The end zone has been a lonely place when teams have faced the Grove City and North East High School football teams.

Stingy doesn't begin to cover it. Opponents have been scrounging for points against the Eagles and the Grape Pickers like Ralph Nader scrounging for votes on Election Day.

Neither has had much success getting them.

When Grove City and North East play in the first round of the District 10 playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Erie Veterans Stadium, points may be a rare commodity.

"It could be," said North East coach Matt Shesman. "They've put five or six shutouts on the board. They have a great defense and they shut our Wilmington, which is no small task. It could come down to a mistake or to special teams."

Grove City (7-2) has won seven straight games after an 0-2 start and have recorded six shutouts in that span. The Eagles have outscored their opponents 259-69 this season.

But North East (9-0) has done the Eagles one better.

The Grape Pickers' first-team defense has given up just one touchdown this season and has outscored their opponents 324-53.

Shesman contributes that to his seniors, who stumbled out of the gate last year as juniors only to rally to win the final four games.

In all, the Pickers have won 13 of their last 14 games - the only loss coming to Slippery Rock in the first round of the District 10 playoffs last year.

Senior inside linebacker Mike Artise has 64 solo tackles this season - 13 for loss - and senior defensive end Josh Best has 50 solo tackles and four sacks for the Pickers.

Outside linebacker Mike Williams, defensive back Zac Kuchta and defensive end Chad Lander, all seniors, also have been large parts of the stellar defensive unit.

"I think it's all because of those seniors," Shesman said. "Those seniors know the system and our young fellas have filled in the gaps well."

Grove City is not without its own senior leadership and dominating 'D.'

It all starts inside for the Eagles with seniors Tony Aloisio and Kent Uber plugging up the middle at defensive tackle.

The two combine for more than 600 pounds of humanity inside - a formidable wall for opponents to breach.

Having a bye week has also helped the Eagles break down film on the Pickers to better pick apart their offense.

"We've got a couple of new defensive looks," said Grove City coach Jeff Bell. "You want to go into the game doing what you do best, but you also want to have a Plan B if that isn't working. We're going to try to confuse them a little bit, but it's always nice to have something else to fall back on."

There's nothing confusing, though, about the offense the Eagles are going to face.

North East runs an option offense with some power I thrown in, and the Pickers have some weapons to run it, putting up prodigious numbers.

Kuchta leads the team with 1,363 yards rushing on just 132 carries and 21 touchdowns. He is also the teams' leading receiver with 17 catches for 275 yards and two more scores.

Artise, a fullback, had gained 1,032 yards on 143 carries with 15 touchdowns.

That has left little opportunity for senior quarterback Andrew Kimmy to throw the ball, but when he has, he has been effective, tossing six touchdown passes to just one interception.

North East does most of its damage in the running game on the right side of the line behind Best, a guard, and Lander, a tackle.

"They do a lot of pulling," Bell said. "It looks like they are running the same three or four plays over and over again, but they change their blocking assignments.

"We have to recognize that. But our kids are smart and they have watched a lot of film."

Then there is the eclectic offense of Grove City, which can hurt teams on the ground and through the air.

The Eagles have employed a balanced rushing attack this season with Vallely leading the charge with 518 yards.

Jesse Alfreno, who is just as dangerous as a receiver, is the second-leading rusher with 423 yards on just 59 carries.

Alfreno has also caught 24 passed for 519 yards and five scores.

Alfreno has drawn the eye of many a coach this season, game planning to try to slow him down.

"He's their Zac Kuchta," Shesman said. "He's a game breaker."

Both teams spent the bye week a bit differently.

Shesman preferred to take the business-as-usual approach and not break up the routine, other than giving his team the first Monday off.

Bell used the first week as a way to go back and reinforce fundamentals and fix some nagging glitches on offense, defense and special teams before going back to a routine during the second week.

Both considered the bye week beneficial.

When Saturday rolls around, though, the affects of a week off may be noticeable early.

"Both teams will be eager to hit somebody," Shesman said. "Both teams are physical and both teams will be champing at the bit."