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How Seneca Valley football was undone in opener by turnovers, quick-strike Bethel Park offense

JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley football’s chances of opening the season with a win wilted rather quickly against a Bethel Park team making plays all over the field.

The Black Hawks built a 29-0 lead less than 18 minutes into the game. Jack Bruckner and William Sabatos both returned interceptions of Andrew Loebig passes for touchdowns in that span as Bethel Park cruised to a 50-14 win at Seneca Valley’s NexTier Stadium.

Loebig, a junior, was making his first varsity start. He completed 10 of 27 passes for 88 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He also ran for a score.

Related Article: PA high school football 2024: Butler County team previews, top players and fall sports breakdowns Related Article: PIAA high school football 2024: Scores, news, photos and more from Week 1 around Butler County
Seneca Valley quarterback Andrew Loebig is sacked by Bethel’s Parks’s Christian Davis during a PIAA high school football season opener Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Butler Eagle

“It was his first varsity experience, and I’m certain he learned some lessons tonight,” SV coach Ron Butschle said. “The two pick-6s were both tipped passes. Andrew’s a good football player, and he’ll be fine.”

Bethel Park allowed 242 yards of offense to the Raiders, the vast majority of which came after it had reached its four-score lead.

It is a promising start for the Black Hawks, who allowed an average of 32 points per game in 2023.

“Those two interceptions for touchdowns put us in position to thrive in the first half,” Bethel Park coach Phil Peckich said.

Though Black Hawks quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer had an impressive game, passing for 243 yards and three touchdowns, the offense was fueled in the first half mostly by the team’s ground attack. Ja Vaughn Moore opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run just over four minutes into the contest.

Moore had 95 yards rushing by halftime. For the game, he and David Dennison combined for 191 yards on 28 carries. The duo piled up nearly 1,300 yards last year.

Seneca Valley's Adam Gehm is tackled by Bethel Park's William Sabatos during a PIAA high school football season opener Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Butler Eagle

Bethel Park was without star receiver Ryan Petras, a Princeton commit who tore his labrum over the summer.

“We believe we have two backs who could start for any team in (Class) 5A,” Peckich said. “Tanner is a three-year starter at quarterback. Even without Ryan, we have a talented group of receivers.”

The Raiders showed several glimpses of what they may be capable of on offense this year. They drove 75 yards in seven plays in the waning moments of the first half and scored on Loebig’s 2-yard run.

In the third quarter, it was a 66-yard drive that culminated with Loebig’s 12-yard scoring strike to Jayden Price.

But the Black Hawks quickly answered SV’s touchdowns with their own.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Mitchell Paschl caught a 29-yard scoring strike from Pfeuffer.

Related Article: Seneca Valley football 2024 preview: What to watch, 3 things to know and schedule Related Article: Seneca Valley football’s Jayden Price, a Toledo commit, back to anchor Raiders’ secondary
Seneca Valley's Adam Bayer stops Bethel Park's Jack Bruckner from catching a pass during a PIAA high school football season opener Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Butler Eagle

After Loebig connected with Price to make it 36-14, Moore caught a pass along the sideline and turned it into an 80-yard score.

Moore scored three touchdowns in the game and had 192 yards from scrimmage on just 19 touches.

“That’s a pretty good offense,” Butschle said. “They are tough to tackle and beat us up on the edge.”

Chase Mazanek gained 48 yards on eight carries for SV, which will play another non-conference game next Friday at North Hills.

Bethel Park 22 7 14 7— 50

Seneca Valley 0 7 7 0 — 14

First Quarter

BP — Ja Vaughn Moore 7 run (Luke Yimin kick), 7:48

BP — Jack Bruckner 66 interception return (Moore run), 4:34

BP — William Sabatos 14 interception return (Yimin kick), 1:10

Second Quarter

BP — Tanner Pfeuffer 1 run (Yimin kick), 6:24

SV — Andrew Loebig 2 run (Max Eisenhut kick), :54

Third Quarter

BP — Mitchell Paschl 29 pass from Pfeuffer (Yimin kick), 8:17

SV — Jayden Price 12 pass from Loebig (Eisenhut kick), 6:15

BP — Moore 80 pass from Pfeuffer (Yimin kick), 5:57

Fourth Quarter

BP — Moore 1 pass from Pfeuffer (Yimin kick), 11:55

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Bethel Park, Ja Vaughn Moore 17-111, David Dennison 11-80, Randy Bergia 1-2, Tanner Pfeuffer 4-6. Seneca Valley, Chase Mazanek 8-48, Andrew Loebig 15-67, Cayden Parker 7-37, Brayden Wise 1-2.

Passing: Bethel Park, Tanner Pfeuffer 12-19-243-0. Seneca Valley, Andrew Loebig 10-27-88-3.

Receiving: Bethel Park, Jack Bruckner 5-64, Santino Nowozeniuk 1-30, Mitchell Paschl 3-63, Ja Vaughn Moore 2-81, Clancy Orie 1-5. Seneca Valley, Adam Gehm 1-8, Brayden Wise 4-39, Chase Mazanek 2-17, Jayden Price 1-12, Jaxson Jeffers 2-12.

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