High school football returns this Friday.

With that comes plenty of storylines. Karns City may be starting a freshman quarterback. Knoch is looking to go from a one-win season straight to the playoffs under second-year coach Tim Burchett.

North Catholic has a new head coach. Mars wants to take the next step forward into the playoffs. Seneca Valley wants to atone for barely missing out on postseason play a year ago.

Every football program has its own story to spin in 2023.

The most critical of those stories may belong to Butler.

The Golden Tornado are playing their final season in District 10. While making the playoffs last season — and having to battle through the courts for the right to play that playoff game — Butler dropped its final six games after a promising 4-1 start.

The program still hasn’t won a playoff game since 1992. It hasn’t captured the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy by defeating Seneca Valley in a number of years. The Raiders hung a 42-7 defeat on the Tornado last season, though the game was still competitive at halftime.

Butler football needs to take a couple of steps forward this season. It should contend for the District 10 Class 6A championship. A playoff win wouldn’t hurt, though that would likely mean taking down McDowell, a perennial district power in Erie.

Those things are possible.

Basically, Butler, its football players and community simply need to believe it.

The roster numbers are there. Granted, it includes freshmen, but the Tornado have 80 players on their roster. They have one of the most talented players in Western Pennsylvania in Braylon Littlejohn. They have one of the fastest running backs around in Landon Lacey.

They have versatile players who can do a lot of things offensively. Butler plans to run the Wing-T and a pro set at different times to keep the defense guessing. It has the players to do that.

Athletic opponents are on the schedule. Westinghouse, McDowell, Cathedral Prep and Seneca Valley are among them.

Growth as a program is all about stepping up in big games. Butler will have that opportunity against the aforementioned teams and others.

A return to WPIAL play beckons in 2024. That means the return of playing North Allegheny, Central Catholic, Pine-Richland, etc.

This year’s seniors won’t be around for that.

But this year’s seniors will have a whole lot to do with what direction Butler football takes moving forward.

This isn’t put up or shut up time for the Golden Tornado.

This is all about stepping up and competing. Football is a game, after all.

A game Butler can win.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle