Raiders face 2nd straight Class 5A power in Peters Twp. on Friday
Seneca Valley’s first two games of the season should not be viewed as mere tune-ups prior to their Tri-County Five Conference opener Sept. 8 against Canon-McMillan.
The Raiders squared off against a loaded Penn Hills team last week and dropped a 33-20 decision. The squad is now preparing to visit Peters Township, another Class 5A power in the WPIAL, for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday.
The Raiders are an overall young team and facing opponents with no shortage of talent and more experience may make for some tense moments, but should benefit SV as the season plays out.
In fact, Raiders coach Ron Butschle saw marked improvement during last week’s game at Penn Hills. Over the final 35 minutes of play, SV outscored the Indians 20-13.
“Believe me, we don’t take solace in a loss, but we were down 20-0 early in the second quarter,” he said. “We made some silly mistakes and I think it took a little settling in for a lot of our players. Our guys continued to fight and play hard.”
The Raiders received 174 yards rushing on a combined 33 carries from running back Kai West and quarterback Sean O’Shea. The latter hooked up with Adam Gehm on a 4-yard scoring pass, but it is clear that the current strength of the offense lies in running the football.
“We need to run better routes and have better protection for Sean,” Butschle said of the passing game. “He was on the run quite a bit last week.”
Gaining yards on the ground will be a challenge for the Raiders.
“We pride ourselves in stopping the run,” said Peters coach T.J. Plack. “Not many teams have been able to run against us the last few years and it starts up front with our two defensive tackles, Jake Velgich and Franco Muscatello.”
Peters has a unique situation at quarterback. Last year, junior Chris Cibrone passed for nearly 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns. He is healthy and on the roster, but no longer is the starting quarterback.
“We decided to open the position up to competition and (sophomore) Nolan DiLucia earned the starting job in camp,” said Plack. “He saw some playing time last year, has a good arm and is more of a threat in the running game than Chris is.
“We’re all human and I know Chris isn’t excited about the situation,” he added. “He’s a competitor, also wrestles, and he knows I think the world of him. I told him to keep his chin up because he will see playing time this year.”
DiLucia began the season in impressive fashion, passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 35-0 win over Fox Chapel.
“We have eight to 10 receivers we can roll in and have confidence in all of them,” Plack said. “It’s a nice mix of taller guys and guys who are quick.”
Plack specifically named Carter Shanafelt, Ethan Wertman and Nate Miller as leaders at receiver. The trio combined for 60 receptions worth 835 yards in 2022. Shanafelt snagged two scoring tosses last week.
Tasked with covering the Indians’ receivers will be SV cornerbacks Amari Henson and Jayden Price and safeties West and O’Shea. Price and West were starters in the defensive backfield in 2022.
“We just faced one of the fastest teams in the WPIAL last Friday,” said Butschle. “I think we can match up with Peters speed-wise.”
The Indians defeated the Raiders, 30-27, last year at NexTier Stadium.
“I know they lost a lot of starters,” said Plack, “but Ron does a great job with them and they always seem to be a good team.”
