to Altoona as injuries have mounted.

“We had eight starters out of the lineup against Altoona and most of them won't be back this week,” Bowen lamented.

Included on the injury list is game-breaking tailback Joey DeFloria — who has rushed for 418 yards and five touchdowns, caught 12 passes for 264 yards — and running back Skylar Carkuff, who has 35 carries for 240 yards.

“One's got a shoulder injury, the other a knee,” Bowen said. “We've been going with running back by committee since those guys went out.”

The constant has been 6-foot-4, 195-pound junior quarterback Ty George, who has completed 55 of 110 passes for 750 yards. He has rushed for 300 yards as well.

“We run a no-huddle offense and Ty excels at it,” Bowen said.

The Spartans also use DeLorian Day behind center on occasion in a wildcat look. He threw for 91 yards last week while George threw for 156.

Bowen had been a high school head coach for 19 years — running programs at Serra Catholic, Elizabeth-Forward and Yough — before serving as an assistant coach at Waynesburg University the past two years.

“I missed the Friday night lights,” he admitted. “I wanted to get back to the high school level.”

With top receiver Cameron Updyke sidelined with a sprained ankle last week, Tyler Handlan surfaced and caught 11 passes for 132 yards. Updyke may return to action this week.

Defensively, the Spartans are led by 240-pound tackle Max Adams. Sophomore linebacker Josh Kempka leads the team in tackles with 43, including 26 solo stops.

Hempfield has forced 10 turnovers through six games.

“Both of our punters are hurt, so we've been punting by committee, too,” Bowen said. “These kids are still playing hard and our goal remains to be making the playoffs.

“That's why this game is so important to our mind-set. We're at home and we don't want to drop a third game in a row. Butler's trying to get back on track, too. This is a big one for both of us.”

Bowen acknowledged that Butler has moved the football against every team it's played.

“That includes North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair and there is no better competition than that,” he said. “That team has played a great schedule and their quarterback runs that mid-line veer extremely well.

“This game will be a challenge for us. These are two teams trying to right the ship.”