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Grove City Upsets Carnegie Mellon 21-14

Tagged under: Gameday Hub, News, Pennsylvania Colleges, pfn

| September 24, 2023

Grove City – Grove City College built a 21-0 third-quarter lead, then had to hold off a late Carnegie Mellon rally as the Wolverines upset the 14th-ranked Tartan’s 21-14 Saturday night at Robert E. Thorn Field.

Carnegie Mellon had won 17 straight regular season games and 15 straight President’s Athletic Conference games dating back to 2021, where they ironically lost 13-6 at Grove City.

The evening was unique as it marked the 6th anniversary of Grove City ending their 33-game losing streak with a 24-14 victory over St. Vincent on September 23rd, 2017.

“I have to say it, but back in 2017 here in this night game, we ended a 33-game losing streak,” said Grove City head coach Andrew DiDonato. “All the bricks laid and put together to beat a nationally ranked opponent. The story of the program of all the guys that have come together to make it happen against a team that hasn’t lost a PAC game in two years. I’m so happy with the way all three units played tonight.”

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Wolverines put the points on the board as Logan Pfeuffer scored on a 1-yard run following a 6-play 73-yard drive.

Three drives later, Shay Aitken intercepted a Ben Mills pass at the GCC 39-yard line with 1:27 to play in the first half.

“Our defense played unbelievable tonight,” DiDonato said. “We want to take away the run first, but I also thought our defensive backs with those interceptions were huge. One of them set us up to get points before halftime. The way those guys in the secondary defended and made plays was huge.”

Grove City drove 61 yards in eight plays as Pfeuffer scored on a 20-yard keeper with five seconds remaining until halftime.

 

Logan Pfeuffer rushed for 27 yards on six carries while completing 16-of-30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown.

Taking the football to begin the second half, the Wolverines drove 75 yards in 12 plays as Pfeuffer connected with Scott Fraser on a 3-yard touchdown pass, succeeding a drive that ate up nearly eight minutes.

Fraser led the Wolverines with seven catches for 67 yards and the score.

Later in the third stanza, Carnegie Mellon answered with a 15-play, 67-yard drive capped with Joey McGinnis IV scoring on a 1-yard run with 32 seconds to play.

 

The Tartans got the football back with 12:37 to play at their 28-yard line – eight plays later, they were looking at a 1st-and-goal from the GCC 7-yard line following a 26-yard gain by Willem Bouma.

Two plays later, Carnegie Mellon faced a 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line that quickly turned into 4th-and-goal, with the Tartans still needing that pesky yard. 

“We always say focus on the vision and not the circumstance,” DiDonato said. “Those guys battled to them out of the end zone in that situation was all grit and determination.”

Again, the Wolverines defense stuffed Joey McGinnis IV at the goal line, taking over on downs. 

Carnegie Mellon would pull within a score as Ben Mills tossed a 7-yard touchdown to Kaveh Wojtowich with 75 seconds to play following a 61-yard drive.

Ryan Lenhart recovered the onside kick, and the Tartans could only get the football back with seconds left at their 32-yard line, where their lateral came up empty, giving the Wolverines the victory.

“Every game in the PAC is tough,” DiDonato concluded. “I told the guys not to get overwhelmed with the schedule. We focus on 1-0 each week. We’ve been taking the approach every game this season, and we know we have another undefeated team coming in here next Saturday in Washington and Jefferson.”

Game Highlights:

Grove City-Carnegie Mellon Stats & Box Score 

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