Hickory Survives Grove City, 21-14
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Shane Lux | October 10, 2025
Grove City – Kelvin Morrison scored three touchdowns as Hickory earned a hard-fought, 21-14 victory over homestanding Grove City Thursday night.
For the Hickory Hornets, the 2025 campaign has been a season of ups and downs, though mostly ups; they’ve still faced their fair share of adversity, with Thursday night proving no exception.
Hickory built a 21-7 halftime lead, then had to hold off a spirited performance from Grove City.
“A win is a win, especially in our region, it’s always tough no matter who you’re going against,” said Hickory head coach Bill Dungee. “We’ve been in multiple one-score games this year, and I credit our preparation and mental toughness to come out on top. I want to be better and not put ourselves in that situation. But I’m happy for these guys to be able to toughen one out.’
Holding a seven-point lead in the closing minutes, the Eagles had driven from their 36-yard line to the Hornets’ 28-yard line with just over a minute to play and facing a 4th-and-4.
Grove City called a flea-flicker, and quarterback Heath Hohman went to the end zone on a pass intended for Charlie Miller that Mearlon Peterson broke up with 58 seconds to play, sealing the win for Hickory.
It marked the second time in the half that the Hornets’ defense made a crucial stop. The Eagles took the second-half kickoff and went on a 20-play, 83-yard drive that came up empty when Hohman’s pass to Jonah Stucchio on 4th-and-4 at the Hickory 6-yard line was stopped for no gain.
“I’m happy the guy gutted it out, ” Dungee said. “We don’t want to be a bend but don’t break defense, but sometimes that’s the way it works out, especially with teams that know you like they do. I’m happy with the mental fortitude to make the stops there, but I’m not sure about the focus to get off the field earlier when we had the chance. There were several third downs where we could’ve made a stop and committed penalties, and weren’t being smart.”
That drive ate up over eight minutes of the third quarter clock.
Grove City had narrowed the margin to 21-14 following freshman Gavin Purdy’s second touchdown run of the evening from seven yards out, capping a 10-play 54-yard drive.
Perhaps the Eagles’ offense was their best defense in the final two quarters as they held a 39-12 advantage in offensive plays run.
“One of the best defenses is offense to limit the amount of touches that Morrison had,” said Grove City head coach Sam Mowrey. “To come out in the second half and be able to establish the run game was huge for us. That helped us on the defensive side. We need to convert some of those when we get tight down there in the red zone. We’re proud of the effort and attitude the boys gave.”
Grove City had taken a 7-0 lead when Gavin Purdy scored on a 6-yard run following a 7-play 74-yard drive. Purdy rushed for 94 yards on 17 carries, while Jonah Stucchio led the Eagles with 134 yards on 31 attempts.
“We got knocked down early,” Dungee said. “We wanted to jump out first, but they jumped out 7-0. Then we get three touchdowns, including a big punt return by Calvin right before the half that turned out to be the game-winner, but we knew Grove City was going to quit.”
From there, it was the Kelvin Morrison show as the Hornets’ standout junior tailback rushed for a game-high 147 yards on 20 carries with a pair of rushing touchdowns.
His 34-yard scoring run, just over a minute after the Eagles jumped ahead 7-0, evened the contest 7-7. On their next possession, he capped a 12-play 85-yard drive with a 5-yard run.
With 53 seconds to play in the half, the Eagles punted from their 37-yard line, where Morrison caught the ball at his 29-yard line, made one cut, and raced down the far sideline for a 71-yard return with only 38 seconds left in the first half.
“We were talking on the sideline, getting our 2-minute drill ready because we just assumed they were going to kick it out of bounds,” said Dungee. “Once Kelvin clears the first line, he’s gone, and we knew it. Once he made the first guy miss, it was off to the races. Big time players make big plays in big situations, and I’m so proud of him.”
The touchdown return turned out to be the score and gave Hickory a 21-7 lead heading to the locker room.
Hickory will now aim for their third win in a row when they host Slippery Rock next Friday night.
Grove City will look to snap its 3-game skid when they conclude the regular season next week against Conneaut.
“It’s a special thing as an educator and coach to watch these boys grow through experience and adversity has been awesome to watch,” Mowrey said. “That comes from the leadership of our juniors and seniors. It’s a great group of kids that do the right things and believe in each other and the younger kids.”
Game Highlights:
Hickory 21 Grove City 14
Score by Quarters
Hickory – 7 14 0 0 – 21
Grove City – 7 0 0 7 – 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
GC – Gavin Purdy 6 yd run, (Lucas Kelly pat), 4:53 – 7-74
H – Kelvin Morrison 34 yd run, (Callum Darraugh pat), 3:22 – 4-58
Second Quarter
H – Morrison 5 yd run, (kick blocked), 6:26 – 12-85
H – Morrison 71 yd punt return, (Dante Evans from Christian Dungee), 0:38
Fourth Quarter
GC – Purdy 7 yd run, (Kelly pat), 8:22 – 10-54
Individual Stats
Rushing: H – Morrison 20-147, Dungee 7-51. Totals: 27-198. GC – Jonah Stucchio 31-134, Purdy 17-94, Heath Hohman 2-13, Levi Toth 1-3, Charlie Miller 2-1. Totals: 53-245.
Receiving: H – Mar’Zair Gardlock 4-47, Morrison 2-(-11). GC – Purdy 2-7, Stucchio 2-(-1), Toth 1-13.
Passing: H – Dungee 6-for-10, 36 yards. GC – Hohman 5-for-11, 19 yards.
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