Penn Hills football coach John Peterman leaves no doubt as to his team's reliance on the run.

“We throw the ball in warm-ups,” the third-year coach said. “We let our ground game rush for as many yards as it can muster.”

The Indians (5-2) have thrown for just 282 yards this season, but have rushed for an average of 400 yards per game.

Stopping that powerful ground attack will be a formidable task for visiting Seneca Valley when the teams meet for a non-conference battle Friday at Yuhas-McGinley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Indians, members of the Southeastern Conference, have scored no less than 31 points in each of their five victories — against Upper St. Clair, Canon-McMillan, Mt. Lebanon, Baldwin and Peters Township. The Indians gained 237 yards on the ground in last week's 31-28 loss to Bethel Park.

“We run the triple option out of the shotgun,” said Peterman. “On every play, three players have the chance to get the ball.”

More times than not, that has been either senior running back Te'Shan Campbell (805 yards, 12 touchdowns) or junior quarterback Billy Kisner (729-11).

“There are some interesting elements to their offense, especially if you're not matched up well on defense,” admitted Seneca Valley coach Don Holl. “But the biggest thing for them is not Xs and Os. They have some explosive athletes who can go the distance in a single play.”

Penn Hills' defense is led by senior linebacker Christian Randall-Posey, who has totaled 64 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two fumbles forced and two recoveries.

The Raiders (1-6) are coming off a 45-0 home loss to Central Catholic. Their faint playoff hopes hinge on defeating Shaler in Week 9 and having Butler beat Fox Chapel this week and lose to Central Catholic in the regular-season finale. That scenario would land Seneca, Butler and Fox Chapel in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Northern Eight Conference.

“At that point it would come down to Gardner Points (to break the tie),” said Holl. “I'm not sure how it all works, but we lost by 29 points (41-12) to Fox Chapel and only beat Butler by seven (29-22), so we would need Butler to beat Fox Chapel by a good amount.

“I guess you could say that going into our last two games, we have a very small, mathematical chance to get in,” he added. “We're just focusing on this week, trying to finish the season strong and let the chips fall where they may.”

Seneca Valley and Penn Hills last met in a 2011 WPIAL Class AAAA first-round playoff, with the Raiders winning 30-13.