SLIPPERY ROCK — Teacher vs. student? Hardly.

When Slippery Rock University ventures to Clarion for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Memorial Stadium, it will be friend vs. friend.

SRU coach George Mihalik will be facing Jay Foster, his defensive coordinator for 18 seasons. Foster left The Rock during the off-season to accept the head coaching post at Clarion.

"This game will be exciting, but it will be hard at the same time,"Mihalik said. "It's tough competing against somebody you really care about."

Foster's defensive coordinator at Clarion is Dwayne Martin, who served as linebackers coach at SRUfrom 2002-05. Clarion strength and conditioning coach Jesse Kelly was a linebacker and defensive end for The Rock from 2002-04.

"They're like family to me,"Foster said of the SRUcoaching staff. "I've known those folks for years. Both sides would be lying if we said this is just another football game. There's an extra edge to it.

"Taking a young team up against that program is a challenge. I know George, Vic (offensive coordinator Campagna) and the guys will have some surprises in store for us. We do have an advantage in that I know them a lot more than they know us."

The advantages might end right there, however:

n Clarion is 0-4 on the year, losing 21-13 to Tiffin (Ohio), 27-10 to Kutztown, 49-21 to West Chester and 24-10 to Bloomsburg. The Rock has won three straight games, 27-22 at Millersville, 46-0 over Mansfield and 34-10 at Kutztown.

• The Rock has won eight of its past nine games against Clarion, the exception being a 19-17 loss in 2003.

• Nate Crookshank is a third-year starter at quarterback for The Rock and has thrown for 955 yards and nine touchdowns. Knoch graduate Mark Rupert is a freshman quarterback for the Golden Eagles and has thrown for 590 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

• SRU is ranked No. 1 in scoring offense in the PSAC, averaging 32 points and 404.8 yards per game. The Clarion defense ranks 12th in the PSAC, yielding 376.5 yards per game.

"Mark's done well for us, but he's a freshman quarterback,"Foster said. "You're going to have growing pains when you have someone that young playing that position."

Clarion's offense is averaging only 13.5 points per game, but the Golden Eagles have been within a touchdown or had the lead at halftime in all four of their games thus far.

"They are a young team and they're getting better,"Mihalik said. "They led (No. 10) Bloomsburg at halftime last week. Coach Foster is working on them putting an entire game together. That's their next step."

Foster said his team could be 2-2 if its schedule was reversed.

"Had we opened with West Chester and Bloomsburg, then played Tiffin and Kutztown, it may have worked out that way,"Foster said. "Now we have to play Slippery Rock.

"We're not complaining. We know we're improving."

Eddie Emanuel leads Clarion's running game with 329 yards. Pierre Odom is Rupert's prime receiver and has 17 catches for 361 yards.

Zach Gourley leads the Golden Eagles defense with 35 tackles and Jimmy Simmons has eight tackles for loss. Clarion's defense has recorded four quarterback sacks and four interceptions on the year.

SRU's Crookshank has been throwing consistently to Collin Golden (19 catches for 166 yards), Luke Wetzel (18-360) and Paul Favers (13-260). Wetzel and Favers average 20 yards per catch.

Travis Sarver has 239 yards rushing while A.J. Saunders has 201 yards and five TDs and Demarcus Cleckley 166 yards.

"We'll be using all three of those guys. We may just rotate them all,"Mihalik said.

Defensively, Anthony Walls has three interceptions, Seth Randall 16 solo tackles, Cory Lacek 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

"All of those kids have grown up,"Foster said of The Rock. "Everything starts up front and they're strong there, too. We'll have our hands full."