Four up and four down ... and Slippery Rock High's football team has yet to be challenged on the scoreboard.

Far from it, in fact.

The Rockets have disposed of each of their opponents by an average margin of 29.5 points. They've scored no less than 34 points in any game. The most they've allowed is 14, coming last week in a 49-14 victory at Conneaut (Ohio).

Defending District 10 champion Hickory (2-1, 4-2) will be the latest team to take its shot at the Rockets (2-0, 4-0) when the teams meet for a Region 3 clash Friday at Troy-Alan Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Slippery Rock enters the game after a very impressive effort last Friday. Quarterback William Mokel completed eight passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns, all of them going to wideout John Sabo, who tallied 164 yards on four catches.

“When you have a guy on the outside making plays like John is doing for us, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense,” said Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz. “One of his touchdowns last week went for 88 yards.”

Ryan Montgomery's 46-yard interception return for a touchdown highlighted another staunch defensive effort.

“(Defensive lineman) Tony Pilosi recovered a fumble deep in Conneaut territory, I think at the 12, and we scored shortly after,” added Wendereusz. “When you have turnovers turning into points like that, it just adds to the positives from a game.”

Hickory defeated Titusville last week, 56-7. The Hornets' passing game is still very much a threat following the graduation of unanimous all-state quarterback Michael Henwood, who is being red-shirted at Slippery Rock University.

Junior Logan Woods has played very well in taking over for such a standout. The former has passed for 1,189 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.

“Logan has handled it perfectly,” said Hickory coach Bill Dungee. “We told him that he's not filling the role of Michael Henwood, he's filling the role of a quarterback.

“They're two different players, two different styles of play. Logan has done great so far.”

The Hornets' offense will have its hands full with a Rocket defense that has allowed just five touchdowns in four games.

Linebacker Lucas Allison leads Slippery Rock with 38 tackles, including five for a loss. Four of Pilosi's nine stops behind the line of scrimmage have come via quarterback sack.

Montgomery, a free safety, has three of the team's five interceptions.

But Hickory won't feel any less pressure on the other side of the ball.

The loss of running back Shane Thompson, who suffered a season-ending injury against Grove City Sept. 17, has been a bitter pill for the Rockets to swallow. But Wendereusz believes the depth his team has at running back will help keep the offense rolling.

“Ryan Montgomery and Brett Galcik will both get more snaps in the backfield,” he said. “We were trying to limit their carries with both of them playing on defense, but now they are the guys.”

Galcik rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries last week. He has 354 yards on the ground this season while Montgomery has 116.

Slippery Rock's offensive line includes center Braiden Reich, guards Jacob Humes and Isaac Bell and tackles Brody Galcik and Pilosi.

“There have been some mistakes on the line,” Wendereusz said. “Some of them are our fault as coaches and others have been missed assignments. That's football, but we just have to limit those mistakes.

“Hickory is very aggressive on defense,” he added. “They bring a lot of bodies with their blitzes, so we have to know what we're doing and when we're doing it against that.”

Dungee said leaders on his defense are lineman Joey Fazzone (four sacks), linebacker Jackson Pryts (45 tackles) and free safety Ramarion Whitehead (four interceptions).

Pryts and Whitehead are 3-year starters.

“Slippery Rock has big-play capability and they're playing with confidence,” Dungee said. “Nobody they've played has been able to stay close with them.”

Hickory defeated Slippery Rock three times last year, 45-0 and 28-7 in the regular season and 51-0 in the playoffs.