PINE TWP — Snake-bitten? Clair Altemus isn’t buying it.

The 15th-year Pine-Richland football coach, sporting more than 100 wins with the Rams, is off to an uncharacteristic 0-3 start this season.

After suffering a 34-7 loss to Mt. Lebanon in the season opener, the Rams had backyard rival Mars beaten before a 25-yard completion on a third-and-25 play fueled a last-minute Planet touchdown drive that pulled out a 21-20 victory.

Last week at North Hills, Pine-Richland was driving for the go-ahead score in the final seconds, only to be stopped at the Indians’ 14-yard line in a 21-17 loss.

“We just didn’t finish those games,” Altemus said. “You can put yourself in a position to win, but you still have to get the job done.”

Pine-Richland and Butler will both be looking for their first Northern Seven conference win of the season at 7:30 p.m. on the Rams’ turf.

Butler is 0-3 against Pine-Richland since the latter became a Quad-A team, but Altemus isn’t buying into that streak, either.

“Clyde Conti took the job up there and immediately said they were gonna win,” Altemus said. “That was a bold statement, giving the way that program was struggling.

“But here he goes out and they win two of their first three. He’s got the kids believing. They’re playing with confidence. They’re a different team now.”

The Rams are very much the same, however — able to move the football behind a talented quarterback.

Austin Whipple has completed 43 of 75 passes for 470 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He’s thrown to a variety of targets.

Luke Merhaut has 10 catches for 149 yasds, Jamie Switalski five for 49, Luke Everett three for 67.

Whipple is the younger brother of former P-R quarterback Spencer Whipple, now playing at Miami (Fla.) University. Their father, Mark Whipple, is quarterbacks coach of the Cleveland Browns.

“Austin comes from a quarterback family and he’s very savvy behind center,” Altemus said. “He’s doing a great job of spreading the ball around to a number of kids.”

Brock Baranowski leads the Pine-Richland ground attack with 35 carries for 195 yards. He had 17 carries for 129 and a pair of touchdowns last week.

“Brock’s our go-to back,” Altemus conceded. “He can get the tough yards.”

Pine-Richland returns eight starters defensivedly this season, but only three on the offensive side of the ball.

“We were hoping our defense could carry us for a while while we get all the pieces in place offensively, but that hasn’t been the case,” Altemus said. “Teams have been able to put points up on us.

“The good news is we’re only 0-1 in the league. People are already counting us out, but there’s plenty of games left. We have time to get better and, hopefully, that starts this week.”