Raiders rushing game too much for North Hills
WEST VIEW — Avoiding building up bad vibes was necessary for the Seneca Valley football team Friday night. The repercussions of such negativity would be the last thing the Raiders needed over the season's final two weeks.
Sean O’Shea’s 5-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-one kept things moving in the right direction for Seneca Valley. The Raiders used the momentum from the O’Shea run to score 29 unanswered points during a 46-25 non-conference win over North Hills Friday on night at Martorelli Stadium.
Seneca Valley has won three straight and is now set up for two consecutive must-win games. The Raiders must beat Quad North Conference opponents Central Catholic and North Allegheny in the final two weeks to make the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs. A loss in either game would eliminate Seneca Valley (3-5).
“We’ve been practicing a lot harder and the youngest guys are getting more experience during the first five games, which has helped,” O’Shea said. “The last two games are our biggest games of the year. These three games have helped us prepare everyone to go into those two games and help put up a fight.”
O’Shea’s go-ahead touchdown, which put Seneca Valley ahead 25-18, set up an avalanche of 28 consecutive points. Kai West would score a touchdown on the Raiders’ next possession, Cayden Parker scored on a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown and Kyler Matson scored on a late touchdown run of 25 yards.
After the smoke cleared, Seneca Valley was ahead 46-18.
“I don’t know how much changed,” Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle said. “Our offensive line did a great job blocking for these guys tonight. We moved them off the ball and it’s something I’m excited about.”
Seneca Valley finished with 425 rushing yards. West had 200 yards and two touchdowns, while O’Shea finished with 134 and Matson had 91.
“A big factor was we couldn’t tackle their kids,” Indians coach Pat Carey said. “(O’Shea) and (West) were really good. We weren’t good at tackling them. They only threw for 30 yards and rushed for a whole bunch. That’s a good formula to win the game.”
Things had started to turn south for Seneca Valley before halftime. The Raiders gave away momentum they had just seized away. Amari Henson intercepted a pass and set Seneca Valley up deep in North Hills territory. Raiders running back Kai West then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to put them ahead 17-6 with 12 seconds left in the first half.
However, the Indians ran the ensuing kick back past midfield. Johnell Edison would then pull down a 39-yard touchdown pass as time expired to cut the lead to 17-12 at halftime.
North Hills took advantage of a Seneca Valley turnover to take the lead. A pass from O’Shea intended for West sailed behind the running back.
The Indians scooped the ball and returned it to the Raiders 4. North Hills wide receiver Josiah Mathis then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Connor Davis to put the Indians ahead 18-17 with 7:54 left in the third quarter.
“I think at halftime, we knew we outplayed them the whole first half,” O’Shea said. “Our heads were on straight at halftime. We knew if our offensive line kept doing their thing, we were going to be fine. That’s what they did.”
Things were wild in the first half as well. The Indians forced an early turnover to set up their first touchdown. Julian Green intercepted a pass on a fake punt by West and returned it to the Seneca Valley 7-yard line.
On the ensuing play, the Raiders forced Davis to fumble, but North Hills offensive lineman Brett Fonzi recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown to put the Indians ahead 6-0.
Seneca Valley responded with a 31-yard field goal by Jacob Adams on its next drive. The Indians would return the ensuing kickoff to the Seneca Valley 35. After picking up a first down, the Indians' drive ended with a missed field goal.
O’Shea scored on a 66-yard touchdown run four plays later to put Seneca Valley ahead, 10-6, with 11:47 left in the second quarter.
The Raiders now have two tough challenges to decide the fate of their season.
“It’s good to win,” Butschle said. “Obviously, next week is a big week against Central Catholic. We are going to go through the same process we do every week.”
Seneca Valley3 14 8 21-46
North Hills 6 6 6 7-25
First Quarter
NH — Brett Fonzi 0 fumble recovery (kick failed), 8:25
S —Jacob Adams 31 field goal, 8:25
Second Quarter
S — Sean O’Sean 66 run (Adams kick), 11:47
S — Kai West 5 run (Adams kick), :12
NH — Johnell Edison 39 pass from Connor Davis (pass failed), :00
Third Quarter
NH — Josiah Mathis 2 pass from Davis (pass failed), 7:54
S — O’Shea 5 run (O’Shea run), 1:54
Fourth Quarter
S — West 7 run (Adams kick), 8:25
S — Cayden Parker 30 interception return (Adams kick), 8:12
S — Kyler Matson 25 run (Adams kick), 2:38
NH — Israel Armstead 30 run (Daniel Dalton kick), :25
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Seneca Valley, Kai West 24-200, Sean O’Shea 18-134, Kyler Matson 10-91. North Hills, Israel Armstead 1-30, Jack Martin 12-20, Connor Davis 6-1.
Passing: Seneca Valley, Sean O’Shea 8-14-47-0, Kai West 0-1-0-1. North Hills, Connor Davis 13-19-135-3.
Receiving: Seneca Valley, Cayden Parker 2-14, Adam Gehm 1-12, Luke Challingsworth 2-10, Amari Henson 1-19, Kai West 1-3. North Hills, Johnell Edison 2-48, Josiah Mathis 5-33, Logan Johnson 2-17, Julius Green 1-14, Steven Murphy 1-14, Rayshaud Temple 1-9, Jack Martin 1-3.