NORTH HUNTINGDON — The Seneca Valley football team was heading back to the drawing board when a funny thing happened: The Raiders' offense and defense started to click.

After spotting Norwin a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter, SV outscored the Knights 40-3 the rest of the way en route to a 40-24 victory in the 2010 season opener Friday at Norwin Stadium.

"We made a lot of first-game mistakes, but we have kids that don't want to quit," said Raiders coach Don Holl.

Senior quarterback Donny Holl's 1-yard scoring run on the final play of the third quarter was followed by Aaron Tanda's extra point that cut Norwin's lead to 24-14.

The Raiders dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Knights 26-0.

On the first play of the period, Tanda recovered his own onside kick, which led to an 18-yard scoring pass from Donny Holl to Jordan Glaser moments later.

SV's defense then forced a three-and-out from the Knights and the Raiders embarked on a nine-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in Forrest Barnes' 14-yard scoring run around left end.

The extra point failed for the second straight time, but SV held a 26-24 lead with a little more than eight minutes remaining.

Norwin's offense, which had put up more than 250 yards in the first half, melted under the heat of SV's momentum in the second half.

The team did manage a 41-yard scoring drive that ended with Tyler Bailey's 29-yard field goal late in the third period.

But on their next 10 plays, the Knights tallied just 16 yards and turned the ball over twice on turnovers and once on downs.

"We didn't have the ball much at all in the second half. That's what it came down to," said Knights coach Art Tragesser.

A fumble recovery by SV's Mike Martin set up Troy Witt's 5-yard scoring run with 6:28 left, making it a two-score game at 33-24.

For the game, Witt gained 55 yards on the ground, 31 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns.

He got his team on the board when he caught a 6-yard pass from Donny Holl late in the first half.

"It means a lot that Coach Holl trusted me with the ball late in the game," said Witt.

Jack Graham, another player counted on in the Raiders' ground attack, left the game with a leg injury in the third quarter.

"Troy's a gamer and we know we can turn to him," said Coach Holl. "I think once we got up, our kids smelled blood and they wanted to go right at their defense. The momentum was ours at that point."

SV's defense received a huge game from lineman Steve Swanson, who managed several key sacks.

Chris Baxter intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, while David Hall and Jeff Palmer also recovered loose balls to aid in the comeback.