HEMPFIELD TWP, Westmoreland County —Seneca Valley’s road odyssey is over — and the Raiders are in much better shape now than when it began.

A month ago, the team was 1-2 coming off back-to-back losses at home to Peters Township and Canon-McMillan and staring at four consecutive games away from NexTier Stadium.

But the Raiders responded with four straight wins, capped by Friday’s 42-12 victory at Hempfield, and now sport a healthy 5-2 record with three weeks left in the regular season.

“It’s not easy playing four straight on the road, but we weren’t distracted by it and that’s a testament to this team’s character,” said SV coach Ron Butschle. “We’ve played the way we’ve practiced in recent weeks.”

Butschle and the Raiders were surprised when they saw Hempfield quarterback Jake Phillips standing on the sideline with his right arm in a sling during pre-game warmups.

“We did not know he wouldn’t be playing,” Butschle said. “We prepared for the team that we saw on film over the last few weeks.”

Phillips sustained the injury during the previous week’s 60-7 loss to Gateway, which was the first loss of the season for the Spartans (5-2).

Enter backup quarterback Keiran Lippman, who had thrown just six passes all season. Against a Raiders’ defense that had allowed just 16 total points over the previous three games, Lippman performed admirably. The high point of his night was a touchdown pass to Daniel Katonka on a fourth-and-goal from SV’s 10-yard line late in the first half that cut the Raiders’ lead to 14-6.

Maybe it was the spark the Spartans needed, a sign of things to come when play resumed after halftime.

Maybe not.

Only a fourth-quarter scoring run from Gino Caesar snapped SV’s three-game streak of allowing a single score to the opposition. And by that time, the Raiders had the game in hand with a 35-12 lead.

“We didn’t make the plays we needed to make on either side of the ball,” said Hempfield coach Mike Brown of his team’s effort over the final two quarters. “We were waiting for those splash plays and they never came.”

Seneca Valley, on the other hand, had no shortage of them.

After turning the ball over on downs at Hempfield’s 22 on their first possession of the game, the Raiders started to roll. A 55-yard run by Kai West set up Graham Hancox’s four-yard scoring pass to Luke Lawson to open the scoring.

In the second quarter, the Raiders denied Hempfield on a fourth down at SV’s 37. Hancox connected with Aiden Lyczek for 20 yards to set up West’s 10-yard scoring run.

The Raiders normally play at a fast pace, but hit another gear early in Friday’s game, often ready to snap the ball before the yard sticks were in place following a first down.

“The pace we play at doesn’t allow defenses to dial up a lot of different coverages and they have to play a lot of man against us,” said Hancox, who passed for 160 yards and the one touchdown.

But the biggest storyline from SV’s offense was its ground attack. West, who earlier in the season was a threat solely in the return game, has been unleashed on defenses. He scored twice on runs in a win at Butler the previous week and duplicated that feat with a second touchdown from 10 yards out in the third quarter Friday.

Hancox added a short touchdown run and Wyatt Craver scored on a pair of 30-yard runs in the fourth quarter. In all, the Raiders gained 249 yards on 39 carries. West rambled for 131 yards and Craver for 82.

“They both have a different running style and I’m lovin’ it,” exclaimed Hancox.

Willem Craver stopped a Hempfield drive late in the third quarter with an interception in SV territory.

The Raiders return home next Friday to host North Hills in a non-conference meeting.

Seneca Valley 7 7 14 14 — 42

Hempfield 0 6 0 6 — 12

First Quarter

SV - Luke Lawson 4 pass from Graham Hancox (Jacob Adams kick), 4:21

Second Quarter

SV - Kai West 10 run (Adams kick), 5:37

H - Daniel Katonka 10 pass from Keiran Lippman (kick blocked), :15

Third Quarter

SV - West 10 run (Adams kick), 5:30

SV - Hancox 2 run (Adams kick), 1:35

Fourth Quarter

SV - Wyatt Craver 30 run (Adams kick), 10:49

H - Gino Caesar 15 run (pass failed), 7:27

SV - Craver 30 run (Adams kick), 5:21

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Seneca Valley, Wyatt Craver 10-82, Kai West 13-131, Graham Hancox 8-21, Luke Lawson 1-2, Amari Henson 1-(-3), Sean O’Shea 4-12, Kyler Matson 1-7, TEAM 1-(-3); Hempfield, Gino Caesar 29-147, Keiran Lippman 14-6, Eli Binakonsky 2-1, Rogan Katchur 3-1.

Passing: Seneca Valley, Graham Hancox 11-24-160-0; Hempfield, Keiran Lippman 14-21-81-1.

Receiving: Seneca Valley, Jackson Wetzel 2-42, Amari Henson 2-17, Luke Lawson 5-66, Aiden Lyczek 2-35; Hempfield, Gino Caesar 2-4, Tyson Gregory 1-(-2), Daniel Katonka 5-52, Anthony Vallano 3-39, Ian Tuffs 2-5, Keiran Lippman 1-(-17).