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Grove City pulls out thrilling win over Slippery Rock

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News

| September 24, 2022

Grove City – 49 seconds isn’t a lot of time, but it was enough for the Grove City Eagles.

Nathan Greer’s 13-yard touchdown reception from Hunter Hohman and Hohman’s subsequent two-point conversion rush with 18 seconds left lifted Grove City to a thrilling 22-21 win victory over rival Slippery Rock.

 

“We told our boys before the game to enjoy moments like this, and what a football game it was,” said Grove City head coach Sam Mowrey. “This was the type of game we expected. Both teams had an answer for each, and it was back and forth. We always try to use football as a vehicle for life lessons, and the lesson here is that you’re never out of the fight. The boys kept fighting on the big stage tonight. I’m so proud of their poise and composure tonight.”

Slippery Rock took a 21-14 lead on John Sabo’s 22-yard touchdown reception from William Mokel with 49 seconds to play, capping an 11-play 79-yard drive.

“It was a good football game. You’re never happy when you lose to your arch-rival, especially when you’re up a touchdown with 49 seconds to go,” said Slippery Rock head coach Larry Wendereusz. “You can’t have the missed assignment where they get the long pass and run. You can’t give them the extra 15 yards on the penalty, and you can’t give them a kick return to the 40-yard line. We created some of that momentum for them. You’re in a great high school football game. In ten years, we’ll look back and say what a great football game this was.”

The touchdown was initially ruled incomplete before an officials conference overturned the play.

Following the kickoff, Hohman rushed to midfield with a late hit penalty on the Rockets, putting Grove City at the Rockets’ 35-yard line.

On the next play, Hohman correlated with Nate Boyd for a 22-yard gain to the 13-yard line before Hohman threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Greer.

“We had good pass protection and had time to get the ball down the field,” Mowrey said. “Hunter made a great play with his legs to get the drive going. Then two plays later, we got the ball in scoring position. We got a good matchup and found the opening for the touchdown.”

Grove City lined up in the swinging-gate formation as Hohman ran in the game-winning conversion.

“That’s a situation where our special teams’ coaches do a great job practicing those plays,” said Mowrey. “You never know if you’ll need it, but we needed it tonight, and it paid off. We felt like we already had a big drive to get to that point, and we said let’s finish the game one way or another.”

Nathan Greer led all receivers with a game-high 76 yards on six receptions and a touchdown while adding an interception on defense.

Grove City took the early lead after a dropped punt by Rockets at their 23-yard line.

Hohman scored on a 9-yard run and finished the night with 67 yards rushing while going 9-for-17 for 126 with three total touchdowns and two interceptions.

Sam Schwart had both interceptions for Slippery Rock while adding five catches for 48 yards.

“Our goal is always to make the other team one-dimensional,” said Wendereusz. “They could move the ball on us in the first half a little bit. In the second half, our front four and linebackers could play well. We did a good job stopping the run and made them one-dimensional, and that’s why Schwart got the two interceptions.”

The Rockets tied the game midway through the second quarter when Mokel scored from a yard out.

Grove City answered right back, going 61 yards in nine plays as Hohman again muscled his way through the Rockets for a 12-yard touchdown run.

Slippery Rock again tied the score when Mokel scored on a 10-yard run with 5:42 to play in the third quarter.

 

“Offensively, I thought we did a good job tonight,” Wendereusz said. “We moved the ball up and down the field, but we kept putting ourselves in a bad spot with a penalty, and then you get behind the chains. People forget how good Mokel can run the ball. Everyone knows how well he can throw the ball. He’s done a great job keeping his eyes downfield and then realizing I can run a little bit. He’s talented and still maturing, he’s getting better every week, and that’s what you want.”

Mokel had another big game for Slippery Rock, throwing for 173 yards on 18-of-33 passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

John Sabo led the Rockets with 63 yards on six receptions.

Slippery Rock dropped its second straight game since starting 3-0. The Rockets will look to snap the skid when they travel to Hickory next Friday night.

Grove City will look to keep their momentum going when they travel to Greenville next Saturday night to play the Trojans.

Game Highlights:

 

Grove City 22 Slippery Rock 21

Score by Quarters

Slippery Rock – 0 7 7 7 – 21
Grove City – 7 7 0 8 – 22

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

GC – Hunter Hohman 9 yd run, (Jacob Stucchio pat), 8:09

Second Quarter

SR – William Mokel 1 yd run, (Nick Kingerski pat), 4:57

GC – Hohman 12 yd run, (Stucchio pat), 2:31

Third Quarter

SR – Mokel 10 yd run, (Kingerski pat), 5:42

Fourth Quarter

SR – John Sabo 22 yd pass from Mokel, (Kingerski pat), 0:49

GC – Nathan Greer 13 yd pass from Hohman, (Hohman rush), 0:18

Individual Stats

Rushing: SR – Maddox Allen 19-103, Mokel 12-48, Brett Galcik 8-15, Sal Mineo 2-3, Sabo 1-2, Team 1-(-14). Totals: 43-157. GC – Anthony Nemec 23-89, Hohman 17-67, Dom Garzarelli 2-2. Totals: 42-158.

Receiving: SR – Sabo 6-63, Sam Schwartz 5-48, Galcik 3-21, Mineo 2-25, Allen 1-8, Eli Anderson 1-8. GC – Greer 6-76, Nate Boyd 1-22, Hayden McCreadie 1-16, Gavin Lutz 1-12.

Passing: SR – Mokel 18-for-33, 173 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. GC – Hohman 9-for-17, 126 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.

Interceptions: SR – Schwartz (2). GC – Greer.

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