Slippery Rock High's Travis Lauster pulls away from Grove City's Warren Marlowe on a long run last season. The Rockets were as potent as ever in a 40-18 season-opening win at Perry and will face another tough test at Greenville Friday.

GREENVILLE — It didn't take long for Greenville head football coach Brian Herrick to form a strong opinion on Slippery Rock.

“They're very good,” Herrick said. “They have a lot of kids who have played for them for three years and I was impressed with their speed and athleticism.”

Slippery Rock coach Brendan Hathaway had a similar reaction when watching the Trojans.

“They have a bunch of backs who can run the ball and a tight end (Andy Jones) who is a really good receiver and a line that can block,” Hathaway said. “It's a line Greenville teams usually have.”

With that stage set, the two teams will clash at 7 p.m. Friday in Greenville with much on the line early in the 2014 season.

It's the first region game for both teams and an early litmus test.

Slippery Rock dropped down from Class AAA to Class AA in District 10 this season.

“You have to be ready in this league every single week,” Herrick said. “There are no gimmies.”

Both teams like to run the ball and chew the clock.

Slippery Rock, who beat Perry 40-18 Saturday, rushed for 234 of its 368 yards in the first half and finished with 52 rushing attempts.

Greenville rumbled for 353 yards on 49 rushing attempts, led by senior running back Nick Black, who had 105 yards on 18 carries.

The two teams combined to throw nine passes in their season openers.

When asked what his team needed to do to get out of Greenville with a win, Hathaway answered quickly, “Stop the run. We have to be able to control the ball.”

Herrick answered the same question with a tongue-in-cheek quip.

“I'd like to make them punt once in awhile,” the coach said. “That's difficult to do.”

Hathaway was happy with the way some of his young players performed in the opener.

Sophomore Ryan Dutton had six tackles, two sacks and brought down Perry's Moses Giles for a safety a little more than a minute into the game.

Hathaway was also pleased with the way juniors Shane Slater and Cody Lawniczak played in their first starts on the offensive line.

The coach, though, was not happy with everything.

“I like the way we came out,” Hathaway said. “I didn't like the way we finished. Against the teams we are going to play, we have to play four quarters. These teams are going to make us play four quarters and Greenville is going to make us play four quarters.”