NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster College football team lost, 43-41, to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Grove City College in its Homecoming game Saturday afternoon.
Dating back to 1892, the 84 combined points were the most between the two schools in the history of the matchup (Grove City is Westminster's second most common opponent). The combined points were the most between Westminster and any opponent since 2010 (86 points vs. Bethany). On Saturday, both teams combined for 973 yards (Grove City – 488, Westminster – 485).
The Titans battled back from being behind 30-14 in the third quarter and took their first lead with 3:49 left in the game, 41-37, when senior
Keano Grice (Delray Beach, FL / West Boca Raton) scored on a 40-yard run. Grove City drove down the field and had 4th-and-goal at Westminster's six-yard line with 12 seconds left. Titan senior
Paul Gonzalez (Miami, FL / Florida Christian) stopped the threat with an interception, as he jumped in front of the intended receiver, right beyond the goal before a raucous Westminster crowd. Westminster rushed it up the middle in hopes to run out the clock and get the ball out of the end zone, however, the ball was fumbled and Grove City recovered it at the Titans' one-yard line. With eight seconds left and no timeouts, Grove City ran a quarterback sneak with Josh Ehst and scored the winning touchdown as the clock expired.
Westminster dropped to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the PAC, while Grove City improved to the same.
To start the game, Grove City took an early 14-0 lead, courtesy of a pair of rushing touchdowns by Wesley Schools. The first score was from 20 yards out, while the second one was from 12 yards.
Westminster cut into the Wolverines' lead when sophomore
Cole Konieczka (Coraopolis, PA / Moon Area) found senior
Dwayne Brown (Richmond Heights, OH / Richmond Heights) for an 8-yard touchdown, capping off a 9-play, 74-yard drive, with 1:28 left in the first quarter.
Both teams traded a touchdown (Grove City's Josh Ehst threw an 18-yard touchdown to Cameron Drake and Titan senior
Tyler Greene (Carlisle, PA / Carlisle) ran it in from 2 yards out) and Grove City led 20-13 with 9:04 left in the second quarter. (Junior
Brandon Jackson (Youngstown, OH / Austintown-Fitch) blocked the Wolverines' extra point.) Schools ran it in again for Grove City with 18 seconds left, putting Grove City up, 27-14. Westminster's 43-yard field as time expired before halftime came up short.
The Wolverines had good field position on their second possession of the second half following a blocked punt and recovered at Westminster's 12-yard line, however, the Titan defense held Grove City to a field goal; Grove City led 30-14 with 11:20 left in the third. Westminster answered on its ensuing drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Konieczka, capping off 9-play, 71-yard drive, cutting into the Wolverines' lead (30-20) (Westminster's two-point conversion was unsuccessful). The Titan defense forced a punt on Grove City's next drive, setting up a 35-yard touchdown pass from Konieczka to senior
Connor Cox (Ridge, MD / Leonardtown), getting within three points of Grove City's lead, 30-27, with 15 seconds left in the third.
Grove City answered to start the fourth quarter with another Schools touchdown and led 37-27 with 13:05 on the clock. Westminster responded with a touchdown of its own on a Konieczka to senior
Chase Collison (Madisonburg, PA / Penns Valley) connection from 14 yards out. Once again, Westminster was only down by three (37-34) with just under nine minutes remaining in the game leading up to Grice's go-ahead touchdown run.
Greene rushed for a team- and career-high 91 yards and a score. Grice and Konieczka added a rushing touchdown. Grove City's Schools ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Cox caught six passes for a team-high 93 yards and a score and is only 36 yards away from surpassing Titan Sports Hall of Famer and current Westminster Track & Field and Cross Country head coach
Tim McNeil '96 (1,849) for sixth all-time in school history. Brown also had six catches (career-high) for 67 yards and a touchdown. Grove City's Gustafson caught six balls for a game-high 211 yards. Sophomore
Bryce Thomas (Saint Marys, GA / Camden County) led the Titan defense with a game- and career-high 12 tackles. Gonzalez followed with six tackles, including a game-high two tackles for a loss, to go along with his second career interception.
Westminster will next travel to Thiel College for a 1 p.m. PAC contest.
