Friday’s non-conference matchup between Seneca Valley and Bethel Park figures to be a good test for two playoff-bound teams.

The Raiders (6-1) and Black Hawks (5-2) will meet on the latter’s turf. Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m.

Despite a 28-13 loss to undefeated Upper St. Clair last Friday, Bethel Park still has a strong grasp on third place in the Southeastern Conference.

USC outgained the Black Hawks 378-176.

“Our kids played hard,” said veteran Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny. “Other than that, there wasn’t much to be impressed about.”

Bethel’s other loss this season was a 38-23 setback to Woodland Hills, the second-place team in the conference, on Sept. 13.

“Obviously, we would like to have won the two games we lost,” added Metheny. “But we are pleased with where we are at.”

“I’ve known Jeff for a long time,” said Seneca coach Don Holl. “He has a well-run program, top to bottom.”

Sophomore quarterback Levi Metheny, Coach Metheny’s son, is in his second season of starting for Bethel Park. He passed for 1,071 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

“He’s a lot more intelligent when it comes to the game than he was last year,” Coach Metheny said. “He’s taking care of the ball and as long as he does that, we’ll have a chance to win.”

In last year’s 35-14 loss to Seneca Valley at NexTier Stadium, Levi Metheny completed seven of 13 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Holl has also seen improvement from Bethel’s signal caller on film.

“He’s become a stronger quarterback,” he said. “You can see that he has a good command of the offense.”

Junior running back Alex Minton leads the Hawks with 500 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

Seneca Valley’s 24-17 double-overtime win over North Hills last week included more drama than some teams get in an entire season.

Trailing 10-7 and following a 35-yard pass from T.J. Holl to Max Cicero, the Raiders had a first-and-goal on the Indians’ 1-yard line with a minute left in the game. On third down, Holl was sacked and with no time outs left, Seneca’s field goal unit raced onto the field. Chad Izenas booted a 23-yard field goal with just six seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

“Every Thursday in practice, we run through a mock-game script where we go through a lot of odd circumstances that could happen,” said Coach Holl. “The last thing we do is a fast field-goal alert.”

Holl was pleased with how his special teams unit executed with the clock winding down. The snap from Steve Cukovich and hold by Corbin Kessler allowed Izenas to extend the game.

T.J. Holl, a junior, is closing in on 2,000 offensive yards this season. He currently has 1,113 passing yards and leads the team with 548 yards on the ground. He has accounted for 18 total touchdowns (10 rushing, seven passing and one receiving).

“Seneca Valley lost a lot of players from last year, but they have played well,” said Coach Metheny. “I like their quarterback and they have a solid defense. Honestly, they remind me a lot of our team.”

The Raiders first met Bethel Park in 1994. The Black Hawks lead the series 7-3.