SLIPPERY ROCK — They are the names that led the SlipperyRock High football team to two District 10 championships and to within a whisker of a PIAA title game just three short seasons ago.

And now they are all gone.

Rich Lee. Gone. Dan Sommers. Gone. Travis Sarver. Gone. Mike McCaffrey. Gone. And most recently Ben Collins, David Bauer and Mike Regal.

Gone.

"We have all new guys," said Rockets coach Clyde Conti, who came to SlipperyRock when most of those players were still fresh-faced and doe-eyed.

The past is something Conti doesn't like to dwell on. He prefers to live in the present. But even he can't help but reminisce.

"I don't forget anything," Conti said. "I don't forget those guys. You don't live in the past, but I tell these guys that this is not the most important part of their life. The next three months, I just want it to be something good for them.

"For it to be good, you don't have to be 10-0 or win a title. It's the willingness to prepare, it's the drive. It's the journey, he added."

The Rockets' journey will take them to places they haven't visited in a very long time, such as Erie twice, Oil City and Meadville.

SlipperyRock's enrollment barely bumped it from Class AA to Class AAA, ending some longtime rivalries with Wilmington, Greenville, Hickory and Sharon.

TheRockets still will play rival Grove City in Week 1.

The roster is new and so is the schedule.

"I'm going to miss that," Conti said. "I thought we had good relationships with everyone. It would have been nice to sustain that.

"I think it was important with the one opening we had to get Grove City. It's a natural team to play for both school and it has nothing to do with who's good and not good. Both teams respect each other. It's a good, clean rivalry."

What will happen when SlipperyRock lines up against the Eagles Sept. 1 is anyone's guess.

Last year, the Rockets started 0-4, but rebounded to win four straight games. The defense spearheaded that charge.

But the defense may be one of the biggest question marks this season, particularly on the line.

"There's a lot to replace," Conti said. "I'm concerned with stopping the run and the pass. (Last year) we got after people. We don't have speed — I know that. You have to play solid to overcome that, and we're going to run into teams that are very talented."

Dan Dillman excelled at defensive tackle last season before injuries derailed him. He is the only player with experience returning to the front four.

"Dan is a good athlete and very strong," Conti said. "He should anchor that O- and D-line. But every year is a new year."

David Hewitt and Regal, who started 43 games on the offensive line and nearly that many on the D-line, both graduated.

But the Rockets have all three starting linebackers back from a season ago, Vince Papley, Jesse Kniess and Ryan Ferguson, and the secondary is solid, despite the loss of leading tackler Bauer, who is joining Regal at Westminster College this fall.

On offense, Conti will break in his first quarterback since late in the 2002 season when Collins took over the job from injured Mike DeCola.

Collins started 36 straight games under center.

His replacement will be sophomore Jonathan Powell, who Conti regards highly.

"Hopefully, he'll do well and have a lock on the position for three years," Conti said. "I trust Jon-O. He was here at every session we had this summer. He knows he doesn't have to be perfect."

Other than Powell, there is only one other quarterback on the roster.

There is no such problem at running back, where the Rockets return a deep corps of players in Kniess, Ferguson and J.R. Thompson.

Each gained more than 200 yards last season. Thompson also caught seven passes for 172 yards and two scores.

Papley returns at tight end and Conti has a strong, albeit thin, group on the offensive line to anchor his Wing-T attack.

"That doesn't mean you can't be good," Conti said. "You try to coach up the people you have. We're going to need to have a good line with the system we run."