JACKSON TWP — It has been 15 years since the Seneca Valley football team won a home playoff game. The Raiders have a chance to change that come Friday.

SV (8-1) will host Hempfield (4-5) in a WPIAL Quad A first-round affair at 7:30 p.m. at NexTier Stadium. It will be only the fourth home playoff game in program history, following wins over Ringgold (27-0 in 1995) and Mt. Lebanon (27-10 in 1997) and a loss to Bethel Park (31-20 in 2007).

“A lot of it comes down to routine,” said Raiders’ coach Don Holl of playing at home. “We get to dress in our fieldhouse and play in our stadium. Our fans don’t have to travel and our student section will be as big as it can be. It’s a neat reward for our kids.”

The Spartans won three of their first four games, but limped into the postseason after losing four of their last five. They closed the regular season with a 16-0 loss to Penn-Trafford last week.

Still, getting to the playoffs is a huge step in the right direction for Hempfield, which missed out on the postseason the last three years while compiling a record of 5-22.

“At the beginning of the season, we were hoping to make the playoffs,” said Spartans’ first-year coach Rich Bowen. “We felt we had a good nucleus of kids.”

That nucleus has been hit hard with injuries, however. During the course of the season, Hempfield’s spread offense lost its top two running backs — juniors Joey DeFloria and Skyler Carkuff. The Spartans then moved wide receiver D.J. Gearhart to the backfield, where he responded with a 122-yard rushing game against Norwin, only to be lost to injury against Penn-Trafford.

It all adds up to a lot of weight being placed on 6-foot-4, 195-pound junior quarterback Ty George and his corps of receivers, most notably senior Tyler Handlan, who has grabbed 34 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns.

With the shortage of running backs, George could very well prove to be his team’s best threat on the ground, where he’s totaled 379 yards and six scores.

“Hempfield had some big wins at the beginning of the season, including one against McKeesport,” said Holl. “Every team that makes the playoffs has a reason for being here.”

Seneca Valley’s offensive line has gone through a few changes during the season.

An injury to Clayton Hoover in September moved Dean Ketterer to center. Hoover is now platooning with Nick Dahlstrom at left guard.

Zane Augustine and Dan Miller are splitting time at right guard while Tyler Hudanick and Scott Hillebrand are at right tackle and left tackle, respectively.

“We always want to get the best guys out there and we feel we’ve done that,” said Holl, who hopes his team can continue its dominance in the first half.

Through nine games, the Raiders have outscored their opponents in the first two quarters 221-77.

“That’s a good stat,” said Holl. “Our goal is to be productive on both sides of the ball right from the start.”

“I saw Seneca a few years ago when Coach Holl was just installing his system,” said Bowen. “They are hitting on all cylinders now.

“I’m impressed with every aspect of their game.”