GROVE CITY, Pa. - In a game to determine third place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), the Westminster College football team lost at Grove City, 38-31, Saturday afternoon in a see-saw game that came down to the final possession.
After Grove City (4-5, 3-2 PAC) scored 21 straight points to take a 31-17 early in the fourth quarter, Westminster (3-6, 2-4 PAC) rallied to tie the game at 31-31 only to see the Wolverines march down the field on their final possession and score the go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds left.
Grove City senior quarterback Andrew DiDonato found Luke O'Hara standing in the back of the end zone for the game-winning score that was O'Hara's third touchdown catch of the game. DiDonato led Grove City with 365 yards on 20-of-31 passing with two touchdowns and one interception, while also rushing for 37 yards on 11 attempts.
Westminster senior running back Nick McKolosky (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) led the Titans with 107 rushing yards on 24 totes and two touchdowns to move him into sixth place on the school's all-time list for career touchdowns with 29. McKolosky scored a 3-yard touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 64-yard scoring march on the Titans' opening possession of the game. He also scored on a 2-yard run with 3:06 remaining to tie the game at 31-31.
The Titans outrushed the Wolverines 185-105, but Grove City held a 498-282 total yard advantage thanks to 393 passing yards to Westminster's 97.
Westminster sophomore quarterback Shawn Lehocky (Conway, Pa./Freedom) threw for 68 yards on 11-21 passing with two interceptions. He also rushed 12 times for 42 yards and a score.
The Titan were playing the game without senior receiver Jon Gubish (Pittsburgh, Pa./Northgate) who is out for the season with an injury before falling seven catches shy of the school record for career receptions.
Senior Chad Rosatelli (Clinton, Pa./Hopewell) led the Titans with four catches for 45 yards, while Gubish's replacement, freshman Geno Pasquinelli (Salem, Ohio/Salem), made his first career start and caught three passes for 12 yards.
The Titans led 10-0 through the first quarter as they scored on their only two possessions of the first quarter. Grove City knotted the game at 10-10 with pair of scoring drives that were facilitated by sophomore tailback Blaine Miller catching two short passes and converting them for gains of 63 and 55 yards on two separate scoring drives, the first setting up a 2-yard rushing touchdown and the latter setting up a 24-yard field goal that tied the game at 10-10 before halftime.
Miller finished the game with six catches for 167 yards and 14 rushes for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
Westminster took a 17-10 lead early in the third quarter when junior safety Daniel Joyce (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) intercepted a DiDonato pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.
That was followed by Grove City scoring drives culminated by a Miller touchdown run and O'Hara catching two touchdowns, one for 28 yards from Clayton Hall on screen double pass and the other for 36 yards from DiDonato.
Junior outside linebacker Zachery Boyd (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) led the Titan defense with nine tackles, including a sack. Jason Ferguson, the PAC's leading tackler with 93 tackles, paced the Wolverines with 10 stops.
Westminster closes out its 2009 season at home Saturday, Nov. 14 vs. Geneva. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is a top tier liberal arts college and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster ranked third among liberal arts colleges in social mobility, according to the Washington Monthly College Guide, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 371 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.
Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus.
