GROVE CITY — The first 12 minutes may make all the difference.

The Slippery Rock High football team has gotten off to slow starts in its first two games this season, trailing at halftime against both Perry and Greenville.

Meanwhile Grove City (0-2, 0-1) has started slowly as well, both in games and at the start of a season that figured to be promising.

When the two rivals meet at Forker Field at 7 p.m. Friday, both teams will be looking to buck the trend of sluggish first quarters.

“We need better starts — that would definitely help,” said Slippery Rock senior wingback/safety Ryan Lauster. “We just need to play like we have (after we've fallen behind and in the second half) and we'll be in good shape.”

Slippery Rock (1-1, 0-1) began the season at home against Perry and fell behind at halftime, 6-3, only to ride a second-half surge to win 24-13.

The Rockets fell behind again last week against Greenville, 21-7, before scoring on consecutive drives to take a 22-21 lead late.

The Trojans, however, were successful on their final drive and won, 27-22.

“We've always been a second-half team,” said Slippery Rock coach Travis Sarver. “It's adjusting to what the other team is doing, especially when we're running the option. We have to see what the other team is doing and then adjust to it and make the halftime adjustments. We want to be the better-conditioned team in the second half. We take pride in those things.”

Lauster, who leads the Rockets with 174 yards rushing on 23 carries, sees his team's ability to come back as a positive.

“That means a lot, especially for us seniors because the last two years, we usually didn't have to come from behind,” Lauster said, “we were leading, so it's a good learning experience.”

It's an experience Slippery Rock would rather not duplicate Friday against the Eagles.

Last week's 36-6 loss to Corry is an experience Grove City never wants to duplicate.

The Eagles struggled from the start, falling behind 22-0 at halftime and 36-0 in the fourth quarter.

Junior quarterback Kameron Patterson was just 9 of 20 for 125 yards and an interception in the loss. He still has good numbers on the season, a year after throwing for 1,777 yards as a sophomore, and Grove City coach Sam Mowrey is confident he can bounce back.

“Last week was just one of those games where we could not get anything going,” Mowrey said. “Obviously, this is not how we envisioned things going. We met with the team and said there is nothing we can do about (the Corry game) now.”

Attention quickly turned to Slippery Rock and the challenges the Rockets present.

Junior quarterback Bailey Mertens rushed for 104 yards last week while running the Rockets' option offense. Lauster, Trent Porter, Seth Slater and Dalton Hilliard are also potential weapons in that attack.

That prompted Mowrey to practice with his scout team offense carrying three footballs.

“It's all assignment football,” Mowrey said.

That means assuming your responsibility has the football, Mowrey said.

Mowrey had his players watch the film from a 2012 game in which Grove City beat Slippery Rock 34-14. In that game, Mowrey said from the first snap the Eagles' defense hit the quarterback, the dive back and the pitch back no matter who had the ball.

“You could tell from the first snap we were ready to play,” Mowrey said.

Both teams should be ready to play in this rivalry.

No matter the records, the Slippery Rock-Grove City week takes on added importance.

“Every time you hear Grove City, instantly you get that extra adrenalin rush, for sure,” Lauster said.

Sarver is well aware of what playing Grove City means. He was a veteran of three of those games as a running back and safety for the Rockets a decade ago.

“From the coaching side of it, you have to keep the players focused on the task at hand,” Sarver said. “These kids, they'll do that. They won't get into the distraction part of it. Their focus has been good all year.”