FOX CHAPEL — Seneca Valley made an opening statement on the first play of the game — and set a tone defensively the rest of the game.

Against Fox Chapel on Friday, the Raiders forced a fumble, then scored five plays later and rolled to a 42-7 football victory over the Foxes at James Burk Stadium.

The Foxes had seven first-half possessions — four drives that stalled inside the SV 10-yard line, including a blocked field goal, two fumbles and a punt.

“Our defense plays with a lot of energy, a lot of guys flying around,” said Raiders coach Don Holl. “When you play fast on defense and physical, sometimes the ball comes out and we made it come out.”

“It seems like a recurring theme,” said first-year Fox Chapel coach Eric Ravotti, the former Freeport and Penn State graduate as well as Pittsburgh Steeler. “We move the ball up and down the field, but we can't score.

“If we get inside the 10-yard line four times, we should score points,” he added.

Carson Kessler recovered a fumble from Carrington Vaughn and set up the Raiders at the FC 26-yard line.

Five plays later, Forrest Barnes scored from 11 yards out to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.

Fox Chapel (0-2) responded with an 11-play drive that put the Foxes at the SV 4, but quarterback Noel Wilson's pass was incomplete and the Raiders took over on downs.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Foxes looked to be ready to tie the game when the Foxes had a first-and-goal at the 2.

Wilson's 38-yard run helped the drive although defensive back Jonathan Dorogy ran Wilson out of bounds at the 6.

The Raider defense held again and on the Foxes' next possession, David Hall recovered a Wilson fumble at the FC 33.

Three plays later, quarterback Jordan Brown found a wide-open Ryan Conn to allow the Raiders to double their lead with 5:15 left in the second quarter.

The Foxes again threatened, using a 30-yard run by Wilson that would help move the team down to the SV 7, but two plays later, Dorogy blocked Ben Mroz's 28-yard field goal attempt.

The Raiders needed five plays to increase their lead to 21-0 when David Hall scored on a 1-yard run 1:14 before halftime.

The drive was sustained on a 60-yard shovel pass that Barnes took just past the line of scrimmage and scampered down to the FC 16. Two personal-foul penalties on the play moved the Raiders to a first-and-goal at the FC 6.

Fox Chapel tried to get on the scoreboard inside the final minute when it drove down to the SV 8 after a 36-yard pass from Wilson to Nate Huwar, but the Raiders' defense stiffened again, tackling Wilson at the 1-yard line as time expired.

Fox Chapel outgained the Raiders 149-108 at the break, but found itself down three touchdowns.

“(Fox Chapel) made some plays and has some playmakers,” said Holl. “Give them credit, but our defense stood up and said, ‘You're not going to score here.' That's the mark of an inspired defense.”

“You can't turn the ball over two times inside your own 25-yard line,” said Ravotti. “It's a recipe for failure, and we cooked it up the last two games.”

In the third quarter, Conn caught a 33-yard pass and Dorogy a 35-yarder to give the Raiders (2-0) a 35-0 lead with 5:24 left.

“There were a couple of mistakes, a couple of breakdowns,” said Raiders offensive lineman Kevin Locke, “but we're excited with how we've been playing.

“We're really starting to come together,” lineman Seth DeHart added.

The only miscue by the Raiders resulted in the Foxes' lone score.

With SV on its own 17, Brown's errant pitch was recovered by Fox Chapel at the 9-yard line on the final play of the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth, Nigel Garnett scored to make it 35-7, but on the ensuing kickoff, Dorogy broke free for a 97-yard return that closed out the scoring.

No question the Raiders defense was the key for the evening.

“The mark of good defensive play is to make a team line up again and someone makes a play and you make them line up again,” Holl said.