Seneca Valley's football team has already settled two scores with teams that defeated it during the regular season.

Pulling it off a third time would make the Raiders WPIAL champions.

SV (9-3) will meet Pine-Richland (9-2) for the Class 6A title at 8 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field.

The Raiders' road to the championship game included a quarterfinal win over Central Catholic (15-14) and a semifinal victory last week against North Allegheny (31-14).

But the Rams present Seneca with its stiffest challenge to date. The former, the defending WPIAL and PIAA champions, defeated the Raiders 21-7 Oct. 19 while out-gaining them 392-198.

For the third straight week, SV will be the underdog, a tag that coach Ron Butschle said his Raiders are rather indifferent to wearing.

“I guess it could serve as a small bit of motivation,” he said. “We respect Pine-Richland, but we aren't happy just to be here (title game). We've come together at the right time and believe we can win this game.”

The Raiders must find a way to better contain Pine-Richland's ground game. In the first meeting the Raiders allowed 27 percent (369 yards) of the 1,370 rushing total they have surrendered this season. In its other 10 games, SV has allowed an average of just 91 yards on the ground.

“We didn't get ripped for long runs except against them,” said Butschle of the Rams. “We need to do a better job of taking care of our gaps. We have to match their physicality and can't miss tackles.”

Rams' running back Luke Meckler will be a marked man Saturday. The junior has rushed for 1,138 yards and scored 18 touchdowns this season. He gained 210 yards in that first game against the Raiders.

“This is his first year as our feature back and he has stepped in nicely to that role,” said PR coach Eric Kasperowicz. “He's very explosive and defenses have to know where he is on every play.”

SV has found its own big-play threat in senior running back Jake Mineweaser. In the first eight games of the season, he had tallied just 51 yards on 18 carries. Against the Rams in October, he rushed for 94 yards on just six carries. Since then, he has paced the ground attack with 372 yards and five touchdowns over the last three games.

“Jake is very physical and that's why he was our fullback the first few games of the season,” said Butschle. “He has sparked us.”

“He's a tough kid,” Kasperowicz said of Mineweaser. “They have to be impressed with him. He really got going against us and he hasn't come out since then.”

The rematch features two quarterbacks who have had solid seasons as dual threats. SV junior Gabe Lawson has thrown for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns and has added 365 rushing yards and a team-leading eight scores. His counterpart, Rams' Cole Spencer, has nearly identical passing numbers (1,184 yards, 11 touchdowns). He has gained 592 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns.

Josh McLean leads SV's receivers with 30 catches for 541 yards and seven scores. Eli Jochem does so for the Rams with 31 receptions, though he has just 288 yards and one score.

But Kasperowicz believes the team that is more effective in running the ball will have a huge advantage come Saturday.

“This is Western Pennsylvania and there's a lot of bad, cold weather,” he said. “You have to be able to run the ball and stop the run.”

Pine-Richland's starters have played just one half since the Rams fell to North Allegheny, 27-7, in the final regular season game Oct. 26. As Class 6A's No. 2 seed, the Rams received a bye into the semifinals, where they defeated Mt. Lebanon last week, 46-16. In that contest, PR led 46-0 at halftime and the team's reserves played the final two quarters.

“Being able to sit our top guys is a bonus,” Kasperowicz said. “We need them to be healthy.”

SV will be making its third appearance in the district title game. The Raiders lost their two previous visits, to Aliquippa in 1989 and Central Catholic in 2016.