BUTLER TWP — The Northern Seven slate was not kind to Seneca Valley in 2010, but big plays allowed the Raiders to close out conference play with a victory.

SV rolled up 465 yards on offense and tallied four touchdowns of at least 37 yards to hand Butler a 41-17 defeat Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

The win earned the Raiders (3-6, 1-5) the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy for the fourth consecutive year.

"Our guys appreciate that football is a fun game to play, but you can't play it forever," said Raiders coach Don Holl. "It would have been easy for our guys to check out, with us not making the playoffs. I was excited to see us still progressing."

SV sophomore quarterback Jordan Brown threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns, the last two going for 24 and 50 yards to Oliver Philogene and David Hall, respectively, to close out the team's scoring in the second half.

But it was the Raiders' defense that sparked the team early.

With Butler (0-9, 0-6) facing a third-and-6 at the SV 49, Tornado quarterback Jordan Lumley's pass to the right flat was picked off by the Raiders' Ryan McCauley, whose 44-yard return set his team up at the Butler 6.

Two plays later, David Hall scored on a 3-yard run.

On Butler's next drive, it was Ryan Duran who intercepted Lumley to set up Oliver Philogene's 65-yard scoring pass from Brown and SV took a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.

"It's neat to see kids step up," said Holl. "Ryan Duran, he probably didn't get as much playing time earlier in the season as he would have liked, but he kept working and earned a shot.

"(McCauley) and Jon Dorogy both played well in the secondary too," added Holl.

"The interceptions, and we also had a couple dropped passes, they changed the complexion of the game," said Butler coach Jim Rankin.

Butler answered with a 30-yard drive and got three points on Marc Hunka's 38-yard field goal with 9:16 left before halftime.

But Butler's defense gave up two big scoring plays to SV's Forrest Barnes — a 47-yard pass from Brown and a 37-yard run — before halftime.

"Seneca's got a nice scheme, but we didn't do well playing man-to-man defense," said Rankin. "We couldn't just sit back and let them throw, but we're not a good man-to-man team."

The Golden Tornado did receive a boost with Demetrius Lockley's 38-yard run, setting up Lumley's 16-yard scoring run on a bootleg play in the second quarter, but Butler trailed 28-10 at halftime.

Tornado senior running back Cole Baxter closed the scoring on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Hall finished with 101 yards on 11 carries for the Raiders.

Claude Clark led Butler with 57 yards on 12 carries.

Seneca Valley might play a 10th game next week against either Kiski Area or Canon-McMillan.

For Butler, the 2010 season is over.

"I thought we played hard to the very end," said Rankin. "The kids did what I asked of them.

"Hopefully, they've learned how to practice with intensity and how to prepare," he added. "Next year, they'll know what to expect."

Due to the death of Bayne Trophy Shop owner Don Bayne, the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy will be awarded to Seneca Valley later.