JACKSON TWP — Two straight conference wins have the Seneca Valley football team on the doorstep of a WPIAL Quad A playoff berth.

But there is still work to be done before the team earns the program's third postseason appearance in five seasons.

The Raiders, who defeated Shaler 28-21 last week, will travel Friday to a venue that hasn't been kind to them in recent years — North Hills' Martorelli Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Both SV (5-2, 2-2) and North Hills (4-3, 2-2) are currently tied for the fourth and final playoff spot out of the Northern Seven.

Seneca Valley has not defeated North Hills on the Indians' turf since a 31-7 triumph in 1997. Since then, the Raiders have dropped six straight in West View by an average score of 33-9.

In Don Holl's previous two seasons as head coach at Seneca Valley, the Raiders have gone 1-1 against North Hills. Both contests were played at SV's NexTier Stadium, including North Hills' 35-14 win last season.

“I've never coached there (Martorelli Stadium), but I do know that they get great fan support,” said Holl. “The success that North Hills has had there has a lot to do with the fact that they've had some great teams. Great teams win a lot of games.”

This year's Indians have defeated Perry (35-13), Pine-Richland (21-17), Hempfield (42-0) and Butler (38-0). Those four teams have a combined record of 9-19.

North Hills dropped a heart-breaking 23-22 decision to host McDowell last week.

“They may not have what they consider to be the best group they've assembled there, but North Hills has a lot of pride and tradition,” said Holl. “They have crafty kids and some good skill players. Jack McCurry is a great coach.”

North Hills senior quarterback Anthony Rizzitano (5-foot-8, 150 pounds) threw for 144 yards and ran for 94 yards and a touchdown in last week's defeat.

The Indians' offensive line features senior and returning starter Andy Carfagna (6-4, 240).

Some may think of Seneca Valley's offense as being pass-happy.

It is true that the Raiders often line up with four wide receivers and junior quarterback Jordan Brown is the WPIAL's top passer with 1,483 yards.

But the team's ground attack is just as important.

In last week's victory over Shaler, all four of SV's touchdowns came on the ground, including Brown's 38-yard scoring jaunt in the second quarter.

For the season, Brown has totaled 427 yards and five touchdowns with his feet.

“The number one thing that having a quarterback who can run does is that it creates an advantage in numbers for us,” said Holl. “The defense has to account for that and it opens up a lot of other things.”

SV junior halfback Forrest Barnes now has 793 rushing yards. The last Raider to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a season was Bill Davis (1,280 in 2002).

McCurry could not be reached for comment.