SLIPPERY ROCK — Travis Sarver's philosophy isn't much different than that of his predecessor as the Slippery Rock High football coach, Brendan Hathaway.

Run the football.

Control the clock.

Play a swarming defense.

Win.

There may be one subtle difference though in the Sarver regime, which begins after back-to-back region titles and 10-0 regular season campaigns.

“We may throw one more pass a game,” Sarver said, smiling.

That could double the output of last season.

Sarver knows his way around Slippery Rock. He grew up in the borough. He played football for the Rockets, helping Slippery Rock reach the PIAA Class AA semifinals where they lost to Darrelle Revis-led Aliquippa.

As a bruising running back, he shared the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy in 2003, starred on both offense and defense at Slippery Rock University and served as an assistant coach under Hathaway for several seasons.

Now he is the man in charge. And Sarver believes he has a team to win another District 10 Region 3-AA title.

“The cupboard is not empty,” Sarver said. “We still have some kids who can do some things. On the other hand, we lost a lot, too. Sharon has a lot of people back. Hickory has a lot of people back. Greenville is a good program. Grove City had a good growing year last year. It's going to be a challenge to be sure.”

The Rockets lost 19 seniors to graduation, but still have the bulk of their skill players back.

Senior Ryan Lauster has gotten reps at quarterback and at running back and is a dangerous weapon at either position. He rushed for 531 yards on only 81 carries a season ago and had an even better sophomore season when he rushed for 755 yards on just 40 carries.

Trenton Porter is also back. The senior rushed for 849 yards on just 88 carries last season.

The big question mark is up front where Slippery Rock lost a bevy of productive linemen.

“We have a few guys were's excited to see,” Sarver said. “I think we have some kids who can step up and fill those roles.”

Sarver is also looking to replace all four starting linebackers from last season.

The defensive philosophy will remain the same, though.

Rally to the football.

“That's what defense is about — swarming to the football,” said Sarver, who was the defensive coordinator under Hathaway. “You have to have that intensity on defense. You have to know you're going to give up a big play on defense at some point. It's are you going to break? You can bend a little bit, but you can't break.”

While the defense will stay largely the same, the offense will have a bit of a new look.

The option game, which has racked up a gaudy 8,507 yards the last two seasons, will remain, but the Rockets will also add some new looks this season.

“About 60 percent is the same,” Lauster said. “We're still keeping the option and a lot of sets we had. We're incorporating a little bit of spread stuff. There's enough new that we have a lot of work to do.”

And Sarver hopes a lot more for the opponent to do in preparing for Slippery Rock.

When asked to elaborate on the new attack, Sarver just flashed a sly smile.

“We'll let them see it on film,” he said.

Sarver's biggest concern is how his young players will react to being thrust into the lineup.

“The challenge is not knowing how they're going to react in a varsity football game,” Sarver said. “We lost 19 great seniors and everyone is going to lean on this group of seniors and they've never had to play that role. Just being young is our biggest challenge.”

Senior offensive lineman Cody Lawniczak sees that as a potential positive.

“In year's past we kind of had a target on our backs,” Lawniczak said. “Now people see Hathaway left and 19 seniors are gone. Maybe they think we are gone. But we're certainly not.”