CRANBERRY TWP — Slow and steady. That's what Jerome Turner says is Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic's plan on offense.

Pound the ball, sustain long drives and wear down opponents.

Turner wants to make the defense work at Cardinal Wuerl's.

“We like to dominate the ball and take control of the game,” said Turner, who plays running back. “Let the D work at our pace.”

The Trojans hope to continue their success with the smashmouth style attack against conference newcomer Chartiers-Houston in their home opener 7 p.m. Friday at Stone Field in North Park.

The Trojans, who have won 17 straight, asserted their will in a 63-19 Week 1 Black Hills Conference opening win over Northgate.

Turner rushed for 137 yards and four touchdowns, while Mario Latronica added 112 for North Catholic. P.J. Fulmore also had 72 yards rushing.

“That's what we do best and what we try to do every week,” North Catholic coach Bob Ravenstahl said. “It wasn't easy, but everything started to click. Jerome, Mario and PJ had great games.”

North Catholic's success on the ground came despite breaking in three new starters on the offensive line.

“I felt confident in our line,” Turner said. “Everybody else didn't know because we didn't show anything (in scrimmages). We were working hard.”

The Buccaneers (0-1, 0-1) lost at home to Avonworth last week. Chartiers-Houston quarterback Alec Ferrari passed for 180 yards in the loss.

Spencer Terling led the team with 59 rushing yards.

“We've never played them in my tenure,” Ravenstahl said. “We've been going down there for 7-on-7s and their coach (Terry Fetsko) does a good job with them. They run similar things to what we do.”

Turner hopes the Trojans can find the same success this week.

“It felt good. I was ready,” Turner said. “We did a lot of training during the offseason. We were ready to get that first game under our belt.”

7 p.m., FridayLast Week: Knoch defeated Franklin Regional, 22-7; Greensburg Salem defeated Gateway, 9-6 in overtime.Numbers: Greensburg Salem allowed 33 points per game last season in finishing 3-7 and missing the playoffs. ... Senior QB Brady Mason threw for 276 yards and two TDs in limited action last year. ... Knoch RB Cody Milsom picked up where he left off last year as the Knights' workhorse, carrying 21 times for 76 yards and two TDs last week ... Knoch QB Dan Farinelli completed 9 of 19 passes for 136 yards last week.Notes: Since Knoch's 21-14 WPIAL playoff win over Greensburg Salem in 2010, the Knights and Golden Lions have split two meetings. Greensburg Salem defeated Knoch 20-14 last year and the Knights claimed a 28-14 win in 2012. ... Dave Keefer is in his second year as G-S head coach while Mike King is in his 15th year at Knoch.

7 p.m., FridayLast Week: Mars fell at Indiana 29-26; Yough suffered a 31-6 defeat to Hollidaysburg.Numbers: With Mars FB Josh Schultheis out with a broken fibula in his left leg, senior Ori Rinaman will now carry the load in the Wing-T offense. Previously a wingback, Rinaman rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries last week. Eli Brooks and Isaiah Johnson will split time at the one wingback position, with the other being already taken by Hunter Mincer. ... Yough will count on senior HB Clay Waldron, who tallied 624 receiving yards and 898 rushing yards last year.Notes: The Cougars were longtime members of Class AAA's Keystone Conference before moving to Class AA's Interstate Conference 2010-13. They made the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in five years last season, defeating Kittanning in the first round before losing to Beaver Falls in the quarterfinals. ... Mars senior DL Marshall Robinson is battling turf toe and should be back in Week 3. The Planets will look to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2005.

7 p.m., FridayLast week: Union beat Keystone 14-8; Karns City beat Brookville 60-6.Numbers: The Raiders spent much of last Friday running backwards against Karns City. Brookville ran the ball 33 times for negative-8 yards. ... Brookville QB Bobby McGranor passed for 141 yards on five completions. ... The Raiders allowed Karns City to rack up 489 yards of offense, including 362 on the ground. ... Union squeaked by Keystone on a late touchdown by Dugan Gallagher. Gallagher led the Knights in rushing with 153 yards. He also caught a 26-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. ... Union limited Keystone to 146 yards of total offense.Notes: Union leads the all-time series 26-15. The Knights won the last meeting by forfeit in 2009.

7:30 p.m., FridayLast week: Freeport lost to Shady Side Academy 23-7; Ford City lost to Highlands 37-14.Numbers: Ford City struggled to get going against Highlands. The Sabres were stopped for losses on runs 11 times and ran for no gain six times. ... Ford City made a few big plays, scoring on a 95-yard kick return by John Bittner. ... Freeport QB Andrew Romanchak passed for 82 yards and a score before coming out with an injury against Shady Side Academy. Ryan Weigold went 6-for-7 for 65 yards in his absence. ... The Yellowjackets didn't get much of a push up front, rushing 31 times for 98 yards.Notes: Freeport leads the all-time series 42-22-1. This will be the final meeting as Ford City will merge with Kittanning next season to form Armstrong Valley.

7 p.m., FridayLast Week: Karns City defeated Brookville, 60-6; Brashear defeated Carrick, 26-7.Numbers: Brashear had three backs rush for 100 yards last week. Kahil Saunders had 15 carries for 144 yards and a TD, Ty Powe 12 carries for 120 yards and two TDs, QB Therron Coleman for 100 yards. ... Karns City had three players — Tyler Dunn, Tristan Rhoads and Collin Dunmyre — score one rushing and one receiving TD last week. ... Brashear was 4-5 last season, reaching the City League semifinals. ... The Gremlins won their ninth straight regular season game last week and have scored at least 42 points in each.Notes: Rick Murphy is in his seventh year as Brashear head coach. ... Karns City has not played a City League school since defeating South in 2001.

7 p.m., FridayLast week: Moniteau edged Punxsutawney 22-14 while C-L was dropped by Redbank Valley 47-0.Numbers: RB Kyle Robertson was the lone bright spot for the Lions in the lopsided loss, rushing for 134 yards on 20 carries. ... There were a lot of bright spots for Moniteau in first-year coach Wade Vogan's first win. Cody Skiver rushed for a 1-yard TD and also returned an INT for 14 yards and a score in the win.Notes: The two teams haven't met since 2009. Moniteau won that game 44-26.

7 p.m., FridayLast week: Grove City fell to Wilmington 28-18. Corry lost to Oil City 37-15.Numbers: Corry junior QB Liam Cragg accounted for 260 of the Beavers' 349 offensive yards, passing for 126 and rushing for another 134. ... Corry senior Collyn Frontera caught five passes for 88 yards in the loss. ... GC QB Jared Graham rushed for 80 yards to lead the Eagles, who jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter against Wilmington, but only scored six points after the initial surge.Notes: Grove City beat Corry 77-0 in the last meeting between the two schools in 2011.

7 p.m., FridayLast Week: St. Marys held off Bradford 19-14; A-C Valley dropped a 54-0 decision at Clarion.Numbers: Look for The Dutch to establish the ground game early. They tallied 171 yards and two TDs on 39 carries in Week 1. They will be facing a Falcons' defense that gave up 310 yards and six scores on the ground against Clarion.Notes: The Falcons will try to snap a 13-game losing streak. Their last victory was a 21-7 home win against Keystone Oct. 12, 2012. ... This will be the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools since The Dutch earned a 12-0 win in 2002.Summit Academy (0-1) at Beaver (1-0)7:30 p.m., FridayLast week: Summit Academy lost to Ellwood City 35-0, Beaver beat Brownsville 54-0.Numbers: Beaver rushed for 453 yards, led by Darius Wise, who racked up 112 yards on four carries. Wise also caught five passes for 180 yards. ... Bobcats' QB Zach Royba passed for 132 yards and three TDs. ... Tyland Witherspoon led Summit Academy with 53 yard rushing on five carries against Ellwood City. .Notes: Summit Academy's first win as a program was a 24-10 win over Beaver on Oct. 11, 2001.