BUTLER TWP — Eric Christy was happy he didn't break his wrist.

Moments later, his Butler football team broke General McLane's spirit.

The Golden Tornado surrendered a 19-play touchdown drive that ate up the final eight minutes of the first half and put the Lancers ahead at the intermission. Butler responded with three touchdowns in the third quarter and went on to post a 40-20 victory Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

“I'm not a yeller, but I yelled (in the locker room at halftime),” Christy admitted. “I even punched a wall. I hurt my wrist a little bit.

“I'm glad I didn't break it. I was just trying to get our energy up. The kids came out and responded.”

McLane (2-2) trailed 12-7 when it took the ball over on downs at its own 2-yard line with 8:04 left in the first half. The Lancers' methodical 19-play march included a pair of fourth-down conversions.

With seven seconds left and the ball at Butler's 15, the Lancers completed a pass near the goal line. The ball was popped out by a Butler defender, but receiver Kyle Cousins fell on it in the end zone as time expired.

“We didn't play well offensively in the first half,” Butler tight end Charlie Kreinbucher said. “We knew had to get better.”

Receiver Ethan Trettel agreed.

“We felt like we were the better team coming into the game,” Trettel said. “In the second half, we showed we were the better team.”

The Tornado (2-2) regained the lead just three plays into the third period. Kreinbucher caught a 39-yard pass from Mac Schnur and sophomore David Graef broke loose for a 39-yard touchdown run.

Graef had scored on a 13-yard run late in the first quarter for Butler.

Trettel caught a 46-yard scoring pass from Schnur with 3:30 left in the third. A little more than a minute later, JunJun Andrada picked off a pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown.

“They came out and executed their plays in the second half,” McLane coach Jim Wells said of Butler. “They have very talented athletes and they hit us with some big plays.

“Not to make excuses, but we're a smaller school than Butler and we were missing some guys due to COVID. We only had 30 dressed tonight and we started cramping in the second half.

“We got tired and they took advantage,” Wells added.

Trettel caught an 83-yard touchdown pass from Schnur early in the fourth period to give the Tornado a 40-13 lead. The Lancers added a 24-yard touchdown pass with 10 minutes still on the clock, but Butler slammed the door from there.

Trettel's two touchdowns were the first of his varsity career.

“That was pretty exciting for me,” he said.

Butler erupted for 513 yards of total offense — 295 passing and 218 rushing. Lance Slater scored on a 6-yard run to get the Tornado on the board early. He caught two passes for 88 yards and intercepted a pass as well.

“We talked this week about developing a more balanced offense and we produced that tonight,” Christy said.

John Amon scored on a 91-yard kick return and rushed for 93 yards for McLane.

“We did some good things,” Wells said. “But they got going and we got tired.”

The Tornado stay at home next week, hosting Harbor Creek.

“I like the direction our program is going right now,” Christy said. “Our junior high team is undefeated and we're getting a lot of kids involved at the varsity level.

“This is pretty exciting.”

Gen. McLane 7 6 0 7 — 20

Butler 12 0 21 7 — 40

First Quarter

B — Lance Slater 6 run (kick blocked), 1:58

GM — John Amon 91 kick return (Kyle Cousins kick), 1:45

B — David Graef 13 run (run failed), :40

Second Quarter

GM — Cousins recovered fumble in end zone (kick blocked), :00

Third Quarter

B — Graef 39 run (Landon Lacey run), 10:43

B — Ethan Trettel 47 pass from Mac Schnur (Max Gianneski kick), 3:30

B — JunJun Andrada 19 interception return (kick failed), 2:22

Fourth Quarter

B — Trettel 83 pass from Schnur (Gianneski kick), 11:41

GM — Eric Salamonsen 24 pass from Dylan Sheeder (Cousins kick), 10:01

Individual Statistics

Rushing: General McLane, Magnus Lloyd 8-19, John Amon 12-93, Nathan Danowski 5-22, Dylan Sheeder 6-0, Justin Burgos 1-8, Owen Martin 1-(-1). Butler, David Graef 3-59, Landon Lacey 7-63, Lance Slater 6-28, Mac Schnur 3-7, Noah Ritchie 1-21, Braylon Littlejohn 1-26, Colton Timmons 1-1, Alex Catalfano 3-8, Kellen Rakoci 1-5.

Passing: General McLane, Dylan Sheeder 7-15-75-0, John Amon 2-2-17-0. Butler, Mac Schnur 8-18-275-0, Noah Ritchie 2-2-20-0.

Receiving: General McLane, Kyle Cousins 4-36, Russell Wismer 2-18, Owen Martin 2-26, Eric Salamonsen 1-24. Butler, Braylon Littlejohn 1-1, Landon Lacey 1-19, Ethan Trettel 2-127, David Graef 1-3, Lance Slater 2-88, Charlie Kreinbucher 2-78, Ian Wilson 2-20.