ERIE — In front of a group of teammates waiting for a postgame speech, Butler's Cooper Baxter gripped a sledgehammer. He raised it high and slammed the turf at Erie Veterans Stadium three times to raucous cheers from those surrounding him Friday night.

It was his eight-yard touchdown surge shortly before that downed Erie, 27-23, and pounded home the Golden Tornado's first winning season since 1997.

“It's been a long time coming,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “It's the biggest win that I've been around for my career.”

After early series that ended by a turnover on downs and a punt in the first quarter, Butler (5-4) was gifted favorable position by a pop-up punt in the second quarter.

Starting from Erie's 36-yard line, quarterback Mac Schnur backpedaled from the hosts' rush and found sophomore Braylon Littlejohn from his back foot, advancing his team well into scoring position.

Two plays later, following a penalty that pushed the offense back to the Royals' 16, Schnur rolled to the short side and flipped the ball back on an end-around to Littlejohn, who raced to the endzone's left corner untouched and broke the seal on the scoreboard.

Erie (3-7) went three and out in response, allowing the Golden Tornado to march again, this time capping the possession with a missed Max Gianeski field goal try.

Then things heated up.

With 4:30 left in the half, the Royals embarked on a 12-play, 80-yard drive. They picked up four first downs and Stevie Lebron hit Jamari Gilmore for a tying score with six seconds before the break.

Gilmore picked Schnur off not even a minute into the second half, an unnecessary roughness call moving it even further into Butler territory.

Lebron took advantage, running the football in from three yards out and giving his team its first lead of the contest.

Schnur punched back, lofting a 46-yard pass to Isaiah Kelly about two minutes later. The senior receiver climbed the ladder over Isaac Henderson and then strolled into the endzone.

“The (team has) figured it out,” Christy said. “It's taken a while to figure out what it takes not to shrug your shoulders and (instead) to hold your chest out and have confidence. They've found that now.”

It wasn't a minute before Erie's Adrian Tate took a direct snap 80 yards and put the Royals up again.

“Every time I thought we were going to have a chance, they kept fighting back,” Christy said. “It was a good battle.”

For a stretch, Paul Katende's 22-yard field goal make with eight minutes and change to go, which followed a Lance Slater rushing touchdown in the previous quarter, appeared to be the game's deciding points.

The Golden Tornado went three-and-out right after. Defending a fourth-and-nine in Butler territory on the ensuing possession, Landon Lacey stacked Tate up a yard shy of a first down, giving his offense one more chance.

“With everybody coming out, I was like, 'It's this drive. It's this drive. We've got to do it right here,'” Schnur said.

Looking at a first-and-18 because of a block in the back penalty on the play before, Schnur rifled a pass deep on the left sideline. Blanketed, Littlejohn pulled it in from over his shoulder for a 32-yard gain.

“After that throw to Braylon and the time that my linemen gave me, I knew it was game over,” Schnur said.

He soon connected with Slater for a 14-yard reception. A defensive pass interference infraction on the following play then allowed Baxter the winning score with 1:20 remaining.

“We have a lot of guys we have faith in,” Christy said. “We knew who we could rely on and went to them.”

Sophomore JunJun Andrada dove on the subsequent squib kickoff, not even giving the Royals a chance to respond.

The win ushers Butler into a clash with McDowell in the upcoming District 10 Class 6A championship game.

“I'm a history teacher, so I enjoy all kinds of history,” Christy said. “If something goes in there, it's nice to be a part of it. It's more about the present moving forward and what we want to do from here on out.”

Butler 0 7 14 6 — 27

Erie 0 7 13 3 — 23

Second Quarter

B – Braylon Littlejohn 16 run, (Max Gianeski kick), 10:24

E – Jamari Gilmore 6 pass from Stevie Lebron (Paul Katende kick), 0:06

Third Quarter

E – Lebron 3 run (kick blocked), 9:30

B – Isaiah Kelly 46 pass from Mac Schnur (Gianeski kick), 6:25

E – Adrian Tate 80 run (Katende kick), 5:21

B – Lance Slater 5 run (Gianeski kick), 0:44

Fourth Quarter

E – Katende 22 field goal, 8:11

B – Cooper Baxter 8 run (pass failed), 1:20

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Butler, Braylon Littlejohn 8-63, Lance Slater 8-60, Cooper Baxter 11-53, Landon Lacey 3-5. Erie, Adrian Tate 5-102, Jermaine Selby 16-100, Jamari Gilmore 3-32, Kree Thompson 10-29, Stevie Lebron 8-26.

Passing: Butler, Mac Schnur, 10-17-193-1, Cooper Baxter 0-1-0-0. Erie, Stevie Lebron 5-7-56-0.

Receiving: Butler, Lance Slater 4-75, Braylon Littlejohn 4-57, Isaiah Kelly 1-46, Landon Lacey 1-15. Erie, Jamari Gilmore 3-37, Marquelle Darnell 2-19.