Butler defensive back lan Wilson (24) looks toward the field during last week’s win over Brashear at Art Bernardi Stadium. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

BUTLER TWP — Timing this trip is difficult enough. Figuring out the opponent may be an even taller task.

Butler (2-1) is preparing for its longest football road trip of the season as the Golden Tornado travel to Hollidaysburg — beyond Altoona — for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday against the winless Golden Tigers.

“Their 0-3 record is very misleading,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “They’ve played three very good teams and they’ve done some good things. Watching them on film, it seems like there’s a breakdown here, a missed tackle there, that gets them in trouble.

“Hopefully, that lasts one more week before that gets figured out.”

Christy added that in making this long of a trip on a school bus, “we don’t want to get there too early and getting there late would be even worse. W’re trying to time this right, but one traffic jam or getting behind a car accident ... you just don’t know.”

Butler and Hollidaysburg have not played each other in football before. The Tigers’ three losses are 19-9 to Altoona, 26-23 to Allegany (Md.) and 45-3 to State College. Their three opponents are a combined 8-0 so far this season.

Hollidaysburg graduated19 starters from last year’s 6-5 team that lost to Cathedral Prep in the state playoffs. One of the few returnees is senior quarterback Tucker Rossman, who has completed 36 of 68 passes for 532 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions on the year.

Running back-middle linebacker Eric Ransom has rushed for 197 yards and a score. He leads the Hollidaysburg defense with 28 solo tackles.

Neither of those two may play Friday.

“They both got hurt against State College,” Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. “That team lost to Mt. Lebanon in the state semifinals last year and they have everybody back. It probably wasn’t my brightest decision to play that team.

“I’m unsure of Tucker’s and Eric’s status this week. We’ll see how it plays out and what report we get back from the trainers.”

If Rossman can’t play, receiver Drew Wyand or sophomore Maddox Rainey will step behind center.

“Those guys offer different things,” DeLattre said. “One’s more of a runner, one’s more of a passer. We’ll structure our offense based on who’s in the game.”

Butler has been dealing with injuries of its own. Markeis Frazier and Ethan Babay, third-year starters on the line, are both out at least two more weeks with ailments. A.J. Baker, a junior who is filling in for Frazier at center, was named the team’s Offensive Lineman of the Week in the Tornado’s 35-22 win over Brashear.

Butler’s starting defense played five consecutive quarters of shutout football before the reserves allowed three fourth-quarter scores to Brashear.

“It’s always good to get as many kids involved on Friday nights as you can,” Christy said. “The atmosphere, the crowd, the competition, we want to get our younger players exposed to that.

“A.J. Baker’s doing a great job at center. He nosed out Brock Popovich on our grading scale among offensive linemen in the Brashear game, but Brock has played at a consistently high level on both sides of the ball for all three games.”

Christy said the Tigers like to being pressure defensively and “load up the box” against the run.

“They like to play man-on-man coverage on the outside. They don’t do much zone,” Christy added. “It’s up to our guys to beat their guys.”

Mac Schnur has thrown for 504 yards and six touchdowns so far this season. Dashawn Cox has 229 yards rushing, 176 yards receiving and two touchdowns each way. Ayden Davis has 12 catches for 156 yards and two scores, David Graef 87 yards receiving and 70 rushing.

Defensively, JunJun Andrada leads Butler with 26 solo tackles. Cooper McTige has 24. Both are linebackers.

Hollidaysburg has a pair of productive receivers in Caden DeLattre (14 catches-207 yards) and Nick Burkey (12-135). Wyand has 28 solo tackles on defense.

“We’re probably 50-50 running and passing,” Coach DeLattre said. “We like to line up in a spread and mix it up. We had to throw a lot more last week because we fell behind.

“We’re looking forward to playing Butler. They look fast and athletic. They do a lot of good things. Their athleticism will be a challenge for us.”