SLIPPERY ROCK — Joe Lamenza wasn't going to leave his post as an assistant football coach at Beaver High for just any job.

Slippery Rock wasn't just any job.

"I was in a pretty good spot at Beaver," said Lamenza, who served under head football coach Jeff Beltz for the past two seasons. "It's bittersweet. I didn't want to leave Beaver, but it was the kind of opportunity I couldn't pass up."

Lamenza, 31, was hired Monday as the ninth head football coach in Slippery Rock High history. He replaces Clyde Conti, who resigned following a 2008 season in which the Rockets reached the District 10 Class AA championship game, losing to eventual state champion Wilmington in overtime.

In seven seasons with the Rockets, Conti compiled a 45-33 record and won two District 10 titles.

Slippery Rock athletic director Dan Szolek said the school received more than 20 applications for the position.

Szolek said it didn't take long for Lamenza to emerge as one of the top candidates.

"His football IQ is extremely high," Szolek said. "He's coached at a lot of different levels and on both sides of the ball. And he has a great personality. He's a good fit for us."

It's a good fit for Lamenza, too.

He got his coaching start at Slippery Rock University in 1999 when his playing career fizzled.

A walk-on, Lamenza quickly discovered his future in the sport was on the sideline.

SRU head football coach George Mihalik liked Lamenza enough to keep him on as a graduate assistant.

Lamenza's first job was compiling scouting reports.

"I learned from the bottom up," Lamenza said.

After graduating from SRU in 2002, he worked as an assistant coach atRobert Morris University under former NFL coaches Joe Walton and Dan Radakovich.

"It was an unbelievable experience," Lamenza said. "It was a great learning experience. I was really lucky to get that kind of start."

Lamenza spent one year as the head coach at West Mifflin High in 2006. He left that job to work on Beltz's staff at Beaver.

In a relatively short career, Lamenza has coached extensively on both offense and defense.

"Working on defense has made me a better offensive coach," Lamenza said.

Lamenza, an English teacher atEllwood City, said he hasn't met with his returning players yet.

In fact, he was surprised his hiring came so soon. He didn't expect to get voted in as coach by the school board for several weeks.

"Dan called me (Monday) night and told me they approved me as coach," Lamenza said. "I was thrilled."

Lamenza said his coaching philosophy will be dictated by the strength of the players on the roster.

He ran the option at West Mifflin. At Beaver, the offense morphed into a power running attack, led by WPIAL-leading rusher Jake Nardone.

"The logistics of the system will stay the same from year to year," Lamenza said. "But my offense has enough in it that you can pick and choose what to do based on the strengths and weakness of the team."

Slippery Rock is coming off back-to-back playoff berths — only the second time the team has advanced to the postseason in consecutive seasons since the program began in 1966.

Lamenza's first challenge will be to find a replacement for Jono Powell, who became the first quarterback to win the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy last season.

Also lost to graduation were SRU-bound lineman Tony Papley, leading receiver Derrick Orloski, big-play back Isaac Osborne and all-state kicker Mike Ramirez.

No matter what the challenge, Lamenza is happy to be back where his coaching career took root.

"I was driving down Main Street (Tuesday) and the memories came flooding back," Lamenza said. "I got very nostalgic."