GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team forced three turnovers, scored a defensive touchdown, recorded three sacks and held No. 10 Carnegie Mellon (5-1, 5-1 PAC) to minus-9 net rushing yards Saturday afternoon as the Wolverines earned a 17-10 Homecoming win at Robert E. Thorn Field. The win moves No. 7 Grove City (5-0, 5-0) a half game ahead of CMU, Washington & Jefferson (5-1) and Case Western Reserve (4-0) in the conference standings.
Grove City led 10-3 midway through the third quarter when senior punter Dan Berube (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbrier Christian) pinnced CMU at the 3 with a career-long 59-yard punt. On the next play, junior linebacker Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) stripped CMU running back Willem Bouma in the end zone and junior safety Ryan Montgomery (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) recovered the loose ball for a touchdown. It is Grove City's fourth defensive touchdown in the last three weeks.
Carnegie Mellon cut Grove City's lead to 17-10 with 1:15 left in the third quarter when Ben Mills completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Reece Kolke.
Following a Grove City turnover, CMU gained possession at the Grove City 27. But Grove City junior cornerback Boden Davidson (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale) intercepted Mills at the goal line to end the threat. Davidson also intercepted Mills at the Grove City 4 earlier in the quarter, preserving Grove City's 10-3 lead.
Carnegie Mellon drove to the Grove City 16 in the fourth quarter. On third down, Bladel sacked Mills for an 11-yard loss with four minutes left. CMU then missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, keeping the Wolverines ahead 17-10.
The Wolverines took a 7-3 lead with 3:34 left in the first half as senior wide receiver Ryan Heckathorn (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) caught a four-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township).
Junior kicker Daniel Sullivan (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) pushed the lead to 10-3 with 21 seconds left in the half by drilling a 25-yard field goal.
Pfeuffer completed 11 of 28 passes for 146 yards. Senior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch) caught five passes for 67 yards while Sullivan and Heckathorn both had two catches. Senior running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) led Grove City with 77 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Senior defensive end Bryce Spolnik (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) recorded 1.5 sacks while junior linebacker Jack Jollie (Jeannette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) had a half sack. Senior safety Shay Aitken (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) had two tackles for loss. Bladel led the Wolverines with three tackles for loss.
Mills finished 29 of 46 for 282 yards. CMU outgained Grove City, 237-232. CMU went 7 for 14 on third down while Grove City converted 7 of 18 third-down opportunities.
It is Grove City's 16th straight regular season victory. That breaks the previous record of 15 consecutive regular season wins, set from 1925 to 1927. Each of the last four Grove City-CMU games has been decided by seven points.
Grove City will visit W&J next Saturday at 6 p.m. in conference play.
Grove City Outlasts CMU In Clash of Undefeateds
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241012_0rer.xml
2024
Carnegie Mellon
10
Grove City
17
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Carnegie Mellon (5-1) | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 12 Grove City (5-0) | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Oct 12, 2024