GROVE CITY — A kicker may have saved the season for the Grove City High School football team.

It's strange to say given the 43-19 final score in the Eagles' District 10 Class 5-A first-round playoff game against Central Tech last week.

But Aiden Reed's heads-up maneuver on a kickoff following a touchdown by Trey Adams changed the complexion of the game.

Grove City was trying to keep the ball away from Central Tech star Keyshaan Husband at all costs, but Husband and the Falcons' other deep returner switched positions as Reed was approaching the football for the kickoff.

Reed alertly noticed the switch and kicked the ball away from Husband and pinned Central Tech back at its own 2.

Grove City rolled after that to set up its matchup with Fort LeBoeuf at 2 p.m. Saturday at Meadville in the semifinals.

“I would have bet 100 bucks he was going to kick it to (Husband),” said Grove City coach Sam Mowrey. “But he saw it and kicked it opposite and neither returner grabbed the ball. It rolls to the 2 and we make a big play. That fired up our defense.”

Grove City trailed 13-7 in that game, but rolled off 36 straight points to put the Falcons away.

The Eagles (9-1) may have a more difficult time putting Fort LeBoeuf (8-2) away.

The Bison pounded Franklin 43-0 last week. That win was very significant since Fort LeBoeuf had not won a playoff game since 1990.

Senior running back Jared Kula rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns for the Bison in that win.

He presents a different kind of challenge for Grove City, which has faced shifty, speedy backs the last two weeks in Meadville's Journey Brown and Central Tech's Husband.

Kula is a bruised, a physical 5-foot-10, 180-pound runner who churns up the yardage.

“He's Fort LeBoeuf's identity,” Mowrey said. “They are a tough, physical team and are well disciplined. They don't do anything fancy. They come at you running the ball and they are efficient in the passing game with play-action. They can hurt teams.”

So can Grove City, led by senior quarterback Kameron Patterson, who broke the single-season school passing record last week.

Patterson has completed 74.7 percent of his passes for 2,333 yards and 28 touchdowns this season.

A.J. Turner has 36 receptions for 857 yards and 13 touchdowns and Logan Lutz also has caught 36 passes for 644 yards and seven scores.

“It's just exciting being out on the field and practicing at this time of year,” Mowrey said. “A lot of teams right now don't have that.”