The final score was 49-14.

That was the margin of defeat suffered by Seneca Valley’s football team when it traveled to North Allegheny for a Northern Seven Conference matchup in Week 7.

The Raiders will get a chance to avenge the loss when they meet the Tigers for a second time Friday in a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal playoff at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium.

“This is the game that gets you to Heinz Field (for the WPIAL championship game),” said SV coach Dave Vestal. “It’s against a rival, so it’s the perfect situation for our kids.”

The Tigers (8-2) reached the district’s final four by crushing Hempfield last week, 42-7. Seneca Valley prevailed in a wild 49-43 affair at Mt. Lebanon.

NA’s prior victory over the Raiders means nothing to Tiger coach Art Walker Jr.

“The playoffs are a new season. We are 1-0 and so is Seneca Valley,” he said. “Our kids know that if they want to reach their goals, they have to take care of business Friday night.”

Vestal has mulled over the game film from the October meeting with NA. Though 35 points separated the Raiders and Tigers, staying in the rematch and ultimately, winning it, comes down to fundamental football according to Vestal.

He knows that the Tigers gained 155 combined yards on their first two drives back in October. In that span, which included 23 plays, NA needed to convert just one third down and earned a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

“We need to get them into third downs and then to punting situations,” said Vestal. “NA is a great football team and we believe their game plan will be very similar this time. We need to find ways to get them off schedule.”

First and foremost, that means disrupting the Tiger ground attack. In the first game, NA rumbled for 323 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Running back Michael Pope ran for 141 yards and senior quarterback Ethan Maenza for 70 yards. Chewing up big chunks of yardage on the ground opened up the passing game as Maenza completed 11-of-15 aerials for 194 yards and two scores.

Throw in junior running back Turner White, who has gained 397 yards and scored six touchdowns this season, and the Tigers have three players who have combined for 2,116 yards and 35 touchdowns.

“There are times when all three are on the field at the same time,” said Walker. “There’s only one ball, but we try to spread it around. They all have a different role and every one is important.”

“They are very sound and physical up front,” said Vestal. “They often have one more guy than you do at the point of attack. You focus on trying to stop the run and they can hit you with a big pass play on the waggle (rollout).”

Seneca Valley’s offense looked good early on in the first game. The Raiders moved the ball 38 yards in the first four plays. A play for negative yardage was followed by a penalty on SV, which led to a turnover on downs at the Tiger 15.

A missed opportunity on defense came later when Gabe Miller’s interception was nullified because of a roughing the passer penalty on the Raiders. Three plays later, NA scored to make it 21-0.

“When we get opportunities this time, we have to take advantage of them,” said Vestal.

SV (7-3) has displayed its comeback ability recently. In last week’s win over Mt. Lebanon, the Blue Devils scored 22 straight points to take a 29-21 lead in the third quarter. The Raiders responded with a 28-14 run to close the game.

In Week 6, SV fell behind 21-3 at Bethel Park before winning in dramatic fashion, 25-21.

But falling behind by more than one score to North Allegheny is a different animal.

“If NA scores and you can answer with a score, it’s a mental thing and you start thinking that you can stay with them,” said Vestal. “But if you can’t answer them, then you start to doubt. But hopefully, we won’t have to worry about falling behind Friday. We want a fast start. That will give us confidence.”

Keeping the game close will also allow the Raiders to use their entire offensive playbook. In the prior loss to NA, falling behind by multiple scores forced Seneca Valley to become one-dimensional. Senior halfback Hank Royal had a season-low six carries for 26 yards. In his other nine games this season, Royal averaged 21 carries and 126 yards per contest.