SLIPPERY ROCK - What a difference a week makes.

One week after sputtering to the finish line in a disappointing loss to Class AA Region 3 District 10 football leader Greenville, Slippery Rock High (3-3, 2-3) roared to the checkered flag and recorded a 28-6 win over visiting regional rival Mercer (1-5, 1-4) in a homecoming contest.

The man on the throttle Friday night was senior fullback Trevor Gallo, who picked up 159 of his game-high 187 yards in the final two periods and scored a pair of touchdowns.

Gallo had only six carries in the first half but toted the pigskin 21 times in the final two stanzas.

"In the first half, I was getting stopped early," Gallo said. "The second half, I got more speed going and was able to hit the hole harder.

"Our offensive line did an excellent job blocking for me the second half. This was the best offensive game we've played this year."

The Rockets' Sean Ray added 96 yards on 21 carries and scored one TD, while junior quarterback Ben Collins rushed for one TD and passed for 72 yards.

Behind that three-pronged attack, the Rockets outrushed the visitors by a 307-59 margin en route to a 379-103 total yardage advantage.

Rockets head coach Clyde Conti and his staff lit a fire under the hosts at halftime - when the Rockets trailed, 6-0 - but the third-year boss didn't credit his motivational speech for the improved effort.

"I thought our coaches in the press box, Glenn Hazlett and Sean Strickland, did an excellent job making adjustments at halftime," Conti said. "They deserve the credit."

The Rockets also changed their approach, Mercer head coach Gary Krenzer pointed out.

"They came out and ran the plays we had scouted and expected them to the first half," he said. "But then Coach Conti started calling trap plays and we had trouble tackling Gallo, who is a heckuva running back."

The Rockets had 109 rushing yards in the first half, but no points to show for it.

After starting at its own 5-yard line, Slippery Rock marched 72 yards in 16 plays and ate up more than seven minutes time on its first drive of the game, only to stall at the Mercer 23.

Two possessions later, the Rockets had a short field to travel when Ray returned a punt 24 yards to the Mercer 46. Six plays later, the drive stalled at the Mustangs' 25.

"We moved the ball in the first half; we just didn't finish," Conti said. "The second half, we finished our drives. That was the difference."

A decisive difference.

Mercer marched 75 yards in 13 plays to score its only touchdown in the final minute of the first half.

The Rockets responded with scoring drives of 67, 81, 49 and 43 yards on their first four possessions in the second half.

Gallo carried the ball seven times for 35 yards on the first drive, seven times for 79 yards on the second drive and three times for 44 yards on the fourth drive.

He capped the second drive with a 3-yard TD run and closed out the fourth drive with a 4-yard run.

"We came out lackadaisical at the start of the game," Gallo said. "But then we went into halftime, Coach Conti gave us a pep talk and we came out ready to play in the second half."

The spotlight didn't shine solely on the Rockets offensive unit, though. Mike Regal blocked a Mercer punt to set up the Rockets' third TD drive and David Bauer picked off a pair of Mustang pass attempts in the final quarter to thwart any comeback effort.

The defense also forced Mercer to put the ball on the turf six times and recovered one of the Mustangs' bobbles.

"I am very happy for our kids, that they were able to get a win in their homecoming game," Conti said. "And I am happy for another reason. Our daughter is about to have her first child, our first grandchild, so this is a nice gift for her, too."

Any way you wrap it up, celebrating a win is preferable to agonizing over a loss.

"Last week's loss hurt," Conti said. "It hurt all of us. But you have to move on, and that's what we did tonight."