No moral victory
SV coach Ron Butschle isn't one to laud moral victories, but he can certainly recognize spirited play, even when it comes in a loss.
His Raiders led a strong Central Catholic team last week, 14-7, before falling to the Vikings 28-20 at Highmark Stadium.
“Nobody celebrated in our locker room,” he said. “We don't get a lot of satisfaction from moral victories, but we looked at how hard our kids played against a very, very good Central team and it's clear that we have improved since Week 1.
“We're pleased with the effort and how hard our kids are working to improve.”
The Raiders (1-3, 1-2) will meet Penn Hills (4-1, 2-1) this week in a Northern Seven Conference game that could be the difference between making and not making the playoffs for both teams.
Seneca Valley was clearly the more physical team the last two years in 23-0 (2015) and 32-7 (2016) victories over the Indians.
“If we come off the ball, play hard and clean up mistakes from last week, we can dominate a lot of teams up front,” said Butschle.
The Raiders' starting offensive line will include center Nolan Nagy, guards Drew Robertson and Evan Schillero, tackles Kevin Meeder and Josh Kaltenberger and tight end Jake Stebbins.
“The first thing I noticed about Seneca is their physicality,” said first-year Indians' coach Jon LeDonne, who is no stranger to planning for Seneca Valley. He was the head coach at conference foe Shaler the last three years. “Our line's play has been a question mark for us, but we're working on it.”
Butschle watched his starting quarterback, Gabe Lawson, turn in his best game last week.
The sophomore passed for 196 yards, including a touchdown strike to senior receiver Jake Bunofsky.
“It's hard to expect a sophomore to come in and make all the reads that a senior would when the game is moving quickly,” said Butschle. “Hopefully, the game is slowing down for Gabe. There's a learning curve for me, too, when it comes to calling plays.
“He's an asset to this football team and is taking strides every week.”
Penn Hills junior quarterback Hollis Mathis has passed for 1,088 yards this season, adding 12 touchdowns and just one interception. Wide receiver Dante Cephas, also a junior, has 18 receptions for 338 yards and seven touchdowns.
“He (Mathis) has spent a lot of time in the film room,” said LeDonne. “He's a smart player who knows the coverages and where he needs to go with the ball.”
The Indians use a committee-approach in their ground attack, with Tank Smith (5-9, 210), Tim Smith (5-8, 180) and Jaquay Sears (5-9, 165) each getting significant carries.
Penn Hills defeated Shaler last week, 34-7.
