NORTH HUNTINGDON — Seneca Valley's defense knew it would have to mount a stand.

It ended up making two.

Leading Norwin 21-17 in the fourth quarter, the Raiders snuffed out a Knights drive by denying quarterback J.T. Redshaw in his attempt to convert a fourth-and-inches play at SV's 29-yard line with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

When Norwin used all three of its timeouts and forced the Raiders to punt after three downs, the Knights got the ball back at their 47 with 1:38 left to play.

Redshaw connected with junior wideout Mike Salopek for a first down at the Raiders' 35-yard line with 30 seconds remaining.

But his next pass, intended again for Salopek down the right sideline, was intercepted by SV cornerback Sean Gress at his own 2-yard line.

The play sealed a four-point victory for the Raiders and their first season-opening football win since 2002.

"We didn't intercept a pass all of last season," said Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle. "We got one tonight and it was a big one.

"We had our prevent defense in before that play," added Butschle. "But they picked up a first down, so we went back to our regular personnel."

The result of Redshaw's final pass caused Norwin coach Dan Conwell to second guess himself.

"I'm thinking we may have panicked a bit, going for the score that soon," said the third-year coach. "There was still 30 seconds left, but we decided to go for the jugular."

Seneca Valley grabbed the lead for good when junior tailback James Daniels scored his third 3-yard touchdown on the ground with 6:17 left in the game.

Daniels, who had only three varsity carries before the game, proved to be the workhorse back the Raiders desperately needed.

He rushed 35 times for 126 yards, including 11 times for 41 yards on SV's 15-play, game-winning drive.

"That's his role this year, and he's trained himself to be in condition for it," said Butschle. "I told him we'd need him for about 25 carries every game this year. I guess I owe him 10 carries."

Daniels had 11 runs of at least five yards, which kept Norwin's defense on its heels for much of the game.

"There were times when we had them in second-and-10 situations and the next thing you know, it's third-and-one or third-and-two," said Conwell. "That takes the heart out of you."

And in front of Daniels was an offensive line that played its best in crunch time.

"That 15-play drive took 8:13 off the clock," said Butschle. "Our guys up front had a few procedure penalties tonight, but when we needed to drive it, they did their job."

Daniels' other two touchdowns came within one minute and nine seconds of each other in the second quarter.

His first 3-yard score came with 10:05 left in the period and capped an eight-play, 37-yard drive that was set up when Ryan Scheller blocked a Norwin punt.

Seneca Valley's Derek Peluso then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, which the Raiders recovered at the Knights' 15-yard line.

Daniels scored again just four plays later to put the Raiders up 14-3.

Norwin tailback Dan Kozak (15 carries for 65 yards) and fullback Tyler Urban (8 for 72) kept the Knights in the game.

Kozak's 7-yard run with 7:26 remaining in the second quarter cut SV's lead to 14-10.

Following a Raiders fumble, the Knights turned to the 6-foot-4, 226-pound Urban, who turned a dive play into an 18-yard scoring run with 5:45 left in the first half.

It was the final points Norwin scored.

"Our backs gave us a spark, but we need to be more consistent as an offense," said Conwell.

In his first varsity start, SV quarterback Ted Pynos completed 8-of-14 passes for 71 yards. Three of his completions went for first downs.

Seneca Valley will try to keep its momentum going when it hosts Penn-Trafford next Friday.

"We don't want to get too excited, it's just one win," said Butschle. "But it's a good start."