MCMURRAY — There were a number of plays that got Seneca Valley's players and fans excited in Friday night's football opener at Peters Township.

But not enough of them came from the Raider offense.

After a turnover, several defensive stands and a safety helped the Raiders stay within striking distance, SV's offense finally put together a scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. Gabe Lawson connected with Jake Bunofsky on a 2-yard scoring pass with only 11 seconds left in the game.

After the two-point attempt failed, Tyler Johnson's squib kick was easily covered up by the Indians, who escaped with a 13-8 home victory.

“Offensively, we struggled with field position tonight,” said SV coach Ron Butschle. “We have some new guys in there and at different positions and the game speed may be different for them, but we still expect them to execute.

“Our defense gave us a chance.”

That was evident late in the first quarter. Peters Township's Josh Casilli appeared headed for a 41-yard scoring run, but was stripped by Seneca's Jake Bunofsky at the 5-yard line. Ty Gross recovered for the Raiders at the 9.

Early in the fourth quarter, SV's defense stopped the Indians on a fourth down from the Raider 8. Then with under five minutes to play and trailing 6-0, a host of Raider defenders met quarterback Jake Cortes in the end zone and tackled him for a safety.

Needing to at least take time off the clock, the Indians did more than that. On a 3rd-and-7 from his own 34, Cortes hit Casilli on a short curl route that the receiver turned into a 66-yard scoring play. Zach Sepich's extra point gave the Indians a 13-2 lead with 3:03 left.

Cortes finished the game with 244 passing yards while a host of players contributed to the team's 141 yards on the ground.

Seneca Valley's best chance to score in the first half came following a 60-yard run from halfback Noah Mancuso. But the drive stalled and ended when the Raiders failed to convert on fourth down from the Indian 27.

Peters Township (2-0) broke the scoreless tie in the third quarter. Casilli's 39-yard punt return set the Indians up at the Raider 29. Six plays later, Ryan Magiske scored from two yards out.

Making his first varsity start, Lawson, a sophomore, completed 13-of-24 passes for 75 yards, the one touchdown and two interceptions.

“He struggled, but we struggled as a team,” said Butschle. “He's our guy and we're rolling with him.”

Mancuso had 121 yards on 16 carries.

Seneca Valley 0 0 0 8 — 8

Peters Twp 0 0 6 7 — 13

First Quarter

PT — Ryan Magiske 2 run (kick failed), 6:04

Fourth Quarter

SV — Safety, Jake Cortes sacked in end zone, 4:52

PT — Josh Casilli 66 pass from Cortes (Zach Sepich kick), 3:03

SV — Jake Bunofsky 2 pass from Gabe Lawson (run failed), :11

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Seneca Valley, Gabe Lawson 20-62, Noah Mancuso 16-121; Peters Township, Josh Casilli 2-38, Ryan Magiske 13-27, Adrian Williams 13-39, Jake Cortes 3-(-1), Aidan McCall 1-27, Tanner Scott 2-2, TEAM 1-(-1).

Passing: Seneca Valley, Gabe Lawson 13-24-75-2; Peters Township, Jake Cortes 14-23-244-0

Receiving: Seneca Valley, Jake Bunofsky 3-7, Luke Smith 6-43, Noah Mancuso 1-(-1), Jake Stebbins 2-17, Josh McLean 1-9; Peters Township, Josh Casilli 4-125, Ryan Magiske 2-23, Conor Pederson 2-18, Luke Mart 4-67, Aidan McCall 1-11