JACKSON TWP — Facing North Allegheny on the gridiron is tough enough, but playing from behind makes matters even worse.

Seneca Valley wasn't able to overcome a 21-point second-quarter deficit in a 49-28 loss to the Tigers Friday night at NexTier Stadium.

The Tigers (5-0, 3-0) amassed 478 yards of offense, 346 of it coming on the ground.

“You have to tip your cap to the team that outplayed us tonight,” said SV coach Don Holl. “They imposed their will on us.”

A 31-yard touchdown pass from SV quarterback Jordan Brown to Ryan Conn late in the second quarter cut the Raiders' deficit to 28-14 at halftime.

“We were upbeat at that point,” said Holl. “There wasn't anybody in our locker room who felt we couldn't come back.

“We just couldn't get our defense off the field,” he added.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Tigers marched 82 yards in nine plays, capped by Nick Passodelis' 6-yard scoring run.

The touchdown gave NA a 35-14 edge with 9:52 left in the period.

Late in the quarter, Passodelis ended another scoring drive, this time with a 2-yard run.

The Raiders made things interesting with two touchdowns in a three-minute span early in the fourth quarter.

Forrest Barnes' 57-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Brown was followed by a clutch play from SV's defense.

Facing a third-and-6 from SV's 47, NA quarterback Mack Leftwich was intercepted by Gabe Edwards, who returned the ball to the Tigers' 31.

Five plays later, David Hall made the most of his only carry of the night, scoring on a 2-yard plunge to make it 42-28 with 7:05 remaining.

“We were rolling and had things under control,” said NA coach Art Walker, Jr. “Seneca Valley showed a lot of character, getting back into the game.”

The Raiders attempted an onside kick, but the Tigers recovered, then began a drive that featured nothing but running plays.

Back-to-back 12-yard gains from Passodelis helped set up Vinnie Congedo's 18-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play.

Congedo led NA with 118 yards on 17 carries. Passodelis added 111 yards and Alex DeCiantis 71.

“We wanted to be smart with how we called the game,” said Walker. “The running game was very effective for us tonight.”

The Raiders opened the game with a bang.

On the second play from scrimmage, Barnes raced 57 yards for a touchdown. Michael Denny's extra point gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead just 32 seconds into the contest.

“NA came out in the defense we thought they would be in,” said Holl, “but then they did what great teams do.”

That is, the Tigers drove 66 yards in 11 plays to answer the Raiders' score. Leftwich scored on a designed quarterback draw from 13 yards out.

After forcing a three-and-out from SV, Leftwich hooked up with Brendan Coniker, who was fully extended and held onto the ball for a 41-yard scoring strike.

The Tigers would add two more scores in the second quarter for a 28-7 lead.

Holl was already looking ahead shortly after the game.

“Woody Hayes once said, ‘You win with people,'” said Holl. “I know between our players and coaches, we've got great people.”

Seneca Valley (3-2, 0-2) will travel to Pine-Richland Friday.