BUTLER TWP — Much is on the line for Butler as the Golden Tornado football team travels to Erie to face Cathedral Prep on Friday night.

Butler looks to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Tornado hope to keep alive their District 10 playoff hopes.

The team wants to settle on a quarterback.

“We’ve had injuries at a very important position there,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “We’ve used a lot of guys behind center and we really want to solidify that spot.”

Braylon Littlejohn, Noah Ritchie and Alec Teff have combined to throw for 596 yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. Tyson Pino and Landon Lacey have also taken snaps for the Tornado this year.

Teff replaced Lacey behind center last week against Westinghouse and completed 10 of 27 passes for 62 yards.

“Alec was our starter to begin with and he’s missed half the season to injury,” Christie said. “He’ll be a senior next year, so we’re hoping to get him back on track, get the rust shaken off moving forward. (Senior) Noah Ritchie may be back from his ankle injury, too, so we’ll see.”

Since Littlejohn vacated the quarterback position due to a broken finger on his throwing hand, he’s been a non-factor in Butler’s offense. He still leads the team with 418 yards rushing on 53 carries — 7.9 yards per carry. David Graef has 219 yards rushing and 293 yards receiving, but suffered a concussion against Westinghouse. His status is questionable this week.

Lacey has rushed for 220 yards and caught passes for 173.

“Those guys are great with the ball in space,,” Christy said. “We need to find a way to get the ball in their hands more. Braylon is one of our most talented players and we'd love to get him more involved in the offense.”

A.J. Baker, Butler’s center, was the team’s Lineman of the Week against Westinghouse. He edged Terrell Holderman, who has 38 tackles and four quarterback sacks on the defensive side of the ball.

“Terrell’s been all over the field for us,” Christy said.

Butler (2-5) has been outscored 91-7 the past two weeks in losses to Seneca Valley and Westinghouse. The Tornado can remain in the District 10 playoff picture with wins over Cathedral Prep (3-3) and McDowell over the next two weeks.

The Ramblers, under second-year coach Mike Krahe, have already played teams from Ohio, New York and Ontario this season. They are coming off a 28-6 win over Benedictine (Cleveland).

Cathedral Prep is 11-6 under Krahe, who took over the program last year from, Mike Mischler, who had guided the team for 20 years.

“Their offensive line is enormous,” Christy said. “Defensively, their linebackers run downhill and they love to blitz. They are very aggressive defensively.”

The Ramblers are led offensively by running back Dajoure Hollingsworth, who had 100 carries for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns in the team’s first five games. Suhtaun Lewis had 43 carries for 314 yards and four touchdowns.

The team is averaging 285 yards rushing per game and has scored 16 touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Luke Costello completed 40 opf 92 passes for 458 yards and seven TDs in five games. Rayfes Roberts Jr. is the leading receiver with n ne catches for 102 yards.

Roberts leads the Ramblers defensively with 39 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

Cathedral Prep has defeated Butler four times in the past three years, winning by scores of 40-14 last year, 58-7 in 2021, 55-21 and 56-6 in 2020.