JACKSON TWP — Vikings are supposed to pillage and conquer. But on Thursday night, it was Seneca Valley that offered a lesson in dominating defense.

The Raiders held Central Catholic to just 140 total yards as SV picked up a crucial 34-7 Northern Eight football victory at NexTier Stadium.

The defensive effort included holding the Vikings to just 2.9 yards per rushing attempt.

Central Catholic was without leading rusher Luigi Lista-Brinza, who was out with a leg injury, but even Vikings' coach Terry Totten admitted it had no bearing on the outcome.

“It wouldn't have made enough of a difference if he had played,” Totten said. “They (Raiders) moved the ball. We didn't tackle well, we didn't do anything well.”

SV's defense forced the Vikings (4-1, 3-1) into five 3-and-outs and came up with three big quarterback sacks in the second half.

“We felt we had the right defensive package in tonight, using some blitzes,” said Raiders' coach Don Holl. “But then it comes down to guys making the plays on the field. We had that tonight.”

For safety R.J. McCauley, the recipe for success was quite simple.

“We had our assignments and we executed them,” he said. “This was an important game. Every conference game is important.”

Not to be outdone, SV's offense put up impressive numbers against a defense that had given up just three points in its first four games.

The Vikings had cut Seneca's lead to 20-7 with Todd Coles' 33-yard run with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.

At the start of the final period, the Vikings pinned SV at its own 1-yard line.

All the Raiders did was march 99 yards in eight plays, getting a 7-yard scoring run from Forrest Barnes that gave his team a 27-7 edge.

Barnes (61 yards) and Jordan Brown (27) both provided big runs to set up the touchdown.

“Before that, it was 20-7 and it was just a score away from being a one-score game,” said Holl. “That drive said that this game is ours.”

The Raiders had outgained Central 170-73 in the first half and led 7-0 at the break after McCauley capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown catch from Brown on the first play of the second quarter.

But SV's biggest plays on offense came in the second half.

Brown added a 58-yard scoring strike to Jon Dorogy and one from 46 yards out to McCauley as the Raiders built a 20-0 lead in the third period.

“They were showing us a lot of the same coverage in the first half,” said Holl. “At halftime, we were thinking of ways to attack it and ended up hitting a couple of big plays.”

Barnes, who rushed for 154 yards on 27 carries in the contest, managed a late touchdown to end the scoring.

With a 17-yard run in the first quarter, Barnes became SV's career rushing leader, surpassing Brian Buerkle (2,314). Barnes now has 2,431 yards and counting.

Chad Izenas tallied four extra points for the Raiders (4-1, 3-1), who will host Shaler next Friday.

Seneca Valley 34, Central Catholic 7

Cent. Catholic 0 0 7 0 — 7

Seneca Valley 0 7 13 14 — 34

CC SV

8 First Downs 21

31-90 Rushes-Yards 43-277

50 Passing Yards 186

6-14-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 12-21-0

140 Total Yards 463

2-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-0

8-85 Penalty Yards 5-65

Second Quarter

SV — R.J. McCauley 6 pass from Jordan Brown (Chad Izenas kick), 11:54

Third Quarter

SV — Jon Dorogy 58 pass from Brown (kick blocked), 9:08

SV — McCauley 46 pass from Brown (Izenas kick), 6:01

CC — Todd Coles 33 run (Mitchell MacZura kick), 5:05

Fourth Quarter

SV — Forrest Barnes 7 run (Izenas kick), 8:31

SV — Barnes 1 run (Izenas kick), :17

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Central Catholic, Bryan Glover 7-17, Leo Loughrey 2-6, Riley Redman 8-29, Joe Consentino 6-3, Todd Coles 5-31, Cody Allen 2-7, Team 1-(-3). Seneca Valley, Forrest Barnes 27-154, Jordan Brown 7-44, Jon Dorogy 9-79.

Passing: Central Catholic, Joe Consentino 6-14-50-0. Seneca Valley, Jordan Brown 12-21-186-0.

Receiving: Central Catholic, Shafer Swann 3-17, Cole Barkich 1-16, Todd Coles 1-12, Devin Faloon 1-5. Seneca Valley, R.J. McCauley 4-66, Forrest Barnes 4-39, Ryan Conn 1-6, Jon Dorogy 2-59, T.J. Holl 1-16.