GREENVILLE — Conventional wisdom explains that a football team should keep the ball on the ground when playing conditions are less than ideal.

The Grove City High School football team never received the memo.

Primarily known for its ability to run the ball, Grove City used a balanced and relentless offensive attack to pound out a 38-8 road victory over Greenville on a windy and rainy Friday night.

Grove City doesn't know for sure if it is in the District 10 Class AA playoffs, but it is about as sure a bet as you can get. It would be a shock if it is not part of the eight-team field with a 6-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark inthe region.

The Eagles' only region loss came against undefeated and state-ranked Wilmington.

Against Greenville, Grove City coach Jeff Bell said he wanted to throw the Trojans defense off guard by passing the ball early in the game.

"We like to throw in these kinds of conditions," Bell said. "We made a couple plays. You're in trouble if you're one dimensional."

In the midst of heavy rain and strong winds, the Eagles marched through the Greenville defense, registering touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first quarter. Quarterback Justin Haugh was 7-of-9 passing for 93 yards, including a 24-yard pass to running back Chris Clark to set up the Eagles' first touchdown of the game on Clark's 9-yard run.

Clark also scored on a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and finished the game with 76 yards on 12 carries.

His final nine yards of the game were his most memorable. With 2:47 remaining in the third quarter, Clark's nine-yard run put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.

"I've always gone out and put a lot of it on the line," Clarke said. "Some games I do pretty well, some games it's somebody else. It just kind of works out for all of us."

Bell said his running back has worked extremely hard all season and has earned the honor.

"He's had a great season for us and he's a really good kid," Bell said.

Clark wasn't the only Grove City runner to have success Friday night. Running back Dwayne Martin rushed for three touchdowns, two of which came in the first quarter. Martin also caught two passes for 30 yards.

Grove City's defense didn't take a back seat, either. The unit held Greenville to one completion and pressured quarterback Josh Chisholm into multiple miscues, including an interception snagged by junior Justin Burk.

Greenville gained only 63 rushing yards, and most of those yards came late.

The mercy rule was implemented at the 8:10 mark of the fourth quarter.

"Our kids are pretty quick," Bell said of his defense. "When you're not the biggest guy, you better have good technique. Our coaches also did a great job scheme-wise."

Bell said he thinks the team will be ready for the playoffs in two weeks. Grove City will not play a 10th game.

"We're just glad to be back in them this year," Bell said. "At that point, anybody can beat anybody. If we're practicing on Thanksgiving, then that means we had a good season."