Published Tuesday, Aug. 26, 1997
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1997 season preview
Slippery Rock hopes to return to playoffs
Like several other coaches throughout Mercer County, Slippery Rock's Mike Kish was battling a numbers problem midway through the second week of camp.
Kish had 37 players come out for a team that went 5-4 last year during the regular season before dropping a hard-fought 36-19 contest to eventual District 10 Class AAA title-winner Greenville in the first round of the playoffs.
It doesn't help that Kish, with an overall record of 11-18 entering his fourth year, lost nine starters to graduation.
``We lost a real nice senior group,'' said Kish, who returns 11 letterwinners. ``We have six or seven guys who are pretty solid, and we're still looking for people to fill those other spots around them and bring this together.''
No loss was as important as 3-year starting quarterback Tad Campagna. He finished second in the Herald's coverage-area in passing, completing 37 of 84 attempts for 785 yards with 10 TDs and 6 interceptions, despite missing two games.
Kish said there is a 3-way battle to replace Campagna, and 5-10, 150-pound sophomore Greg Grupp has ``played his way to the front of the pack'' and past a couple of upperclassmen to be the likely candidate to take the opening snap Friday at Mohawk.
``Grupp is a sophomore, but he's probably been the brightest of the three quarterbacks right now,'' Kish said. ``We're probably looking at him to be our starter.''
Others vying for the position are 5-8, 160-pound senior Matt Lucco and 5-10, 130-pound junior Josh Reinert.
``It's very difficult,'' Kish said of going through camp with three possible starters. ``You can't get the reps and timing with one of them. You're trading off and making sure everybody is getting equal time. It just takes away from the whole unit.''
Kish is also looking for somebody to step up and replace Campagna's favorite target on the outside _ Larry Raisley, who led the team with 16 receptions for 321 yards, was the team's top rusher and scored 48 points.
``He was a big gun for us, coming back and running in the backfield,'' Kish said. ``He was a nice ball-catcher, as far as getting out and catching the ball downfield. Then the speed _ you can't replace that speed. We don't have that speed element with any of the guys.''
One player who has picked up his play during the preseason and may step into Raisley's shoes is senior Doug Rieger (5-5, 165).
``I was looking at him to be our split end, but he's turned out to be a nice running back,'' Kish said. ``He's got decent speed and comes out of the backfield hard and he's got a pretty good set of hands.''
Whoever the starting quarterback turns out to be will have the consolation of having 5-11, 220-pound fullback Adam Kniess in the backfield. Kniess is, arguably, the Rockets' top returnee _ on both sides of the ball.
A 2-year letterman, he led the team with 165 tackles and three quarterback sacks last season from his middle linebacker position and was the Rockets' second-leading rusher behind Raisley with 515 yards. Kniess earned first-team All-Mercer County Athletic Conference honors at linebacker and garnered a spot on the inaugural Heralded 22 team.
The quarterback will also have the luxury of a veteran offensive line anchored by three seniors: guard Chris Pry (6-0, 205), center Mark Massella (5-10, 200) and tackle Burton Sarver (6-1, 230).
Three returning linebackers will anchor an inexperienced defense. They are: Kniess, Pry and Doug Bowser, a 5-9, 185-pound outside linebacker who was second on the team in tackles and was an All-MCAC honorable mention. Bowser will also be a top running back, rushing 63 times for 258 yards in '96 and scoring 26 points.
``We have a nucleus to start with,'' Kish said. ``It's just a matter of whether we can develop these young players to fill the holes that were left by seniors.''
One weakness on defense will be the secondary which lost each starter to graduation, and the defensive line boasts players who have played there but didn't start.
Last year Slippery Rock made it to the postseason but didn't know it did so until the last week of the regular season. With the Rockets and Grove City being the only two Class AAA teams in the MCAC, it was believed whomever won that game got the automatic playoff berth.
That, however, was not the case. The Eagles toppled Slippery Rock, 13-6, but since the Rockets had a better overall record _ including games against Class AA teams _ they earned the berth.
This year the method for selection is clear, and Kish said there will be no confusion.
``That's one of the focal points that we came back into the season with,'' Kish said. ```We went a long way last year, we were pretty successful in that playoff game. `Let's build from there.' Every game we take it for what it is. We're out to win every game that we can.''
Assisting Kish are Barry Murray, Bud Sarver, Barry Skodak, D.J. Petrelli, Brenden Smith and Greg Walzer.
