SENECA — The Bobcats awoke the vaunted Cat Attack defense last week to nearly upset undefeated Pickens. This week when D.W. Daniel visits, they might want to stir those defenders once more.

“The defense played with a lot of heart and wanted to make a statement,” Seneca senior James Hunter said. “When you play with heart and you’re determined to win a game, and to stop somebody that’s good, then you come and man up. That’s what the defense did, they manned up to the challenge.”

To pull an upset over the highly ranked and undefeated Lions, Seneca’s defense could use a similar first half that it played against Pickens when it had three sacks and an interception. Daniel, after all, has left opponents in its wake while outscoring teams 112-27 by halftime. And coincidentally, the Lions only recently found continuity on their offensive line.

Seneca has 12.5 sacks as a team, led by seven from senior Wynton Stephens. Daniel coach Randy Robinson said the Lions would use running backs and tight ends to help pass protect.

“Up front, we’ve got to handle them and not let them get a push,” Robinson said. “That causes high throws and we don’t want that.”

It was that defense that held Pickens’ offense to 16 points. Before last week, Pickens hadn’t scored less than 35 in any game. The Bobcats are working senior defensive lineman Lucas White back into the rotation after he missed several weeks with an ankle injury.

“With Lucas coming back, everybody is fired up,” Hunter said. “He gives everybody a little momentum. Lucas is the heart of the team, so it would give us a boost. He gives us fire. Lucas gets you motivated to go crazy, have fun.”

While Seneca’s defense is weighted toward its linemen, the high-profile Daniel (6-0, 1-0) secondary is now up to 14 interceptions. And while Seneca (1-5, 0-1) coach Ron Duncan said he hasn’t discussed Daniel’s pick prowess with his quarterbacks, he’s aware that a poor throw could flip field position.

“We’re going to have to throw it down the field,” Duncan said. “But if we throw it up, lob stuff up, we know it’s going to get picked.”

Seneca’s used a limited dual quarterback system with Hunter providing some rushing options — 32 carries for 159 yards — while junior Jordan McNeely handles the bulk of the QB duties.

On the surface, many would predict a lopsided Daniel victory, given the near polar opposite records. But Seneca’s opponents are a combined 25-10, five of the six are above .500, and two losses were by three points or less.

“They’re much better than that record,” Robinson said. “They will play their best game of the year, and I hope we play our best game of the year. Our kids know their capabilities, they know they’ve got great players over there. They’ve gotten better every week.”