Seneca Valley defense guides way in defeat of Hempfield

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 5, 2018 | 10:51 PM

Seneca Valley’s defense continued to dominate Friday: It forced two turnovers, caused endless disruption in the backfield and secured its third shutout in seven games, an 18-0 defeat of Hempfield.

The Raiders have allowed 7.14 points per game.

Seneca Valley’s offense contributed by scoring two of its three touchdowns on fourth-down attempts early in the game.

The Raiders (5-2, 4-2 Class 6A) opened the game by establishing the run on a 61-yard-drive.

Seneca Valley rushed eight times with four ball carriers and relied on the passing game on fourth-and-8 to finish the drive with a 13-yard touchdown throw from Gabe Lawson to Josh McLean.

The Raiders extended their lead in the second quarter with touchdowns set up by interceptions from Jake Stebbins and McLean on consecutive drives. Lawson capitalized by scoring on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal and throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Luke Smith within the next minute.

“The defense put us in good field position at times, but we also had some long 10- or 11-play drives that we didn’t finish,” Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle said. “We can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. We can’t have miscues on fourth-down snaps. We have to take a look at what we can do better offensively. Obviously, our defense has been lights-out really all season.”

Hempfield (1-6, 0-6) initially had an effective short passing game engineered by quarterback Blake Remaley, who completed 9 of his first 10 passes for 61 yards before throwing interceptions on two of his next three passes.

Remaley found a new favorite target in Mario Perkins, who had 7 receptions for 57 yards entering the game. Perkins more than doubled his season reception total with eight catches for 55 yards.

The Spartans also were helped early by several Raiders penalties that facilitated long drives.

“We can’t have late hits and hits out of bounds,” Butschle said. “I didn’t see the one roughing-the-kicker penalty, but we lost field position by not being disciplined. It is a point of emphasis all the time, and we talk to the kids about it. We have to be able to control our miscues and lack of discipline at times.”

Seneca Valley stymied Hempfield by getting heavy pressure on Remaley after his hot start. Remaley finished with 107 passing yards.

“We played short-handed tonight and had a ton of guys out due to injury, so first I’m proud of the effort against a good Seneca Valley team,” Hempfield coach Rich Bowen said. “We also have to find a way to get the ball into the end zone. There’s a lot of positives. Our defense played well and special teams, too. Our offense showed flashes.”

Shawn Annarelli is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hempfield, Seneca Valley