WEXFORD — Inspired effort does not always equal victory on the field.

Such was the case with the Seneca Valley football team's season opener on Saturday.

In Dave Vestal's first game as Raiders' coach, Seneca led host North Allegheny 14-0 after dominating the first quarter.

But the Tigers rebounded, grinding out 289 yards on the ground in defeating the Raiders 34-24 in Northern Eight Conference play.

“We're going to watch the film and sure, some kids made mistakes,” Vestal said. “But we gave the maximum effort. NA is a tough opponent and I'm proud of our kids. I'm excited about this program.”

Following an injury to starting quarterback Riley Trueman midway through the third period, the Tigers' offense received a boost from backup Ethan Maenza, who led the team on two crucial scoring drives.

The first covered 80 yards, capped with Michael Pope's 2-yard scoring run that put NA ahead 24-17. After Seneca responded with Corbin Kessler's 10-yard touchdown run that tied the game, Maenza and the Tigers set up shop at their own 29 with 5:04 left in the game.

On the first play of the drive, Maenza gained 33 yards on the ground. He later completed a 6-yard pass to Matt Sell on a third-and-3 from the Raiders' 16. The drive soon stalled, but senior kicker Seth Mancuso booted a 20-yard field goal for a 27-24 edge with just over a minute to play in the game.

Maenza, who scored earlier in the game on a 44-yard run, ended his day with 41 yards passing and led the Tigers with 119 on the ground.

“Guys go down and others have to step in and do their best,” NA coach Art Walker, Jr. said of Trueman's injury. “We tried to run what Ethan had worked on in practice as the backup.”

Seneca had a chance to at least tie the game, taking over at its own 20 with 1:02 left. However, Jack Cook, who spent much of the game keeping plays alive with his legs, was sacked for an 11-yard loss on first down by Jacquan Littlejohn. With the Raiders out of timeouts, the clock continued to run and three incompletions followed. The Tigers took over on downs with 23 seconds left. Instead of kneeling, Maenza rolled to his right and connected with Griffin Sestili on a 9-yard touchdown.

“We expected them to just kneel and if they didn't, we had our goalline defense in,” said Vestal.

“At the end of the season, a tiebreaker (for playoff positioning) could come down to Gardner Points,” Walker said. “We had an opportunity to score another touchdown. That play was as safe as it could possibly be. It was a run/pass option and if nothing was there, Ethan would've just thrown it away or kept it.”

The Raiders opened the game with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended when Cook found Cody Boozel for a 36-yard scoring toss on third-and-22. After a three-and-out and a short punt from the Tigers, Kessler made it 14-0 with a 5-yard scoring run.

Cook ended NA's next drive with an interception just beyond midfield.

By the end of the first quarter, the Raiders had outgained NA 136-21.

The second quarter brought a reversal of fortunes. While the Raiders failed to pick up a first down in the period, the Tigers' offense started to click.

Pope and Maenza both scored rushing touchdowns and the score was tied at 14 at halftime.

“Seneca was playing well early,” Walker said. “But we started to get off the ball better on offense and defensively, we tightened things up.”

Both teams traded field goals in the third — SV's Dylan Grubbs answered Mancuso's 30-yarder with a 32-yarder.

Cook was making his first varsity start and completed 11-of-26 passes for 128 yards. He added 43 rushing yards.

“He did well,” Walker said. “He was making something out of nothing on some plays and that makes it tough on a defense.”

“Even when he was pressured, he often got out of it,” Vestal said. “He's only going to get better.”

Boozel was Cook's favorite target, hauling in five passes for 85 yards.

Pope rushed for 113 yards and the two touchdowns on 29 carries for the Tigers.

The Raiders will host Fox Chapel Friday with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

North Allegheny 34, Seneca Valley 24

Seneca Valley 14 0 3 7 — 24

North Allegheny 0 14 3 17 — 34

SV NA

15 First Downs 18

31-144 Rushes-Yards 47-289

128 Passing Yards 73

11-26-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 6-14-2

272 Total Yards 362

2-0 Fumbles-Lost 3-2

9-61 Penalty Yards 2-20

First Quarter

SV — Cody Boozel 36 pass from Jack Cook (Dylan Grubbs kick), 7:06

SV — Corbin Kessler 5 run (Grubbs kick), 5:10

Second Quarter

NA — Michael Pope 1 run (Seth Mancuso kick), 4:16

NA — Ethan Maenza 44 run (Mancuso kick), 1:58

Third Quarter

NA — Mancuso 30 field goal, 6:57

SV — Grubbs 32 field goal, 2:33

Fourth Quarter

NA — Pope 2 run (Mancuso kick), 9:38

SV — Kessler 10 run (Grubbs kick), 5:09

NA — Mancuso 20 field goal, 1:02

NA — Griffin Sestili 9 pass from Maenza (Mancuso kick), :16

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Seneca Valley, Mark Smith 6-30, Hank Royal 7-23, Jack Cook 10-43, Corbin Kessler 5-56, Cody Boozel 1-2, TEAM 2-(-10); North Allegheny, Riley Trueman 6-46, Michael Pope 29-113, Nick Provenzano 3-11, Ethan Maenza 9-119.

Passing: Seneca Valley, Jack Cook 11-26-128-0; North Allegheny, Riley Trueman 3-9-32-2, Ethan Maenza 3-5-41-0.

Receiving: Seneca Valley, Hank Royal 1-6, Mark Smith 2-20, Corey Laskey 1-(-4), Cody Boozel 5-85, Payton Skalos 1-13, Corbin Kessler 1-8; North Allegheny, Matt Sell 4-38, Michael Pope 1-26, Griffin Sestili 1-9.