SLIPPERY ROCK - Two of them left football and came back. Another hopes to be an all-conference player. Still another hopes to take advantage of an opportunity.

All four - Mike Jennings, Greg Ames, Steve Fullerton and Justin Burgh - are Seneca Valley graduates and former Raiders teammates.

All four are reunited as teammates at Slippery Rock University.

"We went to the playoffs together in high school in 1999, but we didn't win a conference title," Fullerton said. "Now that we're all together again for one more year, maybe we can win that conference title in college."

"There is a sense of urgency," Jennings said. "I came to Slippery Rock to go to the playoffs and I haven't done that yet. I'm determined to do it this year.

"Having some other Seneca Valley guys here with me is going to make it that much more fun," he added.

Jennings is a defensive end and a third-year starter for The Rock. He had 42 tackles last year - 25 solos - along with 10- tackles for loss and four quarterback sacks.

"He came here as a linebacker, hit the weights and got big," SRU coach George Mihalik said. "Now he has a chance to put together an all-conference year."

Like Jennings, Fullerton came to SRU straight out of high school. The junior tight end saw little playing time behind stellar starter Brandon Richardson last year, but Richardson has been moved to H-Back this season.

Fullerton managed four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown a year ago. He inherits the starting tight end spot this year after missing all of spring ball in 2002 with a broken leg and in 2003 with a broken thumb."I'm definitely treating this as an opportunity," Fullerton said. "Brandon will make a lot of plays at H-Back, and I imagine I'll be blocking quite a bit."Blocking is fine by me. I'll catch a few passes when the team needs them, I'm sure," he added.Mihalik said Fullerton will be involved in the passing game."He doesn't have Brandon's speed, but Steve is a solid player who's just been beset with injuries," the coach said. "This year he's healthy and he'll be productive. We throw to the tight end a lot off play-action."Ames and Burgh came to The Rock by way of California (Pa.) University. Ames, a defensive tackle, transferred to SRU after just one semester at Cal.After seeing limited action his sophomore year at The Rock, Ames left football to concentrate on academics."It all comes down to decision-making," Ames said. "SRU and Cal are two totally different atmospheres as far as football and the classroom go."My sister went here. SRU has great football and great academics. When I left football, it was because I had to prioritize. I had to get my academics in order. I always knew I'd come back. I always kept steady contact with the players," he added.But he had to convince the coaches he was serious about football when he told Mihalik he wanted to come back."We were leery about taking him back," Mihalik admitted. "We watched him. If he missed one practice, one drill, he was done.""I knew I had to prove myself. I was pretty much starting over," Ames said.Ames made every practice and is now splitting time at defensive tackle with Robert Minnie."I'm not surprised," Jennings said of Ames' resurgence. "Greg's a football player and he missed playing. He's going to help us."So will Burgh, who was enrolled at SRU last fall without Mihalik even knowing it.

A three-year starter on California's offensive line, Burgh suffered a back injury his junior year that required surgery. When his back responded slowly, Burgh decided to give up football."I enrolled at Slippery Rock last year to finish my education because it was closer to home," Burgh said. "My back started feeling better and I met with Coach Mihalik about trying out.""Justin walks into my office in January wanting to play for us," Mihalik said. "I said we'd have to go through the transfer process. … I was shocked to find out he was already in school here."While lifting weights in March, however, Burgh blew out three discs in his back and required further surgery."We figured he was lost for the season," Mihalik said.He wasn't even lost for the summer."Ever since I decided to quit the first time, I had a problem with leaving that one year of eligibility hanging," Burgh said. "I couldn't quit again without playing it out."Once the soreness from the surgery worked itself out, my back felt stronger."Burgh missed spring ball but worked out at SRU all summer. He will enter the regular season as SRU's starting right guard.Thus completes the Raider reunion."I know the parents of all three of those guys, and Greg and I are like brothers," Burgh said. "I feel comfortable here now and those guys were a big help."Mihalik said the Raider quartet reinforces his belief in keeping talented football players at home."There's a lot of advantages to playing college football close to home," Mihalik said. "We want to keep the Butler County talent right here. Those four guys are prime examples."