This is one in a series of articles previewing Butler County high school football matchups this weekend.When Seneca Valley football coach Ron Butschle looks at the other seven teams in the Quad County Conference, he doesn't see an easy out.That includes Norwin, currently in the cellar of the conference standings with an 0-2 record. The Knights will be vying for their first win of the season when they visit NexTier Stadium Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.“All the teams are good and we're taking every week as a challenge,” said Butschle, who was impressed after watching film of Norwin's 38-28 loss to Central Catholic last week.Heavy underdogs, the Knights led in the second quarter before falling to the Vikings.“Norwin's big and physical and against Central, they capitalized on some mistakes, specifically turnovers,” Butschle said. “We need to avoid those Friday.”The Knights have a different philosophy on offense after the graduation of Jack Salopek, who is now at Western Michigan University. Over the last three years, Salopek passed for 5,500 yards and 39 touchdowns.Senior Nick Fleming (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) is now leading the offense. He scored two of Norwin's four rushing touchdowns last week.“We're obviously not throwing the ball like we did last year,” said Knights' coach Dave Brozeski. “Jack was a great passer who could also run. Nick can make plays throwing, but we really like his ability to run the ball.”Connor Chrisman and Hayden O'Bryon will also be factors in the running game.Seneca Valley's defensive line will be a focal point this week. The unit played very well last Friday in a 38-0 blanking of host Hempfield.Rotating in at defensive tackle are Alex Johnson, Jimmy Royal and Gavin Zoelle and ends are Josh Miller, Lucas Lambert and Chase Nething.“We have a lot of guys playing both ways on the lines,” said Butschle. “We dominated up front last week. If we can do that every week, we're going to win a lot of football games.”The victory at Hempfield featured major contributions from all three phases. Linebacker Mitch Curran intercepted a Hempfield pass that thwarted the Spartans' only substantial drive of the game.Making his first varsity start at quarterback, senior Dustin Horn passed for 202 yards and four touchdowns and added a short scoring run. He connected with seven different targets, with four different players catching a touchdown pass — Luke Lawson, Lucas Lambert, Connor Lyczek and James Sprentz.“The coverage dictated where we needed Dustin to go with the ball,” said Butschle. “He made good reads and his throws were right on the money.”“You can tell that they have a really good running game and can also make plays in the passing game,” Brozeski said of the Raiders. “They're big up front and they play teams tough on defense. I know it's going to be a battle.”SV's special teams turned in a number of clutch efforts.Adam Davies perfectly placed an early squib kick that was recovered by Lawson and punter Connor Dague pinned the Spartans at their own 6-yard line.Lyczek and Nolan Dworek had punt returns of 36 and 33 yards, respectively.“I watched the film and there were bodies on the ground,” Butschle said of the key blocks that paved the way for the lengthy returns. “I'd say that was the best game our special teams have had since I've been here.”The Raiders defeated Norwin last year, 28-7.

The Eagle sports staff's third season of Upon Further Review, a weekly show discussing Butler County area high school football, can be viewed on the Butler Eagle Sports Facebook page.