BUTLER TWP — Butler's seniors had their moments during Senior Night Friday at Art Bernardi Stadium.

But Hempfield senior Nathan Roby stole the spotlight.

The Spartans' running back rushed for 317 yards and six touchdowns — 201 yards in the first quarter alone — in leading Hempfield to a 55-28 Quad County Conference football victory over the Golden Tornado.

“He's only 5-foot-7, 145 pounds, but he's one of the best players in the WPIAL,” Hempfield coach Rich Bowen said of Roby. “He's definitely the best-kept secret in the WPIAL.”

Roby's efforts put him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season and helped Hempfield build a 49-14 lead in the third quarter. The Spartans (3-6, 2-6) scored all 21 points in the period after taking a 28-14 lead into halftime.

The Tornado (0-9, 0-7) were far from finished, however.

Butler's seniors scored a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter. Zach Slomers — who had 113 yards receiving on the night — caught a 29-yard scoring pass from fellow senior Dylan Fediaczko. The latter took over at quarterback for Cooper Baxter in the fourth period.

“We saw where things were at and Dylan deserved that time there,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “He played well tonight.”

Fediaczko threw for 76 yards and scored the final points of the game on a 5-yard run with 35 seconds left.

Butler senior lineman Nate Cornibe, normally No. 78, wore No. 71 for his final home game in honor of his father, Dana Cornibe. That was his father's number when he played for Butler.

“This was my unspoken way of paying tribute to him, to thank him for all that he's done for me,” Cornibe said. “I left it all out on this field tonight and I know he appreciates that.

“This has been a tough year for us and a tough night for all of us seniors. It's hard standing here watching my teammates head off the field and into that locker room for the last time.”

Christy said he explained Cornibe's desire to wear No. 71 in the game — he wore No. 78 during warm-ups) — to the officials “and they were fine with it.

“It was a neat way to pay tribute. That was a great gesture,” the coach added.

Hempfield rolled up 484 yards of offense. Roby used a 70-yard run to set up his first touchdown less than two minutes into the game. He scored on a 70-yard run four minutes later.

“We got down quickly, but our kids took Senior Night to heart,” Christy said. “We got a big defensive touchdown to get back in the game.”

Spartan quarterback Blake Remaley was sacked and Julian Jones stole the ball from him as Remaley was falling to the turf. Jones raced 58 yards for the score to make it 14-7.

Following Roby's third touchdown, Baxter capped a 61-yard drive with an 8-yard scoring run and it was 21-14 midway through the second quarter.

“I'm proud of the way we played in this game and Butler should be proud of the way their kids played,” Bowen said. “Those kids showed a lot of fight.

“I told our kids this wasn't going to be an easy game. It was their Senior Night, last home game, and Butler's got some talented seniors.”

Colin Look stripped a ball away from Hempfield receiver Roman Pellis that Charlie Kreinbucher recovered at the Spartan 10-yard line. The play denied Hempfield a score in the second period and gave Butler the ball back down by only seven points.

The Spartans pulled away from there.

“I'm proud of the way we came out and fought for four quarters,” Christy said.

Hempfield 21 7 21 7 — 55

Butler 7 7 0 14 — 21

First Quarter

H — Nathan Roby 2 run (Ben Kissel kick), 10:30

H — Roby 70 run (Kissel kick), 6:51

B — Julian Jones 58 fumble return (Emery Douthett kick), 5:16

H — Roby 2 run (Kissel kick), 3:57

Second Quarter

B — Cooper Baxter 8 run (Douthett kick), 8:51

H — Roby 1 run (Kissel kick), :20

Third Quarter

H — Roby 2 run (Kissel kick), 7:02

H — Roby 8 run (Kissel kick), 3:32

H — Brendan Sliwoski 17 pass from Blsake Remaley (Kissel kick)

Fourth Quarter

B — Zach Slomers 29 pass from Dylan Fediaczko (Douthett kick), 10:36

H — Randy Nelson 3 run (kick failed), 6:39

B — Fediaczko 5 run (Douthett kick), :35

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Hempfield, Blake Remaley 4-(-10), Nathan Roby 24-317, Randy Nelson 5-53. Butler, Cooper Baxter 16-25, Zach Slomers 7-28, Justin Kabay 6-14, Antonio Harris 1-3, TEAM 1-(-35), Dylan Fediaczko 5-27.

Passing:Hempfield, Blake Remaley 8-11-124-0. Butler, Cooper Baxter 7-17-71-1, Dylan Fediaczko 2-4-76-0.

Receiving:Hempfield, Nathan Roby 2-45, Randy Nelson 3-29, Roman Pellis 2-33, Brendan Sliowoski 1-17. Butler, Charlie Kreinbucher 1-11, Zach Slomers 5-113, Dylan Fediaczko 2-17, Justin Kabay 1-6.