SLIPPERY ROCK — The Slippery Rock High football team doesn't care much about getting a rematch with Wilmington.

What really has the Rockets jazzed is getting a chance to play for a title.

"It's not so much getting another shot at Wilmington," said Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti. "It's playing for a championship that has me really excited. You don't get this shot in football very often."

That shot will come at 7 p.m.Saturday when Slippery Rock will play the Greyhounds for the District 10 Class AA title at Slippery Rock University.

The last time the two teams played, the Rockets were overmatched in a 42-6 defeat.

Wilmington led 28-6 at halftime, rolled up 233 rushing yards and held Slippery Rock to 99 total yards.

But things have changed for both teams since that late October clash.

Wilmington lost the next week to Karns City, stunning the Greyhounds.

Meanwhile, Slippery Rock has dominated the line of scrimmage in its playoff wins against NorthEast and Sharon.

Even Greyhounds coach Terry Verrelli expects things to be different this time around.

"They didn't do well the first time, so they are going to want to change some things up," Verrelli said. "I think the advantage always goes to the team that got beat because they are going to change some things and you are thinking, 'Hey, we did OK last time. Why change anything.'"

Conti is the master of whipping up new and creative ways to attack a team. This time, though, the Rockets may stick with what got them to the district title game.

Slippery Rock has won with dominating play up front and a trio of runners churning out yardage and time-consuming drives.

The Rockets had a 17-play, nearly eight-minute drive against NorthEast. Against Sharon, they got some big plays, but also rolled up eight first downs in the first quarter alone to set the tone.

"People talk about balance in the game of football between run and pass," Conti said. "I like balance with my backs."

Conti has found it with his quarterback Jono Powell, and wingback-fullbacks JustinAngerett and Isaac Osborne.

Angerett rushed for more than 100 yards againstNorthEast. Osborne, on the strength of touchdown runs of 40 and 80 yards against the Tigers, amassed 190 yards last week.

Powell has been steady all season, gaining more than 1,100 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground; Osborne has 844 yards and 10 TDs.

"Too much was centered around our quarterback," Conti said. "We've gotten more balance in the running game."

Wilmington's win over Slippery Rock inOctober was its eighth mercy rule victory in nine games. The next week, the Greyhounds fell to Karns City.

That loss has been a blessing for Wilmington, which has won its two playoff games over Girard and General McLane by a combined score of 76-7.

"Not many of our starters had even played at the beginning of the second half in many of our games (before Karns City)," Verrelli said. "It's not so much conditioning, but mental awareness of being in a tough game and what springs forth from it like who keeps you together when things are falling apart.

"As well as Karns City played, we still could have prevailed — if we would have shown more mental toughness," Verrelli added.

The coach said that is no longer a problem.

"Our goal never was to go undefeated," Verrelli said. "Our goals were to win the league, win District 10 and see how far we can go (in the state playoffs). We realized losing was not a big deal. I think it helped us."

Slippery Rock would like nothing better than to give Wilmington its second loss — and win a district title in the process.

"We're going to be the underdog in everyone's book and we certainly should be," Conti said. "We're just a group of young kids who like to play together and have great team chemistry."