BUTLER TWP — The North Allegheny-Butler series has not been kind to the Golden Tornado in recent years.

The Tigers (3-2, 2-2) invade Art Bernardi Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday riding a 10-game winning streak over Butler (2-3, 1-2). NA has outscored the Tornado 306-17 over the past seven meetings, including 58-3 last year.

“This is a new time,” first-year Butler coach Rob Densmore said. “Maybe they're going to see a Butler they're not used to seeing.

“Maybe nobody else expects it or believes it, but we're looking to get a win Friday night.”

There's certainly reason for optimism.

Butler battled Seneca Valley on even terms last week before dropping a 29-22 decision. Three of the four Raider touchdowns could not be held against the defense.

One long kickoff return set up a 5-yard drive, another kick return went for a touchdown and a lost fumble resulted in a 16-yard SV scoring drive for the deciding points.

“Our defense played well as a unit against a dangerous offense that's getting healthy,” Densmore said. “I was very encouraged by our defensive effort.

“North Allegheny has a versatile quarterback (Jeff Clemens), but we did a good job containing another talented quarterback in (T.J.) Holl last week.”

Eric Hindman had a particularly strong game for Butler up front, recording a quarterback sack, fumble recovery and safety against Seneca Valley. He has four sacks on the year.

Densmore lauded the play of Derek Gengler and Michael Snow along the defensive line as well.

“Those guys have been making plays and are tough to block,” the coach said.

Offensively, running back Damien Pickett returned to action last week and carried 35 times for 101 yards. He has 468 yards on the season.

“He's a big, physical kid and he's tough,” Densmore said. “He's a durable guy who we really missed the two games he was out.

“Damien's only a junior, so he's got some time here yet. There are things we can do to make him better.”

Quarterback Jamison Smith completed 10 passes for 155 yards last week — doubling what he threw for in Butler's first three games.

Brandon Critchlow, Kelley Kuharic and tight end Rob Kunst have combined for 13 catches and 208 yards on the year.

“We've been saying it ... Against the better teams, we have to show that we can throw the ball to loosen defenses up,” Densmore said. “We hit some plays in the passing game last week and we can do more in that area.

“North Allegheny will try to take away the run first. That's their philosophy defensively. We have to hold our own up front.”

While the Tigers continue to be a top-flight program, Densmore said the team doesn't have a number of Division I caliber athletes that it's had in the recent past.

“They are still a very solid, well-coached, disciplined team and that's what makes them good,” he said. “They don't make many mistakes. The special teams problems and turnovers we had last week, we have to clean those up.”

Both teams have solid placekickers. Seth Mancuso has booted two field goals and 13 of 14 PATs for North Allegheny.

Devin Fitz has connected on four field goals and all 14 of his PATs for Butler.

“Devin adds a key element to our game,” Densmore said. “If we block well, he probably has another field goal. He's a weapon for us. He could be a positive factor Friday night.”