NEW WILMINGTON — The Slippery Rock High School football team knew exactly how to stop Wilmington's offense Friday night.

Keep it on the sideline.

Running nearly twice as many plays as Wilmington, the Rockets defeated the Greyhounds 3-0.

The time of possession was accentuated in the second half when Slippery Rock (4-4, overall, 4-3 in Region 3) ran 39 offensive plays compared to just 17 for Wilmington (7-1, 6-1).

"We thought we had to try and keep it out of their hands," Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti said. "Our kids played strong. I know we beat a terrific team."

Greyhounds coach Terry Verrelli said he knew the Rockets would try to use that strategy.

"They knew we were just going to use up the clock," Verrelli said. "We had our chances, but we didn't take advantage of them."

The only score of the game came with 8:05 to go in the fourth quarter, when Slippery Rock's Craig Bicehouse hit a 40-yard field goal.

That was the last play of a 15-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. At one point in the drive, the Rockets faced a first-and-28 from their own 17-yard line after a holding penalty on a J.R. Thompson run, which was followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Conti.

An 11-yard run by Ben Collins, a 13-yard run by Thompson and a 17-yard run by Ryan Ferguson got the Rockets out of the hole and on their way to the lead.

"They drove down the field on us," Verrelli said. "We made mistakes at the wrong time. They played a great game."

Wilmington had one last chance in the final minute to tie, but a pass from Greyhounds quarterback Jake Reiber was intercepted by David Bauer to seal the win.

"This was an amazing win," Conti said. "This shows we belong on the field."

Conti said he knows the Rockets beat a quality opponent.

"This team, (Wilmington) barring injury, will be in the Western Finals," Conti said. "I really believe they will be in the final four teams."

Wilmington had a chance for good field position near midfield three minutes into the third quarter, but running back Chris Burns muffed a punt that was recovered by Christopher Barron for the Rockets.

That allowed Slippery Rock to run six extra plays before a quick kick on fourth down by Ryan Ferguson pinned Wilmington at their own 10-yard line.

"That punt they fumbled was big, even though we didn't score," Conti said.

As a team, Slippery Rock rushed for 224 yards on 57 carries as the Rockets ran the ball almost exclusively. Thompson led a balanced rushing attack with 67 yards on 12 carries and quarterback Ben Collins went 1-for-2 for one yard and one interception.

Wilmington was held to 81 yards on 21 rushing attempts while Reiber went 7-for-13 for 88 yards and one interception.