PHOTO GALLERY

A touchdown pass with 21 seconds remaining on the clock lifted Grove City to a 30-27 victory over the Bearcats at Thorn Field in Grove City.

The loss dropped Saint Vincent to 1-7 on the season overall, 1-6 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.  For Grove City, the win lifted them to a 5-3 overall record, 4-3 in the conference.
 
Shandon Marsden returned the opening kickoff 30 yards  to give the Bearcats the ball at their own 32 to open the game.   Four straight runs by quarterback Tekoah Guedes moved the ball into Grove City territory, but a sack on third down ended the drive, forcing a punt.
 
Grove City took over, but the Bearcat defense forced a three-and-out.  Caleb Brake's 62-yard punt pinned Saint Vincent at its own 7 yard line, and the drive quickly stalled.  Christian Witchey's punt traveled 41 yards, but a 38-yard return by Jacob Ross gave the hosts great field position, at the SVC 24.  
 
Five plays later, quarterback Josh Ehst completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Cody Gustafson.  The extra point made it 7-0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
 
SVC answered right back, putting together a 13-play, 72-yard drive that featured 12 running plays. Mike Stasko finished the drive with an 8-yard scoring run.  Sam Elliott's point after attempt was blocked, and the Bearcats trailed, 7-6, with 9:52 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The Wolverines increased their lead on the next drive, moving the ball 75 yards on 11 plays. Ehst and Gustafson again combined for a touchdown pass, this time with Gustafson making an acrobatic catch and keeping one foot in bounds in the back right corner of the end zone.  The point after attempt was good, but an illegal formation penalty was called on Grove City.  The second attempt failed, leaving the score at 13-6.  
 
The kickoff went out of bounds, so the Bearcats took possession at their own 35 with 3:02 remaining in the half.  A reverse resulted in a 20-yard run by wide receiver Aaron Austin, moving the ball just past midfield.  Guedes then ran for 18 yards, moving the ball to the 30.  Guedes and Austin then connected on what appeared to be a 30-yard touchdown pass, but an illegal shift penalty was called on Saint Vincent, erasing the score and making it 1st-and-15 from the 35.  A 7-yard loss on the next play pushed the ball outside the 40, but a 12-yard pass to Austin got the ball back to the original line of scrimmage for a third down play.  An incomplete pass attempt left the Bearcats with a  fourth down play, but Guedes was able to scramble and break a couple of tackles, before finding Stasko downfield at the 8-yard-line for a crucial first down catch.  An unnecessary roughness penalty took the ball to the four with just 13 seconds left. 
 
After a timeout, SVC center Colton Belmont snapped the ball directly to Stasko, who fumbled but recovered quickly.  He then lateraled the ball to Austin, who took the ball into the end zone for the touchdown.  Elliott's PAT tied the game, 13-13, at the half.  
 
Guedes had a strong first half, with 62 yards rushing to go along with 57 passing yards with 5 completions in 8 attempts.
 
The Wolverines opened the second half with a lengthy drive that covered nearly 8 minutes in 17 plays. The 89-yard drive, which included a pair of fourth down conversions, was capped by a Wesley Schools touchdown run from 5 yards out.  The extra point gave GCC a 20-13 lead.
 
SVC was unable to move the ball on the next drive and found themselves having to punt from deep in their own end zone.  The return gave the Wolverines a short field, taking over at the SVC 30.  The Bearcat defense forced a field goal attempt from 33 yards out, and Nick Morrow's attempt was good, giving Grove City a 10-point lead, 23-13, near the end of the third quarter.
 
Early in the fourth, the Bearcats used their running game to spark the offense, with a pair of runs from Quincy Mays accounting for 31 yards.  Stasko then broke free for a 17-yard run, setting up a first-and-goal from the GCC 7-yard-line. Mays then completed the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run on first down.  Elliott's extra point made the score 23-20 with 13:03 remaining.  
 
The defense once again stepped up, with a Cody Henry sack on third down resulting in a Grove City punt from their own end zone.  Sam Nowicki returned the ball to the hosts' 37, where the offense went back to work.  However, the Wolverine defense sacked QB Michael Navarro that left the Bearcats with a 3rd-and-17 play.  Navarro's pass to Philip Harding was incomplete, but pass interference was called, giving the Bearcats an automatic first down with 9:01 on the clock. Two plays later, Mays picked up a block from Christopher Komst that freed him for a 14-yard run, making it first and goal from the GCC 6.  Once again, it was Mays that carried the ball into the end zone, giving SVC the lead, 27-23 after the Elliott point after.  
 
Grove City took over near the 7-minute mark of the fourth quarter and proceeded to drive 59 yards in 12 plays, with Ehst and Gustavson once again connecting on a touchdown pass with just 21 seconds remaining on the clock.  SVC was unable to score in the closing seconds.

Guedes was the leading rusher for Saint Vincent, with 20 carries for 76 yards.  Mays finished with 6 carries for 63 yards, while Stasko had 12 carries for 40 yards.  Guedes completed 6 of 10 passes for 61 yards.  

Overall, the Bearcats had 296 yards of total offense, compared to 263 for Grove City.

Defensively, Caleb Collins had 12 tackles for the Bearcats.  Cody Henry had 7 tackles, including 1 sack and three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.  Zack Altieri also had 7 tackles.

The Bearcats return home on Saturday (November 3), hosting Washington & Jefferson College at 1PM at Chuck Noll Field.