NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team captured a share of the Presidents' Athletic Conference title Saturday afternoon by rolling to a 36-9 road win over Westminster at Memorial Field. The victory gives Grove City (9-1, 9-1) its second straight conference title. Washington & Jefferson and Carnegie Mellon also went 9-1 in conference play to claim a piece of the league crown.
The Grove City rushing attack amassed 224 rushing yards, led by a career-high 163 yards from junior running back Ian Demeri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford). Demeri ran for three touchdowns and also added an 88-yard run in the third quarter to set up a touchdown.
The Wolverines went 10 of 15 on third down and held possession for 38:32.
Meanwhile, the Grove City defense held Westminster (7-3, 7-3) to three field goals, 41 rushing yards and a 4-for-12 performance on third down. Senior safety Shay Aitken (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and junior linebacker Caleb Brubaker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) both intercepted passes. Saturday's game marked the first time that Westminster committed multiple turnovers in one game this season.
Demeri gave Grove City a 7-0 lead with 6:12 to go in the first quarter as his one-yard run capped a game-opening 15-play, 72-yard drive. Demeri then pushed the lead to 13-0 with 11:28 left in the second quarter as he scored from the 4. That 12-play, 67-yard drive used 7:10.
Westminster cut the lead to 13-3 with 5:47 remaining in the half when Andrew Caranna kicked a 35-yard field goal, the first of his three successful kicks. Grove City quickly countered, however, as senior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) fired a 65-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Heckathorn (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk).
Demeri's 88-yard sprint to the Westminster 2 set up Pfeuffer's one-yard plunge into the end zone with 7:36 left in the third quarter. Pfeuffer's sneak pushed Grove City's lead to 26-6.
Sophomore kicker Daniel Sullivan (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) kicked a 26-yard field goal with 9:54 remaining in the game. Demeri's nine-yard touchdown sprint with 2:07 left closed the scoring. Brubaker's interception set up Grove City's final touchdown drive.
Pfeuffer completed 10 of 14 passes for 166 yards. Senior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch) caught six passes for 79 yards. He now has 1,076 receiving yards this season, giving him his third straight 1,000-yard season.
Senior running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) added 52 yards on 13 carries. He also surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau for the season. Flati has 1,042 yards this year, which is his second straight 1,000-yard campaign.
Aitken, sophomore cornerback Dominic DiNinno (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) and freshman cornerback Noah Wheeler (McKinney, Texas/McKinney) all had seven tackles. Junior linebacker Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) recorded 2.5 tackles for loss.
Grove City outgained Westminster, 390-229. Westminster quarterback Ty McGowan completed 17 of 34 passes for 166 yards.
The 27-point margin of victory is Grove City's largest at Westminster since a 45-0 win October 13, 1923 in New Wilmington. Demeri's 88-yard run ties the school record, first set by Phil Yancheff in 1976 against W&J.
W&J earns the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs via a three-team tiebreaker. Grove City will await a potential at-large invitation to the 40-team playoff field. The playoff field and pairings will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m.
Back to Back Titles For No. 12 Grove City
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241116_4dwp.xml
2024
Grove City
36
Westminster (Pa.)
9
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 12 Grove City (9-1) | 7 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 36 |
| Westminster (Pa.) (7-3) | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
Nov 16, 2024