SLIPPERY ROCK — No one thought the Grove City High football team could beat Erie Strong Vincent — except Grove City.

After giving up scoring drives of 95 and 69 yards to the Colonels in the first quarter, the Eagles' defense clamped down and stunned Strong Vincent 19-13 at Slippery Rock University's N. Kerr Thompson Stadium in the first round of the District 10 Class AAA playoffs Friday night.

"I'm ecstatic," said Grove City coach Jeff Bell. "It's like I told the kids, 'Don't let anyone tell you you can't do something.'"

The only thing the Eagles looked like they were going to do early was what everyone expected: lose big to the lightning-quick Colonels.

Strong Vincent (8-3) rolled up 175 yards in the first quarter, but Grove City (8-3) made a few minor adjustments and held the Colonels to 151 yards the rest of the way.

"When you lose, the head coach gets a lot of the blame and when you win, the head coach gets a lot of the credit," Bell said. "The assistant coaches deserve a lot of the credit, too. Our offensive and defensive coordinators (Keith DeGraff and Todd Warner) did a great job."

Part of the problem for Grove City early in the game was a lack of communication, thanks to a headset malfunction.

Once that problem was solved, things ran more smoothly, Bell said.

"People don't believe how important they are," Bell said. "It hampered us on offense and defense."

Not much hampered Grove City after the first quarter.

But the Colonels' Brandon Akins and Kevin Green ran roughshod over the Eagles in the first 12-plus minutes.

Akins scored on a 5-yard run to cap a nine-play, 95-yard drive and Green rumbled in from the 2 to end an 11-play, 69-yard march in the first quarter for Strong Vincent.

Akins finished with 165 yards on 21 carries and Green 95 yards on 15 rushing attempts, but most of that damage was done early.

Grove City's quartet of runners spread their damage out over the entire game.

Wesley Phipps scored on runs of 19 and 16 yards in the first half to help Grove City reach halftime in a 13-all tie.

Marty Phipps scored on a 6-yard run with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter, but Jeff Hershberger's extra point attempted was blocked to give the Eagles a 19-13 lead.

Grove City's defense spent the rest of the game preserving it.

Strong Vincent had drives to the Grove City 15 and 20 stopped on fourth down by the Eagles.

Bell was just happy to survive.

"They're pretty fast," Bell said. "You don't really know how fast they are until you get on the field with them. We did a good job adjusting to their speed."

Bell was concerned about Strong Vincent's return game, but Grove City did a good job bottling up the Colonels.

Leonard Howard was a big reason for that. The senior made several big stops on special teams and was disruptive from his middle linebacker position.

"That's a kid who never played football until halfway through the season last year," Bell said. "He's a heck of a kid and one of the only one's we have who has speed to match up with them."

Howard wasn't the only defensive star.

Brady Beech, all of 5-foot-8, was charged with the task of covering 6-3 receiver Courtney Harden-Pullium and held the Strong Vincent receiver to three catches for nine yards.

"Any kids in the stands who think they are too small to play, watch No. 12 out there," Bell said.

Bell called this win the second biggest in school history. No. 1 on his list is No. 1 on everyone's list in Grove City: a win over Tyrone in the "index card game" in the PIAA Western Final in 2004.

An even bigger win could come next week should the Eagles topple Erie Cathedral Prep, which beat Strong Vincent 46-0 during the regular season.

Grove City surely will be the underdog in that game, too.

Bell smiles and says, "That's OK.

"No one picked us to win this one, either," Bell said. "Tell your bird (Scoop) to pick us to lose 40-0. We like being the underdog."

<B>Grove City 19, Strong Vincent 13</B>Strong Vincent 13 0 0 0 — 13Grove City 7 6 6 0 — 19SV GC13 First Downs 1648-287 Rushes-Yards 54-23739 Passing Yards 445-19-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 4-10-0326 Total Yards 2816-3 Fumbles-Lost 4-210-67 Penalties-Yards 6-45<B>First Quarter</B>SV — Kevin Green 5 run (Donte McBride kick), 7:12GC — Wesley Phipps 19 run (Jeff Hershberger kick), 5:14SV — Brandon Akins 2 run (kick blocked), 1:01<B>Second Quarter</B>GC — Wesley Phipps 16 run (kick blocked), 3:15<B>Third Quarter</B>GC — Marty Phipps 6 run (kick blocked), 5:24<B>Individual StatisticsPassing:</B> Strong Vincent, Steve Uplinger 5-19-39-1. Grove City, Tyler Dagres 3-9-36-0, Mason DePeal 1-1-8-0.<B>Rushing:</B> Strong Vincent, Brandon Akins 21-165, Kevin Green 15-95, Emari Tangle 6-25, Markese Pullium 1-16, Courtney Harden-Pullium 1-0, Team 1-(-2), Steve Uplinger 3-(-12). Grove City, Jamarr Patterson 13-76, Wesley Phipps 15-61, Marty Phipps 12-54, Tyler Dagres 12-46, Nick Reddick 2-0.<B>Receiving:</B> Strong Vincent, Courtney Harden-Pullium 3-9, Aaron Bell 1-17, Andre Evans 1-13. Grove City, Marty Phipps 2-30, Wesley Phipps 1-8, Jamarr Patterson 1-6.