Seneca Valley comes up big in ground game, dominates Hempfield

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, October 10, 2025 | 11:13 PM

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Seneca Valley had been practicing the play it calls “White Whale” for weeks.

When offensive tackle Tommy Wuychek, big No. 68, turned the trick play into a “Big Man” touchdown — a 3-yard pitch and run in the second quarter — the Raiders knew it was their night. A whale of a night.

It was quite the opposite for Hempfield.

“Just don’t lose the ball and don’t get tackled,” the 6-foot-3, 265-pound Wuycheck said he thought as he headed for the end zone. “We knew we could do this.”

The Raiders didn’t get tackled much Friday night as they dominated No. 4 Hempfield, 47-8, in a Class 6A conference game at Spartan Stadium.

It was the first conference win for Don Barclay, the first-year coach of the Raiders (3-5, 1-3) who was a star lineman at Seneca Valley and West Virginia before playing in the NFL. He appreciated Wuycheck’s score as much as he did the other six his team scored against the punchless Spartans (4-4, 1-4), whose playoff hopes are flickering after their most perplexing loss of the season.

“We showed what we’re capable of. We knew we could do this,” Barclay said. “Hempfield is a good team. Last week was tough for us (against Canon-McMillan). We had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and blew it. We put it all together tonight.

“For Tommy, that was a lineman’s dream.”

Quarterback Andrew Loebig and tailback Cayden Parker each ran for over 100 yards, with Loebig scoring on the first play from scrimmage on a 47-yard run and adding a 15-yard burst for a quick 13-0 lead.

He finished with 106 yards on 12 carries, while Parker ran for 180 and two touchdowns on 19 carries.

The Raiders racked up 448 yards, including 360 on the ground.

Hempfield was limited to 194 yards as standout quarterback Dom Detruf felt pressure all night and finished 10 of 25 for 75 yards.

The Spartans, who have lost four of five, must win next week at Mt. Lebanon to have a chance at their first playoff berth since 2016.

“There was uncharacteristic effort tonight,” Hempfield coach Nick Keefer said. “We have a team that’s had great leadership all season. We played hesitant tonight. In our conference, that can’t happen. We didn’t compete.”

Danny Drennan caught a 72-yard TD pass from Loebig as the Raiders took a 27-0 lead into halftime.

Injuries also came down hard on the Spartans.

Brock Heisler, who recovered a fumble in the third, injured his hand. Keefer said he thinks it may be broken.

Late in the third quarter, Hempfield lineman Jake Wiederstein was injured when a Raiders lineman fell on his right arm. Wiederstein received medical attention before walking off the field with a large orange brace on his arm.

Receiver Nick Marquis also left the game with a back injury, while tight end Drew Jones did not play due to a lower body injury.

“We knew this would be a dogfight,” Keefer said. “We lost three starting linemen.”

Parker broke free for a 67-yard TD in the third before Parker tacked on his second score to make it 40-0 and start up the mercy rule five seconds onto the fourth quarter.

Freshman Trent Popp added a 41-yard score before Hempfield finally reached the end zone on a 26-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Caden Lippman to Jack Kopas.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield, Seneca Valley