PHOTO GALLERY

The Saint Vincent football team led in many statistical categories on the day, but lost to Grove City by a score of 35-20 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game.

SVC held advantages in first downs (24-18), rushing yards (274-205) and time of possession, but the Wolverines' passing game was strong, helping to lead them to victory.  

Grove City scored on the game's opening possession, covering 75 yards in just four plays.  Quarterback Josh Ehst completed a pass to Cameron Drake for 23 yards, then followed with a 40-yard strike to Cody Gustafson that moved the ball to the Bearcat five yard line.  Wesley Schools then carried the ball into the end zone on first-and-goal, and the point after made it 7-0 early.

Saint Vincent then went to work, putting together its longest drive of the season by far.  The 21-play, 86-yard drive covered exactly 12 minutes and featured 16 rushing plays.  After the drive stalled at the Wolverine 9, Nick Srnka got the Bearcats on the board with a 26-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.

The next drive carried over into the second quarter, as Grove City handed the ball to Schools on nine consecutive plays.  He accounted for 42 yards on those carries, including a 3-yard scoring run that led to a 14-3 advantage.

After a batted pass at the line of scrimmage resulted in an interception, Grove City took over at their own 36, and on the fifth play of the drive, Ehst and Gustafson teamed for a 45-yard touchdown pass, putting the visitors in front, 21-3.

SVC took over with just over three minutes left in the half, and moved the ball as far as the Grove City 19, and Srnka hit a 36-yard field goal to make the score 21-6 at the half.

The Bearcats received the second half kickoff and quickly put David Marshall Jr to work in the backfield.  The junior ran for 10 yards on first down, then broke free for a 20-yard run on the next play.  After a 15-yard run by Stasko, the Bearcats found themselves at the Grove City 23.  However, the Wolverine defense held, and Srnka's 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

The Saint Vincent defense quickly returned the favor, as Cam Norris forced a fumble that was recovered by Izaak Gray at the Bearcat 39.

Marshall then went back to work, running for 21 yards on first down, moving the ball to the Wolverine 40.  Later in the drive, quarterback Lorenzo Cota ran for 17 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the 7, and Stasko later scored from 3 yards out for the first Bearcat touchdown of the day.  Srnka's point after made it 21-13 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.  

However, early in the fourth, Ehst and Gustafson again teamed for a score, this one on a 26-yard pass that increased the lead to fifteen, 28-13.

Marshall once again set the tone on the first play, carrying multiple tacklers forward for a 15-yard gain across midfield.  Cota connected with Phil Harding for 9 yards and with Alvin Ross for 11, helping to move the ball to the 2-yard line.  On a third-and-goal, Cota attempted to run but was stopped, but lateraled the ball to lineman Bruce Johnson, who rumbled into the end zone for a Bearcat score, as the margin was cut to just eight, 28-20.

Grove City took over with 6:45 remaining in the game, and once again it was Schools that did the work out of the backfield, battling his way to three key first downs.  With just 1:10 left and a third-and-6 play facing them, the Wolverines handed off once more to Schools and he ran 34 yards to the end zone for the clinching score.  

Schools led all rushers on the day, carrying the ball 31 times for 179 yards.  Ehst threw just 11 passes, but completed 9 for 186 yards.  Gustafson caught five for 133 yards.

For the Bearcats, Marshall had 9 carries for 96 yards, while Stasko ran the ball 21 times for 93 yards.  Cota had 12 carries for 51 yards.  Through the air, Cota was 12-for-19 for 110 yards.  Keith Kalp and Stasko each had three receptions.

Defensively, Austin Kemp had 8 tackles for the Bearcats, including 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage.  Norris, Izaak Gray, Mason Brunson, Tekoah Guedes and Micah Harris each had five tackles.  For Grove City, Parker Kilgore and Patrick Mack each recorded 9 stops.

Saint Vincent is now 2-6 overall, 2-5 in the PAC.  Grove City improves to 6-2, 5-2 in the conference.

The Bearcats will travel to Washington, Pennsylvania next Saturday, November 9, to face the Washington & Jefferson Presidents.  Kickoff is set for 1PM.