SLIPPERY ROCK — The journey into the unknown begins.

The Slippery Rock High School football team will face Erie East for the first time in school history Saturday at Veterans Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

It is one of many first-time meetings on the schedule for the Rockets, who moved up from Class AA to Class AAA this season.

"I don't know any of the names up there, and I'm not too comfortable with that," said Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti.

He doesn't have to know the names to know Erie East has speed to burn.

But the Warriors are a struggling program. They have won just one of their last 19 games and while they have speed, they are a bit undersized upfront.

East's two best linemen, Markel Hubbart and Tim Hart come in at 200 and 220 pounds, respectively.

But East can run and they can run swiftly — something that cursed the Rockets in their season-opening loss to Grove City last week.

The Eagles scored three touchdowns that covered a combined 189 yards against Slippery Rock in a 21-13 win. Other than those three big plays, the Rockets held their own defensively.

"We need to try to make people grind their way down the field," Conti said. "You can't let someone take the air out of you and go."

Veterans Stadium got a turf upgrade in the offseason. Gone is the concrete-like old artificial turf. In is the new FieldTurf that is all the rage.

"It's going to make their fast guys look like jets," Conti said. "We have a bunch of Maytags. You know, like the Maytag washing machines that run in the same place. We have a bunch of guys who are like Maytags and run in the same place."

That makes containing swift East backs like Jovan Crosby and Travis Williams all the more paramount.

But injuries have already been a problem for SlipperyRock.

Defensive back Adam Brydon didn't play last week with an injury and strong safety J.R. Thompson broke his ankle in three places on the second play of the game and is lost for the season.

"The positive thing is how the kids reacted (to Thompson's injury)," Conti said. "It's not easy to change and adapt on the fly, but we didn't use it as an excuse."

The injuries left Derrick Orloski, who was a golfer last fall, and Chase Conti, who ran cross country last season, as starters in the secondary.

The extra day may help get Brydon back in the lineup for Saturday's game.

Conti's goals haven't changed. He want to get back to the playoffs this season after a two-year absence

"I feel like I haven't been (in the playoffs) in an eternity," Conti said. "I'd like to be playing in November. All I know is they take six teams in triple-A and I'd like to be one of them. We're still trying to get better."