GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team closed its regular season home schedule Saturday afternoon by picking up a 30-20 Senior Day win over Case Western Reserve in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at Robert E. Thorn Field.
The Grove City defense limited Case Western Reserve to 21 rushing yards on 18 attempts while the Wolverines' ground attack amassed 201 rushing yards. Senior running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries while junior running back Ian Demeri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) added 60 yards and a score on 12 attempts.
Demeri's 32-yard touchdown run with 10:06 left in the first quarter capped the Wolverines' first drive of the game, a 7-play, 62-yard march that used 3:53 of clock.
Sophomore kicker Daniel Sullivan (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) pushed the lead to 9-0 with 3:36 left in the first period when he drilled a 38-yard field goal.
Flati's 15-yard touchdown run with 1:55 remaining in the half gave Grove City a 16-0 halftime lead.
Following a shanked punt that gave Grove City possession at the Case Western Reserve 20, senior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) fired an eight-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Heckathorn (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) with 7:03 left in the third quarter.
Case Western Reserve whittled Grove City's lead to 23-13 as quarterback Aaron Filips threw touchdown passes to Noah Coyne and Dylan Cave.
However, Grove City sewed up the win with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that used 7:24. Flati scored on a four-yard run with 2:37 left in the game, giving Grove City a 30-13 lead.
Grove City converted a pair of third downs on the clinching drive and finished 9 of 16 on third downs. Case Western Reserve went 2 for 13 on third down. The Spartans entered the game having converted 48 percent of their third-down chances this year.
Grove City also accumulated a 36:19-23:41 edge in time of possession.
Pfeuffer completed 13 of 25 passes for 154 yards. Heckathorn caught four passes for 34 yards. Senior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch) caught four balls for 70 yards. Sullivan added three receptions for 27 yards.
Senior safety Jason Muench (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) intercepted a pass for the Wolverines while senior defensive end Bryce Spolnik (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and junior linebacker Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) both had quarterback sacks.
Spolnik also had three tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Jack Jollie (Jeannette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) posted seven tackles while Spolnik had six total stops.
Senior punter Dan Berube (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbrier Christian) averaged 49.2 yards per punt on five kicks Saturday. He boomed three punts of 50 or more yards, including a career-best 63-yarder. Three of his punts landed inside the CWRU 20.
Filips completed 11 of 13 passes for 178 yards in relief of starter Alex Fromberg. Fromberg threw for 126 yards on 11-of-23 accuracy. Grove City outgained the Spartans, 355-325. Grove City had 17 first downs while Case Western Reserve had a dozen first downs.
Grove City remains alive to earn at least a share of the conference title. The Wolverines will secure no less than a conference co-championship next Saturday with a win at rival Westminster. Kickoff at Memorial Field in New Wilmington will be 1 p.m.
No. 13 Grove City Wins On Senior Day
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241109_3bjh.xml
2024
Case Western Reserve
20
Grove City
30
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case Western Reserve (6-3) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
| No. 12 Grove City (8-1) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
Nov 09, 2024