Familiar Foes
Seneca Valley aims to enter Quad County play on a high note. Standing in its way of doing that is an old foe.
The Raiders visit Martorelli Stadium Friday to take on North Hills. The two football teams were conference opponents for over two decades, ending with the introduction of six classifications in 2016.
Seneca, a Class 6A team, evened its record at 1-1 with a dramatic 24-20 win last week against Pine-Richland.
Class 5A North Hills has looked very impressive in victories over Mars (37-0) and Plum (49-17), though both of those games came against struggling offenses.
In the Raiders, North Hills will meet a team coming off a breakout performance.
SV junior quarterback Graham Hancox threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns last week. Three different receivers caught the scoring passes — Jacob Rape, Luke Lawson and Brandon Ross.
Ross' touchdown came with just nine seconds left in the game.
“They may not be as overwhelming in size up front like they've been in the past,” North Hills coach Pat Carey said of the Raiders, “but their skill guys are big and very athletic.
“Our aggressiveness on defense has stood out,” Carey added. “We have eight returning starters and really get after people.”
The Indians will bring their own offensive weapons into the matchup.
Running back Liam Tracey has rushed for 238 yards and five touchdowns on just 18 carries this season.
Wide receiver Robert Dickerson is a threat in both the passing and running game and has also returned two punts for touchdowns from 58 and 53 yards out.
“Dickerson (6-0, 185 pounds) looks like a Division I athlete,” said SV coach Ron Butschle. “It's a typical North Hills team ... they play hard.
“I have enough experience coaching against North Hills at their place to know it's going to be a tough game for us.”
Butschle was impressed with the play last week of his starting cornerbacks, Joe Babusci and Wayne Pirt, who both tallied several pass breakups in 1-on-1 coverage.
“It was one of the best efforts from our cornerbacks that I've seen,” Butschle said. “They're both first-year starters and they went out and did a good job against big and athletic receivers.”
North Hills leads the all-time series 25-11-2. The Raiders won the last meeting, 31-10, in 2015.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
