GROVE CITY — During the dog days of August, Grove City High football coach Jeff Bell voiced concern about his young, inexperienced team.

He wondered aloud about whether or not his team would have a winning record. He said the first four games would tell the tale.

Now, in the crisp, cool days of November, Grove City finds itself where the team usually finds itself this time of year: in the playoffs.

And the Eagles couldn't be hotter heading into their District 10 Class AAA first-round game against Erie Strong Vincent at Slippery Rock University Friday night.

The kickoff was moved to 8 p.m. because SRU is hosting two NCAA Division II men's soccer matches that afternoon.

Grove City (7-3) has won four in a row since a 14-3 loss to Hickory. As the season unfolded, the Eagles continuted to get stronger on both sides of the ball.

"The kids are finally starting to put it all together," Bell said. "You like to see that as the season goes along. This one is going to be a challenge for us, but you like that challenge at this point."

Running back Jamarr Patterson leads the Eagles with 794 yards on 94 carries.

He is by no means the only weapon in the backfield.

Marty Phipps has rushed for 590 yards on 67 carries and younger brother Wesley Phipps has gained 272 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

As a team, the Eagles have gained 2,794 and scored 37 rushing touchdowns.

That's nothing new to Strong Vincent coach Tom Cacchione. If he wants an example of how good the Eagles' Wing-T offense has been, he need look no further than his own team, which runs the same offense and has put up eerily similar results.

"We are a mirror image of each other," Cacchione said.

The Colonels have rushed for 2,982 yards with 47 rushing scores.

Brandon Akins leads Strong Vincent with 919 yards and 15 touchdowns.

"The Wing-T is a beautiful offense because there are so many variations to it," Cacchione said. "We both run it in similar ways."

Also, both coaches share a disdain for the passing game. The two teams have combined to put the ball in the air only 133 times.

Strong Vincent (8-2), which has won six straight games after a 2-2 start, has been a little better in the passing game. Quarterback Steve Uplinger and his backup, Denzel Jones, have yet to throw an interception this season.

Courtney Harden-Pullium has caught 21 passes for 587 yards and six scores and is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, Bell said.

Cacchione, who has gone 13-1 against Region 5 teams in the last four years, is expecting a much stiffer challenge from the Eagles, the Region 5 champions.

"We're had our way in the past with teams from Region 5," Cacchione said. "But I'm expecting a dog fight against Grove City."

Bell might throw some wrinkles Strong Vincent's way.

"We're going to have to play a close-to-perfect game," Bell said. "We have to have some stuff to go to that they haven't seen, stuff that might look foolish if it doesn't work. But I'd rather do that than think at the end of the game, 'We should have tried this.'"