SR-GC football rivalry revived after 2 seasons
It's been a strange two years for the Slippery Rock High and Grove City High football teams.
Rivals in every sport, the two didn't meet on the football field the past two seasons.
The mercurial nature of enrollment was to blame.
Every two years, the PIAA reshuffles the deck by reclassifying every member school based on enrollment.
Slippery Rock and Grove City have been playing musical chairs. The schools flip-flopped between Class AA and Class AAA two years ago.
The two teams didn't have an open date the past two seasons, so the rivalry took a hiatus.
This fall, it will be back.
For the first time in four seasons, the Rockets and the Eagles will be in the same class and the same region.
"It just seemed like something was missing," said Grove City football coach Jeff Bell about not playing Slippery Rock. "The one good thing about this is we will get to play in the same region again."
Slippery Rock and Grove City had played every season since 1987 until the conflict halted the series in 2008.
The Eagles have won the past four meetings and lead the series 16-8.
The renewal of the Slippery Rock-Grove City rivalry isn't the only change for the 2010 season.
The District 10 committee realigned the regions, putting Slippery Rock and Grove City in Region 5-AAA with Corry, Franklin, Meadville, Oil City and district newcomer DuBois.
Originally, Bradford, another transplant from District 9, and Warren were in the region, but both Grove City and Slippery Rock balked at that alignment.
"That's three two-plus hour trips," Bell said. "That wasn't going to work."
Administrators at both schools wrote letters to the district about their concerns and the district listened.
The new alignment also will increase the number of region games for Grove City.
Last season, the Eagles played only three league games. That number will nearly double this season.
Grove City was able to keep nonregion foes Wilmington and Greenville on the schedule.
"That's a challenging schedule in the region," Bell said. "We're looking forward to it."
Bell still doesn't know who his coaching counterpart will be at Slippery Rock.
The school had interviews with several candidates postponed last month because of the winter storms, said Slippery Rock athletic director Dan Szolek.
