GROVE CITY — There was something missing at the Grove City High football practice this week.

The football.

And that's just the way Eagles coach Jeff Bell wanted it.

In preparing for the triple-option attack of Slippery Rock for a big game between two rivals at 7 p.m. Friday at Forker Field, Bell had his scout team offense run the Rockets' attack sans pigskin.

“The first time you let the dive back go, or have nobody on the quarterback or the pitch man, that's a big play for them,” Bell said. “What we tried to do was make sure we had someone on everyone and the best way to do that was without the ball.”

Slippery Rock (6-0) runs the triple option with wide splits between the offensive lineman and with senior quarterback Ryan Currie in a pistol formation most of the time.

It's an exceedingly difficult attack to simulate, Bell said.

“You have to contain Currie,” said the Grove City coach. “He makes a lot of good decisions. Our job is to force him into making some bad ones.”

Grove City (5-1) is finally healthy after battling injuries to key personnel during the first six weeks. Health and poor execution led to a lopsided loss to Hickory two weeks ago.

There's been no such pitfalls for the Rockets, who routed previously undefeated Warren 42-20 last week.

“They're a good football team,” Bell said. “They are one of the best teams we will face all season. But we have some people who we hope can cause them some problems.”

One of those players is sophomore quarterback Jared Graham, who has completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 598 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception.

He's also a dangerous runner.

“I've said it before, he's exceeded my expectations,” Bell said.

Slippery Rock coach Brendan Hathaway has been impressed with Graham, as well as the Eagles' ability to run the football with various threats out of their wing-T attack.

“You have to be disciplined against them,” Hathaway said. “They have four backs, and I include Graham as a back, that are very good. If you don't play disciplined against them, they'll make you pay.”

Only 42 yards separate Foster Reznor, Chad Williams and Harold Price in the diverse Grove City running game. Reznor, who has battled a foot injury, leads the Eagles with 401 yards on the ground. Williams has 399 and Price, who missed a game due to injury, had 359.

The Rockets are also balanced in their running game and have only attempted 29 passes this season.

They haven't had to throw because they have been getting off to such fast starts this season.

Slippery Rock has scored 35 points in the first half in each of the last two weeks.

“In our offense, the way we run the ball, you have to execute early,” Hathaway said. “You have to execute because we don't want to throw the ball 20 times a game. If you get down, you have to change some of the things that you do. We preach go out and execute from the first whistle, whether it's in practice or in the game.”

Last year, Grove City routed Slippery Rock 55-0.

Currie said last year's outcome was last year and it has little baring on this match-up.

“We don't want to come out and do anything crazy,” Currie said. “We want to come out and treat it like any other game. That's been our business-like attitude all year.”

Punxsutawney (4-2, 2-0) at Karns City (4-2, 2-0) 7 p.m., Friday

Coaches: Punxsutawney, Alan Nichol; Karns City, Ed Conto

Last week: Punxsutawney routed Clarion-Limestone, 41-7; Karns City downed Keystone, 34-7

Numbers: Garrett Zimmerman completed 7-of-10 passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns in last week's win, including two scores to Clayton Dale. ... Zimmerman has passed for 652 yards and nine TD on the year, while Christian Falgout leads the squad with 476 yards on 106 carries and five TD and Dale leads with 12 receptions for 199 yards and three TD. ... The Gremlins used a 27-0 first-half lead to rout the Panthers.

Notes: The Chucks picked up their third consecutive win to stay atop the KSAC Large School division with the Gremlins. ... Karns City won last year's contest, 21-20.

Freeport (5-1, 5-1) at E. Allegheny (1-5, 1-5) 7:30 p.m., Friday

Coaches: Freeport, John Gaillot; East Allegheny, Jason Ruscitto

Last Week: Freeport defeated Burrell, 26-7; East Allegheny fell to Shady Side Academy, 33-20

Numbers: Freeport used a 19-point fourth quarter to open up a 26-0 lead last week. ... Brendan Lynch rushed for 138 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 80 and 38 yards. He also passed for 111 yards. ... Lynch leads the team with 621 yards rushing and 451 yards passing. ... The Wildcats' K.J. Marshall proved his versatility last week when he accounted for all three EA touchdowns — an 88-yard kickoff return, a 23-yard run and 6-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Whipple. ... Whipple has completed 60 of 107 passes for 1,131 yards, 12 TD and four INT while Shawn Adair (21-481-6), Jaison Faulk (11-172) and Marshall (9-232-3) have been his top targets.

Notes: Ruscitto is in his first season with the Wildcats. ... East Allegheny opened the season with a 29-12 win over Summit Academy before dropping five straight contests.

Moniteau (1-5, 0-2) at St. Marys (2-4, 0-3) 7 p.m., Friday

Coaches: Moniteau, Jeff Campbell; St. Marys, Joe Schlimm

Last Week: Moniteau earned a 32-8 win over Redbank Valley, while St. Marys was defeated 40-28 by Clarion.

Numbers: Warriors running back Trevor Shaffer is coming off a breakout game of 158 yards on 21 carries. ... Dustin Geagan shifted from running back to quarterback last week and leads Moniteau with 483 yards on 103 carries this season. ... Andrew Armagost has paced the Moniteau defense with 70 solo tackles and seven sacks. ... Alex Feldbauer leads the Flying Dutchman offense with 996 yards and 13 TDs on 155 carries.

Notes: Both offense revolve around the running game. St. Marys has ran the ball 295 times to just 40 pass attempts, while Moniteau has 230 carries as a team to 57 passes.

Clarion-Limestone (0-6, 0-3) at Union (5-1, 2-1) 7 p.m., Friday

Coaches: Clarion-Limestone, Jason Kundick; Union, Dave Louder

Last Week: Clarion-Limestone was routed 41-7 at Punxsutawney; Union coasted to a 41-21 win over Kennedy Catholic.

Numbers: Clarion-Limestone has been outscored 283-26 this season. ... Its most competitive game was a 21-7 defeat to Keystone. ... Union quarterback has passed for 709 yards and nine touchdowns to just two interceptions this year. ... Kaden McGregor hauled in three touchdowns last week and Keenan Rankin is also a threat with 370 yards of total offense. ... Cody Kline leads the Golden Knights in rushing with 330 yards on 92 attempts.

Notes: Union won last year's matchup against Clarion-Limestone by a 36-7 margin.

Keystone (2-4, 2-1) at A-C Valley (2-4, 2-1) 7 p.m., Friday

Coaches: Keystone, John Stiglitz; A-C Valley, Brad Dittman

Last Week: Keystone lost to Karns City 34-7; The Falcons fell 48-24 at Brookville.

Numbers: Senior strong safety Ryan Bartley leads A-C Valley in tackles with 8.2 per game. Last week, he contributed to the offense with four receptions for 74 yards and a TD. In defeat, A-C Valley also received a 92-yard kickoff return for a TD from senior Josh Suto. The Falcons surrendered 432 yards rushing in the loss.

Notes: The Falcons were tied at 14 with Brookville last week after one period, but were outscored 34-10 the rest of the way. ... A-C Valley assistant coach Dan Reed was head coach at Keystone 1996-2003 and later served as an assistant with the Panthers under former head coach Jason Nellis.

Summit Academy (2-4, 1-4) at Valley (4-2, 3-2) 7 p.m., Friday

Coaches: Summit Academy, Steve Sherer; Valley, Chad Walsh

Last Week: Summit Academy lost to Deer Lakes, 18-14; Valley defeated Yough, 40-28

Numbers: The Knights saw a 14-0 fourth-quarter lead evaporate against the lancers. Just the week before, the Knights erased a 14-0 deficit to defeat Ford City 20-14. ... Will Johnson accounted for both Summit Academy scores, a 9-yard run and a 67-yard interception return to stake the Knights to the 14-0 lead. ... The Knights totaled just 82 yards with Chris Harp completing just two of 12 passes for 27 yards. ... Valley received a huge game from running back Demetrius Houser, who rushed for 190 yards and had scoring runs of 70, 54 and 44 yards. He also took a blocked punt 45 yards for another score.

Notes: Valley dropped back down to Class AA this season. ... The Vikings ended a 22-game losing streak with a season-opening win against Deer Lakes. After two losses, the squad has won three consecutive games. ... Walsh is in his first season at the helm of the Vikings' program.