JACKSON TWP — With as sloppy as its play had been for much of the game, it may have seemed unlikely, even improbable, that Seneca Valley was in position to win Friday’s non-conference showdown with Peters Township.

Yet here the Raiders were, driving toward the Indians’ goal with under a minute remaining. Quarterback Graham Hancox completed five passes worth 58 yards to a number of receivers.

Trailing 30-27, the Raiders reached Peters’ 19. With one second left, Hancox’s throw intended for Luke Lawson in the endzone fell incomplete, ending a very frustrating night for the Raiders.

SV had bypassed a 36-yard field goal attempt that could have tied the score.

“We had multiple bad snaps tonight (on special teams),” said Raiders’ coach Ron Butschle. “We felt our best chance to score was to put the ball in the end zone.”

The final errant snap came on a point-after attempt following Aiden Lyczek’s 14-yard scoring reception that tied the game at 27 with just under three minutes left to play. Hancox, the holder, tried to run for two points after controlling the snap, but was tackled well-short of the goalline.

Out came the Indians’ offense, which was virtually one-dimensional in the game. While the Raiders sacked quarterback Chris Cibrone seven times in the game, he was on target with his passes 22 times for 342 yards and four touchdowns.

“He started just one game last year,” Peters coach TJ Plack said of his quarterback, “but he had a great summer and is really picking things up now.”

On the game-winning drive, Cibrone connected with Carter Shanafelt twice, once for 39 yards down to SV’s 23. He hooked up with him again for a five-yard gain just before Joe Bedillion came on and nailed a 37-yard field goal for a three-point lead with 52 seconds left in the game.

“I went up to him and asked him if he was good (from this distance) and he said he was,” said Plack, who saw his team improve to 2-0. “He’s an athletic kid, a confident kid. He wasn’t going to shy away from that opportunity.”

The Raiders (1-1) were penalized 13 times for 120 yards. Five of the flags were thrown for either personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct infractions.

“That’s 15 yards each time,” said Butschle. “Fifteen yards that kept helping them (Indians) score.

“We can’t get out of our own way right now. Until that changes, we’re going to be a losing football team.”

The Raiders’ first half was a case of feast or famine. Hancox passed for two touchdowns — five yards to Jackson Wetzel in the first quarter and 29 yards to a wide open Amari Henson just before halftime that cut the Indians’ lead to 14-13.

But on the team’s five other drives in the first two quarters, SV gained a total of 39 yards.

Wyatt Craver rushed for 140 yards and a score for the Raiders.

The Raiders open Tri-County Five Conference play next week by hosting Canon-McMillan.

Peters Twp. 7 7 13 3 — 30

Seneca Valley 7 6 8 6 — 27

First Quarter

SV — Jackson Wetzel 5 pass from Graham Hancox (Jacob Adams kick), 3:47

PT — Ethan Wertman 9 pass from Chris Cibrone (Joe Bedillion kick), :51

Second Quarter

PT — Carter Shanafelt 6 pass from Cibrone (Bedillion kick), 2:38

SV — Amari Henson 29 pass from Hancox (run failed), :38

Third Quarter

PT — Shanafelt 9 pass from Cibrone (Bedillion kick), 10:22

SV — Wyatt Craver 16 run (Luke Lawson pass from Hancox), 4:06

PT — Shanafelt 25 pass from Cibrone (kick blocked), :32

Fourth Quarter

SV — Aiden Lyczek 14 pass from Hancox (run failed), 2:52

PT — Bedillion 37 field goal, :52

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Peters Township, Chris Cibrone 9-(-39), Richie Woods 16-40, Ethan Wertman 1-1, TEAM 2-(-3); Seneca Valley, Amari Henson 2-(-2), Wyatt Craver 25-140, Graham Hancox 6-16, Max Scanlan 3-13.

Passing: Peters Township, Chris Cibrone 22-38-342-0; Seneca Valley, Graham Hancox 20-43-246-1.

Receiving: Peters Township, Ethan Wertman 4-35, Carter Shanafelt 9-111, Brendan McCullough 6-90, Richie Woods 1-31, Tom Aspinall 1-17, Reston Lehman 1-58; Seneca Valley, Aiden Lyczek 5-49, Luke Lawson 7-87, Jackson Wetzel 2-17, Chris D’Appolonia 1-11, Amari Henson 4-81, Max Scanlan 1-1.