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Butler football hosts Greater Latrobe on Friday for Senior Night

Tornado closing tough season at home

BUTLER TWP — Six quarterbacks and a six-game losing streak.

That’s what Butler has endured entering Friday’s football season finale against Greater Latrobe at Art Bernardi Stadium.

“Quarterback is the most scrutinized position on the field,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “We’ve had a lot of guys back there. It’s tough to develop continuity when you’re in a situation like that.”

Alec Teff, Noah Ritchie, Braylon Littlejohn, Nicholas Baggetta, Tyson Pino and Landon Lacey have all taken snaps for the Golden Tornado (2-7) this season. Teff is battling a knee injury and Littlejohn broke a finger on his throwing hand a few weeks ago.

Littlejohn also banged up his shoulder in last week’s 52-12 loss at McDowell.

Teff tweaked his knee during pre-game warm-ups at McDowell and was unavailable.

“Tyson Pino had no varsity reps that week and was told a few minutes before kickoff he was our starter,” Christy said. “He handled that situation as well as we could have hoped.”

Pino and Baggetta are expected to see most of the time behind center against Latrobe. The Tornado will honor their seniors before the game.

“Our goal this week is to get all of our seniors some playing time,” Christy said. “We all want to win the game. This is the last time a lot of these guys will be playing football together. We want them to enjoy the week of practice, the total experience, since this is the last week.”

Greater Latrobe (6-3) had a four-game win streak snapped last week with a 42-14 loss to McKeesport. Ron Prady is in his second year as head coach, inheriting a Wildcat team that won one game in 2021.

The team finished 7-5 last season, losing in the second round of the WPIAL 4A playoffs.

“It was just a different approach toward the kids, building their confidence and getting them to believe they could win,” Prady said of the turnaround.

Quarterback John Wetzel has completed 64 of 99 passes for 1,072 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also rushed for 640 yards and 10 scores. He has three interceptions on defense.

Alex Tatsch, a running back-linebacker, has rushed for 310 yards and four touchdowns, has 68 tackles, four quarterback sacks and three interceptions. He is being recruited by numerous Division I schools.

“He’s a violent hitter when he goes to the ball and he’s got those long arms ... That’s what Division I coaches love about him,” Prady said.

Brady Prohovic has rushed for 479 yards while Ja’Tawn Williams has caught 29 passes for 673 yards and nine touchdowns. Braden Bronson leads the Wildcats with 71 tackles.

“They’ve got talented people all over the place,” Christy said.

A.J. Baker and Terrell Holderman shared Butler’s Lineman of the Week honors against McDowell. Holderman leads the team with 44 tackles and four sacks.

“Those two guys have been consistent all year,” Christy said. “They play hard, practice hard, lead by example.They both deserve the award.”

Latrobe defeated Butler last year, 28-14.

“Butler’s got a strong, physical line and you always have to know where Littlejohn is,” Prady said. “They’ve played a lot of very good teams. They are battle-tested and we will have to play well to win.”

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