BUTLER TWP — There's no denying Mt. Lebanon has better personnel on its football roster than Butler.

But that may not matter.

The Golden Tornado (4-5) travel to Mt. Lebanon (7-2) to face the Blue Devils in a first-round WPIAL Class AAAA playoff game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“We don't have to be better than them all of the time. We just have to be better than them that night,” Butler coach Clyde Conti said. “This isn't a seven-game seres. It's one and done. That's the nature of the beast.”

Butler will be playing in its first playoff game since 1998. That year, the Tornado ventured to Bethel Park to face the section champion Black Hawks in the first round. Butler outplayed Bethel, but two muffed punts proved costly in a 13-6 loss.

This time around, the Tornado are seeded 12th, while the Blue Devils are seeded fifth.

“I thought we might get Gateway, but the fact we beat Hempfield probably bumped us up in the seedings,” Conti said. “We knew we were getting a very good opponent regardless.

“Mt. Lebanon should have won their game last week (21-19 loss to Upper St. Clair). If they had, they'd be a top-three seed.”

Conti will bring a banged-up Butler team into this game. He is unsure who his starting backfield will be as running backs Kolby Kriess and Jake Olenick are out, running back Claude Clark is questionable and quarterback Jordan Cratty doubtful with injuries.

The Tornado might begin that game with Tom Jendesky at quarterback, Bob Vernick and Robert Burdine at running back.

“Robert got 14 carries last week and we wanted to get the ball in his hands a lot,” Conti said. “We knew he may have to start for us this week.

“If Jordan Cratty gets cleared at 7:20 p.m. Friday, he'll start the game. Normally, a kid has to practice at least one day that week before I play him, but Jordan deserves a chance to play in this game if he's healthy enough to do so.”

Cratty has thrown for 504 yards and three touchdowns, run for 340 yards and three scores this season.

“He's the true leader of that offense and I have a lot of respect for that,” Conti said.

Clark leads the Tornado ground game with 476 yards and three touchdowns. He was limited to two carries in last week's 31-0 loss to Central Catholic due to injury.

Senior receiver Canan Roskovski has 21 catches for 357 yards and two touchdowns. He was hurt last week as well and is questionable for Friday. Jake Alston and Olenick are next on Butler's receptions list for 2012 with six each.

Cornerback Pat Lokhaiser will not suit up Friday. Also questionable with injuries are linebacker Jake Hays and lineman Hayden Smith.

“We haven't dwelled on injuries all year, but we've had 30 concussions on this team over the past two years,” Conti said. “We don't tackle at all in practice or the situation might be worse.

“We'll go down there, do the best we can and try to win a football game.”

Friday's winner gets the survivor of the Hempfield-Seneca Valley game in the quarterfinal round next week.

“I feel for the injured kids we have who can't play this week,” Conti said. “You hate to see them miss a chance to play in the playoffs because they've earned it.

“Kolby Kriess hasn't played for us since the second quarter of the North Allegheny game, yet we would have put the equipment away last week if not for him. That's just a fact.”