Butler Storms the Wolverines
The Woodland Hills football team may be playing for the state title, but Butler dominated the Wolverines on the court, 49-42. The leading scorer for Butler was Bobby Freshwater with 13 points. Freshman Nate Hartung also contributer 11 points for the Tornado. CT Gilliland, Dan Andreassi, and Adam Palace each had four rebounds for Butler. Butler, 1 and 0, will play at home, Tuesday night against Central Catholic.


That Dreaded Number "45"
The varsity boys lost to Peters Twp. with 45 points. The varsity girls lost to Erie McDowell with 45 points. Now its the JV boys turn. Although Butler put forth a tremendous effort, they ended up on the losing end to Central Catholic, 59-45. In scoring, Bobby Freshwater and Adam Palace each had 11 and Matt Achesinski scored 10. Joel Rehm and Nate Hartung each had six for the Tornado. Achesinski grabbed six boards while Palace tallied five. Butler, 1 and 1, plays at Highlands Thursday night. Hopefully, they can stay away from 45 points.

Butler & New Castle Have a Brawl
New Castle - 63
Butler - 51

Elbows were flying. Punches were thrown. Kicks were hurled. But New Castle got in the last blow, winning 63-51. Late in the game, Butler center Sam Ward and an unnamed Hurricane player went for a loose ball. It ended in the two being separated following their brawl on the court. Neither were ejected, but each received a foul for their actions. Ward ended with 10 rebounds for the tenacious Tornado. In scoring, David Salsovic led with 15. Matt Slater had 12, Travis Bell had 10, and Tim Madigan with 8. Butler ends their season with a 12 and 9 overall record, 7 and 5 in the section. Thanks to coaches Dennis Gallagher and Mark Maloy for a great year and all of Butler looks forward to seeing these players next year at the next level.

Tornado Sends Rams Spinning
Pine-Richland - 26
Butler - 49

In yet another impressive victory, Butler tore through Pine-Richland 49-26. Butler held P-R to 4 points in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th quarters! Butler was led by Matt Slater and David Salsovic with 15 points apiece. Salsovic had 9 rebounds while Slater grabbed 7. Butler's record improves to 12 and 8 with a 7 and 4 section record. Their final game is Thursday, Feb. 8 at New Castle. Time is 5:00 pm.

Butler - 47
North Hills - 42

David Salsovic led the Golden Tornado with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Travis Bell and Matt Slater each scored 9 points for Butler. Slater also had 5 steals. Tim Madigan added 7 points, 2 assists, and 3 rebounds. Josh Wingfield had 6 rebounds with 3 assists. Sam Ward added 5 rebounds and Tim Nebel had 4 in a 47-42 victory for Butler over North Hills. Early in the first quarter, North Hills led 11-2. But Butler stormed back to take a 22-19 lead at half-time. The Tornado did faulter a bit in the third quarter, trailing 35-33 going into the fourth. But again Butler came back with 7 points from Salsovic and 5 points from Bell to take the victory and remain undefeated at home. Butler is now 8 and 5 with a section record of 5 and 2.

Butler - 50
Shaler - 46

A Titan-ic Effort In another hard fought game, Butler was able to defeat an upstart Shaler team, 50-46. Leading the Tornado was Matt Slater with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Tim Madigan had 14 and Travis Bell had 10 for Butler. Both had 4 rebounds as did Sam Ward. C.T. Gilliland added 3 boards. For the second game in a row, Butler fell behind 11-2 early, but closed the gap to 13-10 by the end of quarter number one. Butler was ahead 16-10 in the second when Shalerwent on a 13 to 2 run. But the Tornado returned the favor with a run of their own to tie the score at 29 at intermission. Butler fought off a late Titan rally for the victory. Butler is now 11 and 5 with a 6 and 2 section record.

Butler dropped their first home loss of the season to section foe Seneca Valley Friday night. To begin the game, SV went out to a 9-0 lead. But the Tornado fought back like always and got within 1 at halftime, 28-27. Butler led at the end of three, 42-40. But the Raiders were just too much. SV went on a 15-8 run to close the game. Tim Madigan led the Tornado with 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 boards. Matt Slater had 11 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. Josh Wingfield added 8 points and Matt Achesinski 7. Travis Bell also had 5 rebounds.

Butler Falls Just Short One More Time ...
The J.V.'s played another hard fought game, this time at rival North Allegheny. Butler lost again in the closing seconds, 54-52. Butler fell behind 10-2 early, however, they came back again to take a 26-22 lead into the half. But NA wouldn't go away. They also came back and would hold on late for the victory. Butler was led in scoring by: Tim Madigan, 17; Josh Wingfield, 16; and Matt Slater, 15. Travis Bell added 4. Madigan also had 5 rebounds. Their record moves to 11 and 7 with a section record of 6 and 4.

Another Close Game for the J.V.'s

The Butler boys' J.V. team came to play Friday night, but they hit another bump in the road. Ambridge upended the Tornado, 41-37 in a non-section game. The game went back and forth all night until the Bridgers hit an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Butler was led by Josh Wingfield with 8 and Matt Slater with 7 points. In rebounding: Tim Madigan, 6; Sam Ward, 5; and Matt Slater, Tim Nebel, and John Pribis; each with 4. Butler's record drops to 11 and 8. Their last home game is Tuesday, Feb. 6.

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