Clyde Conti isn't conceding anything.

His Slippery Rock High School football team must travel to Erie for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday to take on Quad-A power McDowell, which beat St. Francis - a team from Buffalo, N.Y., that was ranked in the Top 25 by USA Today - handily.

They are facing a team that is 7-1 and has nearly as many freshmen on its roster as Slippery Rock has in all four classes.

But Conti won't blink.

"Finally, after eight tough games, we get an easy one," Conti said, tongue firmly planted in cheek. "Maybe I'm not too bright, but I believe every game you go out and prepare to win. You never know what is going to happen."

What has happened to Slippery Rock this season hasn't been ideal.

The Rockets enter the game 3-5 and with no playoff hope after going to the postseason the last two years, winning the District 10 title both years.

Conti, though, isn't abandoning ship, and neither has his players.

"I think it really reveals the person you are," Conti said of the trials this season. "You learn an awful lot about yourself. These kids got hit between the eyes this year, but we lost to some good football teams. None of these guys walked away, and there were lots of times they could have walked away."

Slippery Rock will face by far its toughest test against the Trojans, whose roster is littered with Division I prospects.

At the top of that list is fullback Jayson White, who is being recruited by D-I schools as a linebacker despite not playing that position for McDowell.

White is averaging more than six yards per carry and has scored a slew of touchdowns this season for the Trojans. He has 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard-dash to boot.

The Rockets must also contend with quarterback Rob Mattis, who is a threat to light things up with his arm.

Then there is tailback Mike Nielsen and receiver T.J. McGraw to deal with, too.

"I put a tape of their's on, went to get a sandwich, and when I came back it was 35-0," Conti said. "I told the kids not to worry too much about failure, as in failing to win games, but to worry about being afraid to compete."

Slippery Rock will have to be creative on offense to deal with McDowell.

One constant this season for the Rockets has been senior fullback Trevor Gallo, who rushed for 174 yards in the loss to Wilmington.

Gallo has 958 yards rushing and eight touchdowns this season.

"He's a boy who has been an unsung hero for two years and we were really counting on him to carry the ball a lot for us this year," Conti said. "We told him we were going to put the ball in his hands and he responded well."

Gallo has also played well at linebacker this season.

Slippery Rock will not play a 10th game this season. Instead, win or lose against McDowell, it will look back at the things that went bad, and the things that went right.

"Sometimes perception is reality," Conti said. "A lot of the things that happened were my worst nightmare in the spring. A lot of people perceived us to be better than we apparently were, and I was saying those things from the beginning. People just thought, 'Well, that's just coachspeak. Well …"