BUTLER TWP — Few players on either side have much recollection of the Butler Eagle Traveling Trophy.

But both sides want it.

Butler (4-1) plays host to Seneca Valley (3-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Art Bernardi Stadium in their first football game against each other since 2019. The Eagle Traveling Trophy has been presented to the winner of this game each year during their annual clash and will be awarded to the victor on Friday.

The last time the trophy was on the line, this year’s seniors were freshmen.

“Our current players don’t really know what that thing is,” SV coach Ron Butschle said of the trophy. “But I want to make sure it stays in our locker room and our kids are going to feel the same way.”

The Raiders have won the Eagle Trophy the last 13 times the teams have played. Seneca Valley leads the series 20-15 and Butler hasn’t defeated the Raiders since winning a 14-0 decision in 2006.

“I’d love for that trophy to be coming our way, absolutely love it,” Golden Tornado coach Eric Christy said. “It’s been a long time. Seneca Valley is such a high-quality program and our county rival. A win over them would show how far our program has come these past couple of years.”

SV has outscored Butler 212-13 in the most recent five games between the teams. The Raiders own shutout wins of 55-0, 37-0 and 35-0 over the Tornado in their last three meetings.

Both teams come into this game on a roll. Butler is bidding for its first four-game winning streak since 1992 and is coming off a 37-20 win at Erie last Friday that qualified the Tornado for the District 10 6A playoffs. Seneca Valley has won two straight, solid road wins of 13-3 at Pine-Richland and 24-6 at Mt. Lebanon.

“We corrected some mistakes we were making defensively early and its been a team effort on that side of the ball since,” Butschle said. “It all starts with our defensive line. Those four guys have been keeping our linebackers clean and able to make plays.”

That Raider defensive front consists of Aiden Lyczek, Devin Webb, Logan Armstrong and Lucas Lambert, all seniors.

“Butler has been scoring a lot of points. That offense will be a challenge for us,” Butschle said. “They have a lot of weapons.”

Christy pointed out that “holding teams like Pine-Richland and Mount Lebanon to nine total points on the road speaks for itself. That defense has been playing great.”

Both teams have stellar quarterbacks on their way to seasons of well over 1,000 yards passing. Mac Schnur has thrown for 800 yards and 12 TDs for Butler while SV’s Graham Hancox has passed for 922 yards and eight scores.

Wyatt Craver leads the Raider rushing attack with 388 yards. Luke Lawson and Jackson Wetzel are averaging 14 and 22 yards per reception, respectively.

“Wyatt is our workhorse,” Butschle said. “He’s a downhill runner. He’s a track guy, so he runs fast, but he also weighs 218 pounds. He’s not easy to bring down.”

Christy said Schnur has grown into a leader.

“Mac had a great game last week,” Christy said. “He’s getting the ball to a lot of different receivers and he nearly had a pick-six defensively. We’re pretty deep in the skilled positions. You can only play withj one football, so it’s challenging keeping everyone involved.

“You never know who’s big week it’s going to be next.”

Ayden Davis is the Tornado’s leading receiver with 14 catches for 190 yards and three scores, but his wrist is in a cast right now. He only played defense last week and won’t be available on offense again this Friday.

Veteran lineman Markeis Frazier returned to Butler’s lineup last week. Ethan Babay, another veteran lineman who’s been out with an injury, was cleared for non-contact drills Monday and is questionable for Friday. Brock Popovich is Butler’s Offensive Lineman of the Week for the fourth time, with Terrell Holderman also shining up front last week.

“Seneca Valley does everything well,” Christy said. “We’re not seeing any weaknesses there.”

Butschle described Butler as a good football team “that has a better record than we do.

“We treat all of our opponents the same. We get ready for all of them the same,” Butschle added. “It’s nice to get Butler back on the schedule and get this rivalry going again. It’s a special game for the county.”