Andrew DiDonato could sense something was happening last fall around his Grove City football program.
The Bridgeville native and South Fayette graduate led the Wolverines to their first national ranking and NCAA postseason berth in school history in 2023, completing the program’s only undefeated 10-win regular season.
Grove City’s season of “firsts” would eventually culminate with a victory over Susquehanna in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Wolverines’ magical run ended with a one-point loss to eventual national champion Cortland in the second round.
“It was one of those things sometimes where, as you’re going through the year, you don’t realize how close you are or how really good the team is or how you’re going to compete on the national scene,” said DiDonato, now in his ninth season as Grove City’s head coach.
There’s no doubt where the Wolverines stand in 2024.
No. 11-ranked Grove City, and its 18 returning starters, opened its Presidents’ Athletic Conference season Saturday afternoon with a 41-0 dismantling of visiting Geneva at Robert E. Thorn Field.
“We are in such a great conference in the PAC that if you can survive this conference and win the league, you truly are in a position to win a national title,” DiDonato said. “That was our takeaway [from last year], and our focus was, ‘All right, we won a lot of tight games in the PAC last year, let’s figure out what do we have to do to give ourselves the best chance to win in this league again.”
Grove City will likely go as far as its quarterback — Peters Township product Logan Pfeuffer — will take it.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior got off to a good start Saturday, completing 19-of-24 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to lead the rout of Geneva. He passed for 2,088 yards, 19 touchdowns and just seven interceptions a season ago, and has 4,302 yards and 39 touchdowns in his three-year career.
“The greatest compliment I can give him is he’s been at his best when it matters most,” DiDonato said. “I’d say with him as a senior. He runs the show. We treat every play as its own story. We make a lot of decisions at the line of scrimmage and throughout the game. We are willing to check things and get into different plays. He has a lot of freedom.”
Pfeuffer felt free to spread the ball around against Geneva. He completed passes to six players, three of whom caught touchdown passes.
Daniel Sullivan caught five passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, while Knoch product Scott Fraser racked up nine catches for 78 yards and a score.
Kiski graduate Dominic DiNinno added a catch for 61 yards and a touchdown, but from Wolverines backup quarterback Ethan Wiley.
“Scott Fraser, the season he put together last year, and really the last couple years, has been amazing,” DiDonato said. “He’s a true No. 1 target, but even Ryan Heckathorn, Ryan Lenhart, Daniel Sullivan, all four are back. Logan has a lot of throws to each of them the last couple years in practices and in games. It’s really nice to see the rapport and the continuity in the passing game.”
Grove City also returns the PAC’s leading rusher from a season ago in West Allegheny graduate Nico Flati.
The 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior picked up right where he left off, carrying the football 20 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
“Nico Flati, I’m excited to be having him back,” DiDonato said of his running back, whose 1,234 yards and 19 touchdowns were tops in the PAC a season ago. “The line, pretty much everyone is back.”
Junior running back Ian Demeri, a Penn-Trafford product, announced his presence with authority, as well. He rushed 15 times for 125 yards and one score.
“We like to use multiple running backs,” DiDonato said. “Nico will carry a heavy load, but Ian will carry a heavy load along with him.”
Grove City also excelled on defense Saturday, conceding quarterback Darin Myers just 28 yards through the air and Geneva 34 yards on the ground as a team.
Junior linebacker Caleb Brubaker tallied a team-high eight tackles, two for a loss, with a sack Saturday.
Junior linebacker Ben Bladel, a Moon product, who led all of Division III with 17 sacks a season ago, tallied six tackles, five for a loss, with one sack.
Penn-Trafford graduate Jack Jollie had seven tackles with one sack.
“We’re not shy in our vision statement,” DiDonato said. “It now reads, ‘To Glorify God, pursue a degree, building lasting relationships and competing for PAC and national championships.’ We do talk about that. I know some people shy away from that. It’s not wrong. It’s just different. Everyone has different philosophies there, but we are up front talking about it.”
No. 22 Carnegie Mellon opens campaign on road with rout of Thiel
Carnegie Mellon sophomore wide receiver Brendan McCullough, a Peters Township graduate, had five catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns, as the No. 22 Tartans routed Thiel, 58-0, at Alumni Stadium in Greenville.
McCullough had touchdown catches of 33, 34 and 21 yards to pace the offensive onslaught, which occurred entirely in the first half.
Tartans quarterback Ben Mills threw for 159 yards and four touchdowns, while running back Tre Vasiliadis racked up 42 yards and two scores and Joey McGinnis IV added 19 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Carnegie Mellon’s defense conceded just 73 passing yards and two rushing yards.
Graduate student linebacker Thomas Coury had a team-high eight tackles, 3½ for a loss, with a half sack. Defensive back Adrian Williams, a Peters Township graduate, added seven tackles.
Jacob Pugh leads Washington & Jefferson past Saint Vincent
Thomas Jefferson graduate Jacob Pugh opened his senior season with a 362-yard, four-touchdown performance to lead Washington & Jefferson to a 59-6 drubbing of visiting Saint Vincent at Cameron Stadium in Washington.
Pugh was efficient, completing 18-of 24 passes, most of which were caught by Peters Township product Jacob Macosko, who had 10 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while John Peduzzi had five catches for 127 yards and a score.
Laurel graduate Kobe Derosa also had a 63-yard touchdown reception for the Presidents.
Pugh also rushed for a pair of one-yard touchdowns.
Waynesburg opens season with lopsided loss against Case Western
Leechburg graduate Thomas Burke III came on in relief for Waynesburg, passing for a team-high 111 yards with a touchdown and interception, but the Yellow Jackets were dominated in a 41-7 loss to Case Western at John F. Wiley Stadium in Waynesburg.
Tight end Dagyn Williams caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from Burke.
Case Western quarterback Alex Fromberg threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a team-high 48 yards and another score.
Slippery Rock blows out defending Northeast 10 Conference champion New Haven
No. 11 Slippery Rock opened its quest for its sixth consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division championship with an impressive 22-7 victory over visiting defending Northeast 10 Conference champion New Haven at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
The Rock earned the statement win to open their 2024 campaign after advancing to the NCAA Division II playoff quarterfinals a season ago. After earning its conference championship, New Haven was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA playoffs a season ago.
Quarterback Brayden Long, a Harlon Hill Award finalist in 2023, completed 17-of-28 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns for Slippery Rock. He completed two passes for 24 yards to senior tight end Kam Kruze, a West Allegheny graduate, who also made a sensational, one-handed 14-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.
Shady Side Academy graduate Eddie Faulkner IV scored Slippery Rock’s first defensive touchdown of the season when the standout defensive back strip-sacked New Haven quarterback Daelen Menard and scampered 36 yards for a touchdown.
Faulkner is the son of Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach Eddie Faulkner. He had seven tackles, two for a loss.
California University of Pennsylvania opens with tough loss to 2023 NCAA qualifier on the road
Sophomore running back Bobby Boyd Jr., a McKeesport graduate, rushed for a third-quarter, 42-yard touchdown, but California University of Pennsylvania fell 23-19 to Charleston, W.Va., at University of Charleston Stadium.
Charleston knocked New Haven out of the NCAA Division II playoffs a season ago and is the defending Mountain East Conference champion.
Boyd ran 22 times for a team-high 119 yards to pace the Vulcans offense.
Quarterback Davis Black also threw for 161 yards and two interceptions.
Sophomore defensive back Khalil Taylor, a Westinghouse graduate, had five tackles with an interception for California.
Division II Edinboro upsets FCS Robert Morris
NCAA Division I FCS Robert Morris was shocked by Division II Edinboro, which used a strong running game to emerge with a 23-21 victory Saturday night at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon.
Edinoro (1-1) outgained Robert Morris (0-2), 258-224, in total offense. The PSAC West Division Fighting Scots outgained the Colonials, 147-124, on the ground and won the time of possession battle by more than 16 minutes.
Robert Morris quarterback Anthony Chiccitt, a Bethel Park product, completed 14-of-21 passes for 111 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Colonials were led offensively by running back Tyvon Edmonds Jr., who rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Edinboro running back Caron Robinson rushed for 91 yards on 16 carries, while wide receiver Teagan Brown caught eight passes for 80 yards and a score.
Linebacker Wilfredo Diaz tallied a game-high 16 tackles with two sacks for the Fighting Scots.
Robert Morris freshman defensive lineman Lucas Lambert, a Seneca Valley graduate, had six tackles, 3½ for a loss, with 2½ sacks, while defensive back Jamar Shegog, a Seton LaSalle product, tallied a team-high 11 tackles.
Duquesne falls at Boston College
NCAA Division I FCS Duquesne dropped its second game of the season, as the defending Northeast Conference champion was overwhelmed in a 56-0 loss against FBS Atlantic Coast Conference foe Boston College at Alumni Stadium in Chesnut Hill, Mass.
Running back JaMario Clements paced Duquesne’s offensive attack with 45 rushing yards on 10 carries, while quarterback Darius Perrantes threw for just 62 yards and two interceptions.
Thursday night
Indiana University of Pennsylvania defense stands tall in season-opening win over Ashland
Indiana University of Pennsylvania allowed minus-one rushing yard Thursday night in a 19-10 season-opening victory over perennial Division II power Ashland at Jack Miller Field/Schar Athletic Complex in Ashland, Ohio.
Defensive back Charles Ingram led the Crimson Hawks with 11 tackles, one for a loss, while redshirt senior linebacker Garrett Cox had 10 tackles.
Defensive back Darius Bruce, a Westinghouse product, had a sack for IUP, as did defensive end Randy Okungu.
Crimson Hawks quarterback Hunter Karst threw for 176 yards, with a touchdown and interception, while running back Adam Houser rushed for a team-high 72 yards and a score.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.