The Seneca Valley Raiders varsity football team earned a place in the WPIAL AAAA quarterfinals with a 50-20 victory over the Hempfield Area Spartans at Nextier Stadium.

The scoring started on the first drive of the game for the Raiders and quickly continued after that.

The Raiders scored three times in the first quarter and four times in the second quarter and the game was out of reach by the half.

Senior running back Forrest Barnes had the first of his four touchdowns on the opening drive which came on a one yard run. Barnes finished the game with 104 rushing yards and two rushing scores, as well as catching touchdown passes of 45 and 35 yards respectively.

Senior signal caller Jordan Brown stepped up big for the Raiders as he finished with 138 yards and two touchdowns, while completing six of his twelve passes. Brown also added an 11 yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter.

Sophomore running back Mason Dehart scored the seventh and final touchdown for the Raiders on a 44 yard run in the second half.

The Raider defense also continued its dominating play.

In the first half, the first team Raider defense surrendered only 21 yards and forced a turnover which came on an interception by sophomore TJ Holl to halt the Spartan drive.

The defense came up with a big stop early in the game that set the tone for the rest of the half.

After a turnover deep in their own territory, the Hempfield Area Spartans were threatening to tie the game up at one score a piece. However, the defense clamped its jaws and forced a punt.

Senior safety Ben Hodges said “The defense stepped up and said we’re not going to let them move the ball let alone score. It’s our responsibility to get a three and out and let our offense control the game, and that’s exactly what happened. Looking at the numbers in the first half, I’d say we controlled what we could control and had fun doing it!”

The Raiders will take on the fifth-seeded Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils Friday night at Newman Stadium in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

The game will also be televised by Root Sports.