BUTLER TWP — Once Butler threatened to get back in the game, Greater Latrobe responded.

In triplicate.

Nicholas Baggetta’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Landon Lacey on fourth-and-goal — following a 76-yard Lacey kick return to begin the third quarter — pulled the Golden Tornado within 21-7.

But the Wildcats (7-3) scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the quarter in rolling to a 42-7 victory on Butler’s Senior Night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

“We had a lull in the second quarter there, took our foot off the gas a little bit, but overall, I thought we played well,” Wildcats coach Ron Prady said.

Latrobe jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the game’s first nine minutes. An Alex Tatsch 5-yard scoring run capped a 66-yard drive on the game’s opening possession. A 40-yard pass completion to Jack Drnjevich set up Brady Prohovic’s 3-yard TD run minutes later. The lead reached 21 when John Wetzel recovered a Butler fumble in the backfield and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.

“That was a rough start, but our kids kept playing hard,” Golden Tornado coach Eric Christy said.

A.J. Baker recovered a Latrobe fumble at the Tornado 23 to thwart a Wildcat scoring threat in the second quarter. Terrell Holderman sacked Wetzel for a 15-yard loss to stop another Latrobe drive in the second quarter.

Quarterback Noah Ritchie found Braylon Littlejohn for a 35-yard completion as Butler (2-8) drove inside the Latrobe 25. Drnjevich sacked Ritchie for a 15-yard loss to end that threat.

“We have a lot of good players, but so does Butler,” Prady said. “They made a number of plays against us. Our defense made some big plays to keep them from scoring.”

Two plays after Lacey’s touchdown catch, Wetzel broke loose for a 71-yard scoring run. Tatsch then intercepted a Nicholas Baggetta pass and returned it 12 yards to the Butler 11.

Prohovic scored on the next play and it was 35-7. Tatsch scored on a 19-yard run with 42 seconds left in the third quarter to invoke the mercy clock and end the scoring for the night.

Butler used three different quarterbacks on its first three series of the night. Baggetta played the first series, Tyson Pino the second, Ritchie the third. Baggetta, a freshman, played the second half and threw for 88 yards and a touchdown.

“He was making some nice throws and was effective in the passing game,” Christy said of Baggetta. “We were just trying to find some continuity. We’ve played well in spurts all year, but struggled to find that continuity. Nico just hasn’t had many varsity reps in practice this season. He’s showing promise and we’ll get him ready for next year.

“Noah Ritchie made some good throws that were called back by holding penalties. He’s a senior and he’s been through some injuries this year. We wanted to get him some time out there tonight.”

Braylon Littlejohn, another senior, caught six passes for 81 yards to lead the Tornado offensively. Butler netted only 29 yards on the ground, however, in closing the season with a seven-game losing streak.

Wetzel rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown for Latrobe. He completed five passes for 61 yards in the first half. The Wildcats did not attempt a pass in the second half.

Butler honored its 21 seniors prior to the game.

Latrobe 21 0 21 0 — 42

Butler 0 0 7 0 — 7

First Quarter

L — Alex Tatsch 5 run (Ben Bigi kick), 7:47

L — Brady Prohovic 3 run (Bigi kick), 4:35

L — John Wetzel 48 fumble return (Bigi kick), 3:00

Third Quarter

B — Landon Lacey 15 pass from Nicholas Baggetta (Christian Mortimer kick), 8:01

L — Wetzel 71 run (Bigi kick), 7:16

L — Prohovic 11 run (Bigi kick), 6:13

L — Tatsch 19 run (Bigi kick), :42

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Latrobe, John Wetzel 11-142, Alex Tastch 5-39, Brady Prohovic 6-39, Ja’tawn Williams 1-33, TEAM 1-(-6), Riley Smith 1-6, Chris Cochran 1-4, Izzy Mcmahon 3-26. Butler, David Graef 4-17, Landon Lacey 2-(-2), Alex Catalfano 1-(-1), Keegan Bracfken 7-22, TEAM 1-(-3), Noah Ritchie 5-(-1), Nicholas Baggetta 10-(-3).

Passing: Latrobe, John Wetzel 5-10-61-0. Butler, Nicholas Baggetta 8-14-88-0, Noah Ritchie 1-3-35-0.

Receiving: Latrobe, Jack Drnjevich 4-54, Ja’tawn Wiliams 1-7. Butler, Braylon Littlejohn 6-81, Landon Lacey 2-34, David Graef 1-8.