BUTLER TWP — Bethel Park welcomeded Butler to Division I boys lacrosse with a goal in the first 10 seconds as the Black Hawks built a 3-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

It didn’t take long for the Golden Tornado to catch up to speed.

JJ Raab tallied five goals and an assist and Butler rallied for an 8-5 victory over Bethel Park in a mutual season opener on Saturday afternoon at Art Bernardi Stadium.

“We’ve been practicing hard and really wanted to make a statement our first game in Division I,” said Raab. “Everybody worked together and we did what we wanted to do.”

Raab scored a pair of goals in the first quarter off assists from Clint Regal and Jamison Smith to cut Butler’s deficit to 3-2 with 2:39 left in the first quarter.

Just 17 seconds later, Bethel Park’s Brenden Kail answered with a goal to push the Hawks’ lead to 4-2 after the first, but the Golden Tornado defense clamped down and didn’t allow the Hawks to light up the scoreboard for over two quarters.

In the meantime, goals from Raab, Smith and Tanner Kotch provided Butler with a 5-4 halftime edge. The Golden Tornado’s advantage bloated to 8-4 on two more scores from Raab and a Clay Bachman goal in between.

“We were just getting beat on groundballs and had a couple of mistakes on the defensive side (early in the game). A couple of quick adjustments and we kept them off the board,” said Butler coach Brandon Hoskinson. “We stayed with it, started winning some faceoffs and groundballs and turned the game around.”

The Hawks ended the 6-0 run when Michael Stephenson found the back of the net with 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but the Tornado didn’t let Bethel Park any closer.

“I asked my team to start out hot today — we’ve been starting slow all preseason — and we did that. We put three in real quick,” said Bethel Park coach Chris Ortmann. “You have to give it to Butler, they came back and put a couple in. I think that startled us a little bit and we had a rough time from there.

“It all came down to passing and catching today,” he added. “It came down to not having enough offensive possession and too many turnovers.”

Butler goalie Josh Jablonski posted six saves, three coming in the final quarter to secure the victory. Bethel Park’s Derek Lesnak recorded six saves, as well.

Chandler Harvey and Cory Hilliard had two assists apiece for the Tornado, while Kotch also dished out a helper.

Zachary Rusch scored the Hawks’ opening goal and added two assists. Kail had a team-high two goals, while Hayden Bussard also scored for Bethel Park.

But Raab’s scoring effort matched the entire Hawks’ roster.

“I’m a shooter, but if I have to pass, I’ll do it,” said Raab. “Whatever I have to do to get the win is all that matters.”

Hoskinson was pleased to see his team earn a victory in its Division I debut.

“Good opener,” he said. “We can clean a bunch of things up, but for the first game, we’ll take it.”

“If we can win faceoffs and win groundballs, we can be successful,” he added. “It’s great for the confidence. It was a good team to come out and play against in our first game.”

Notes: Butler opens section play against North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. ... The Butler JV team earned an 8-4 victory. Shane McCleary, Dan Cleary and Dom Noel accounted for the Tornado goals.