ERIE — Adrien Tate was a thorn in Butler’s side early on in Friday’s District 10 Class 6A football clash.

Erie’s speedster returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a score, then halted the Golden Tornado’s first drive with an interception at his own 20-yard line.

“We’ve come out flat on the road this year,” said Butler coach Eric Christy. “We addressed it, talked about it in practice this week. But I think our guys were so hyped up for this game early on. We need to find a balance there.”

Butler soon recovered, however, put up an impressive offensive effort and played dominant defense until late in the game in a 37-20 victory at Erie Veterans Stadium.

The win clinches for the Golden Tornado (4-1, 1-0) a postseason berth. Whether or not Butler will actually appear in the playoffs remains to be seen as the WPIAL has challenged the team’s ability to compete in the District 10 playoffs. The outcome will be decided in court.

“We can celebrate, but not as much because we don’t know how things are going to work out,” said Butler quarterback Mac Schnur. “We treated this like a playoff game.”

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