MONROEVILLE — The Seneca Valley football team had great insight into how to counter Central Catholic’s potent offense Friday night at Antimarino Stadium. Vikings head coach Ryan Lehmeier spent the previous two seasons coaching with the Raiders.

Lehmeier loves to play a fast-paced, tempo offense.

Seneca Valley attempted to control the ball and slow things down. The strategy worked for a half, as the Raiders made Central Catholic work for a 42-7 Tri-County Five Conference victory. One snag in Seneca Valley’s plan was the play clock was out at the field.

“Our game plan was to use the play clock, which was nonexistent tonight,” Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle said. “We did our best with looking at the officials. That’s how we practiced all week. In the second half, we got out of it because we were behind.”

Central Catholic (8-1, 4-0) hasn’t been forced to play from behind much this season. The Vikings had won their previous three conference games by an average margin of victory of 40 points. The Vikings’ closest call was a 50-22 win over North Allegheny.

Central Catholic, which has won six straight over the Raiders, snapped Seneca Valley’s three-game winning streak and eliminated them from WPIAL Class 6A playoff contention.

“They played tough,” Lehmeier said. “I have so much respect for Ron Butschle, JP McFeeley and his coaches other there. Those kids played hard. At times, they took it to us physically.”

The Raiders (3-6, 0-3) started their upset bid with a burst of energy. Central Catholic’s first drive was snuffed out when Seneca Valley’s defense stacked up Vikings running back Elijah Faulkner short of the first down on a fourth-and-one attempt.

“That was a big deal,” Butschle said. “To turn around and score after that was an even bigger deal.”

The Raiders then went 60 yards in eight plays to take their only lead. After quarterback Sean O’Shea converted a fourth down with a 15-yard run, he threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Amari Henson. O’Shea finished with 93 passing yards and led the team with 98 rushing yards.

Seneca Valley’s problem with its strategy to spring the upset was that the Raiders couldn’t finish drives. The Raiders’ next three drives went into Central Catholic territory. They ended with a punt, lost fumble and a missed field goal.

Meanwhile, the Vikings responded two plays after Henson’s score with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Payton Wehner to Peter Gonzalez. Central Catholic took the lead for good early in the second quarter.

Vikings defensive back Larry Moon caught O’Shea while he was trying to scramble and punched the ball out. Central Catholic’s Cole Sullivan picked up the fumble and returned it to the Seneca Valley 29.

“I was really pleased with the response,” Lehmeier said. “We were able to buckle down and to be opportunistic when our chances showed up.

Four plays later, Wehner threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Settles. After a 2-point conversion, Central Catholic had a 14-7 lead with 8 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half it would never lose.

Wehner finished with 198 passing yards, 152 of which went to wide receiver Peter Gonzalez.

After halftime, the Vikings scored on their first drive to extend the lead. Central Catholic stretched its lead to 21-7 on a 1-yard run by Faulkner. Faulkner finished with a game-high 122 rushing yards and scored twice.

Seneca Valley only had one real scoring threat in the third quarter, but O’Shea’s quarterback run was stopped short of the first down on a fourth-and-1 try at the Vikings’ 30-yard line.

Despite the loss, Butschle was pleased with his team’s effort.

“I don’t even care about the scoreboard,” Butschle said. “The kids fought hard tonight.”

SV closes the season at home Friday against North Allegheny.

Central Catholic 6 8 14 14-42

Seneca Valley 7 0 0 0-7

First Quarter

S — Amari Henson 30 pass from Sean O’Shea (Jacob Adams kick), 6:39

C — Peter Gonzalez 74 pass from Payton Wehner (Pass failed), 6:00

Second Quarter

C — Vernon Settles 5 pass from Wehner (Colson Gatten from Wehner), 8:49

Third Quarter

C — Elijah Faulkner 1 run (Billy Lech kick), 8:00

C — Gonzalez 11 pass from Wehner (Lech kick), 2:55

Fourth Quarter

C — Faulkner 11 run (Lech kick), 10:45

C — Roman Thompson 11 run (Lech kick), 4:42

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Seneca Valley, Sean O’Shea 21-98, Kai West 17-72. Central Catholic, Elijah Faulkner 17-122, Payton Wehner 4-31, Roman Thompson 4-43.

Passing: Seneca Valley, Sean O’Shea 12-23-93-0. Central Catholic, Payton Wehner 14-23-198-1.

Receiving: Seneca Valley, Amari Henson 2-36, Kai West 5-25, Luke Challingsworth 1-15, Brayden Wise 2-15, Cayden Parker 1-5, Luke Silliano 1-(-3). Central Catholic, Peter Gonzalez 6-152, Vernon Settles 6-77, Elijah Faulkner 1-10, Cole Sullivan 1-9.