Seneca Valley Raiders Defeat McKeesport Tigers in Decisive Victory

In a game touted as a battle between two teams that like to "air it out" on the field, the Seneca Valley Raiders easily deflated the Friday with a 47-14 score.  

Early in the game at NexTier Stadium, McKeesport showed it was prepared to take chances to gain the advantage. Players lined up appearing to go for the first down on a fourth and 4 and instead punted from the line of scrimmage to put the Raiders deep in the hole. Seneca Valley was forced to start first and 10 on its own 3 yard line. 

In their first series, Seneca Valley showed equal nerve by successfully going for it on fourth down. This began a 96-yard drive capped by a handoff to Forrest Barnes with 4:46 remaining in the half. An offensive line surge let Barnes cross the goal line standing up.

The next Raider drive resulted in a 26-yard field goal by kicker Michael Denny. After a touchdown by Ryan McCauley was called back because a holding penalty, Denny added another 3 points with a 28-yard field goal.

While McKeesport running back Donte Patterson began the series with an impressive run, Raider Joe Duggan picked off a passing play from Tiger QB Edward Stockett. Raider Oliver Philogene ran the ball for an impressive 55-yard gain. The drive was sealed with another touchdown by Barnes, who had the second-most prolific game in Seneca Valley history on Friday, running for 225 yards and making four touchdowns. 

As the half ended, McKeesport fumbled a punt attempt with 17 seconds remaining. Jonathan Dorogy converted the mistake into the Raiders' third touchdown of the half.  

At the end of the second quarter the score was a lopsided 27-0. Though McKeesport would put 14 points on the board in the remaining quarters, SV would counter with another 20 points of its own. The game gave the Tigers their first loss of the season. 

The Raiders next take on rival North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Additional images of this game are available at JimmeB Photography