History may just be repeating itself in Grove City.
A season ago, the Grove City football team catapulted itself into the NCAA Division III national spotlight, earning its first national ranking and NCAA postseason berth and victory, in addition to its only undefeated 10-win regular season in school history.
What was the catalyst for all of that success?
A seven-point, Week 4 victory over perennial Presidents’ Athletic Conference power Carnegie Mellon.
On Saturday afternoon, the undefeated, seventh-ranked Wolverines welcomed the No. 10 Tartans to Robert E. Thorn Field, jam-packed for homecoming, earning a 17-10 win that may prove to be another program-defining one.
Grove City held Carnegie Mellon to minus-9 yards rushing, forced two turnovers and scored a game-winning defensive touchdown, withstanding the Tartans’ own furious defensive effort.
“All week, we’ve been saying, ‘There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home,’” said ninth-year Grove City coach Andrew DiDonato, who is a Bridgeville native and South Fayette graduate. “That was the key. We’ve won a lot of big games here.”
At the center of it all for Grove City (5-0) was junior outside linebacker Ben Bladel.
The Moon product registered six tackles, three for a loss, with a critical fourth-quarter sack that stalled a potential game-tying drive for Carnegie Mellon (5-1) late in the fourth quarter.
Bladel also forced a fumble by Tartans running back Willem Bouma, which was recovered in the end zone by Wolverines junior safety Ryan Montgomery with 4:20 left in the third quarter for a touchdown.
It would hold up as the game-winner.
“I was thinking safety the whole time and then he dropped it,” Bladel said. “I saw him fumble and I was like, ‘All right, I guess we’ll take six, too. That works.’”
Bladel led the nation a season ago with 17 sacks, while also collecting 56 tackles, 24½ for a loss. In 2024 he has already racked up 23 tackles, 15 for a loss, and is tied with W&J senior defensive lineman Dawson Dietz, a Hampton product, for a PAC-leading six sacks.
“He’s just an elite player,” DiDonato said of Bladel. “You’re talking about an All-American player. In big games like this, it’s going to be big players making plays, and, I’ll tell you, we’re very thankful we have No. 5. He made a ton of them.”
Bladel now has 123 tackles, 48½ for a loss, over his three-year career. His 28½ sacks are most all-time at Grove City.
“He’s always at the ball,” DiDonato said. “It’s just something you can’t teach. He’s done it his whole football career. We saw that in recruiting him.”
As good as he was in big moments, though, Bladel credited the entire defense for holding down the Tartans.
Sophomore Dominic DiNinno, a Kiski Area graduate, recorded a game-high 11 tackles, while junior linebacker Jack Jollie, a Penn-Trafford product, recorded eight with a half sack.
Wolverines cornerback Boden Davidson had two critical interceptions of Carnegie Mellon quarterback Ben Mills, while defensive end Bryce Spolnik, a South Fayette product, added three tackles and 1½ sacks.
“We’re good,” Bladel said. “I think we are top in the country at defense. I really do.”
Aside from holding Carnegie Mellon to minus-9 yards rushing, Grove City held Mills to just 88 yards through the air.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Tartans, who saw their playoff hopes dashed a season ago with a 21-14 loss to Grove City at home.
“Two turnovers in the second half in the red zone and, obviously, the fumble for a touchdown makes a huge difference,” Carnegie Mellon coach Ryan Larsen said. “I said it going into the game, ‘Penalties and turnovers were going to be a really big thing in this game when you have two really good teams playing.’”
Its own mistakes notwithstanding, the Tartans defense kept a powerful Grove City offense in check for much of the contest.
The Wolverines rushed for just 86 yards, 77 coming on 30 hard-nosed carries from running back Nico Flati, a West Allegheny product.
Grove City quarterback Logan Pfeuffer threw for just 126 yards but connected for a 4-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass with Ryan Heckathorn, who is a Blackhawk product.
Kicker Daniel Sullivan also accounted for three Wolverines points with a 25-yard field goal just before halftime.
“I think they played really, really well,” Larsen said of his defense. “That’s a team that’s putting up insane yards, 500-whatever yards. We technically outgained them offensively. Now, who cares? Stats don’t matter. It’s all about the ending score, but I thought our defense played really, really well.”
Larsen said he was pleased with his team’s ability to battle back.
After falling behind 17-3 in the wake of Montgomery’s touchdown, Mills threw a 17-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Reece Kolke, which cut the Tartans deficit to 17-10 with 1:15 left in the third quarter.
Carnegie Mellon was, however, not able to capitalize on any scoring chances in a scoreless fourth quarter.
“That’s how it goes sometimes in really good games like this against really good teams,” Larsen said. “The margin for error is really small, but I’m really proud of how hard our guys fought. There was not a moment until that last 1:55 that we weren’t in it. We were still scratching and clawing.
“We still have four games left to do what we need to do,” he added. “I think we’re still a Top 25 program and we’ll take it one week at a time.”
Grove City returns to action next Saturday against one-loss Washington & Jefferson, which dropped a tough 30-27 decision in overtime against Carnegie Mellon three weeks ago. The Wolverines still have tough games against Case Western and Westminster looming in the final two weeks of the season.
“Our vision is compete for a PAC and national championship,” Bladel said. “That’s all we’re doing is competing for a national championship now.”
W&J passing attack downs Geneva
Washington & Jefferson quarterback Jacob Pugh, a Thomas Jefferson product, completed 17-of-24 passes for 324 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Presidents to a 73-21 rout of Geneva Saturday afternoon at Cameron Stadium in Washington.
Wide receiver John Peduzzi reeled in five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns, while Peters Township’s Jacob Macosko caught five passes for 84 yards and two scores for W&J (5-1) against Geneva (2-4) in the PAC contest.
Tight end Zach Cernuto, a Southmoreland graduate, had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown to go along with Bentworth product Owen Petrisek’s 60-yard scoring strike from Pugh.
Running back Kobe Derosa, a Laurel graduate, had two touchdowns on the ground for the Presidents, who also got a rushing score from Norwin product Dom Barca.
Westminster explodes for 27 fourth-quarter points to rout Bethany
Westminster returned two punts for touchdowns during a 27-point fourth-quarter surge to emerge with a 49-7 victory over Bethany in a PAC game Saturday afternoon at Bison Stadium in Bethany, W.Va.
Brice Butler returned the first punt 60 yards for a touchdown for the Titans (4-1) before Brite Cannon added a 57-yard punt return for a score nearly three minutes later to terrorize the special teams unit for Bethany (0-5).
Moon product Ty McGowan threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Westminster offense. He completed two passes for 30 yards and two touchdowns to fellow Moon graduate Taite Beachy.
Cannon also had four catches for a team-high 105 yards and a touchdown.
Undefeated No. 6 Slippery Rock rolls over Gannon
Quarterback Brayden Long threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for another score, to lead No. 6 Slippery Rock to a 35-17 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division victory Saturday afternoon over visiting Gannon at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
The Rock (6-0, 3-0) scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions against Gannon (1-5, 1-2).
JayJay Jordan, Logan Ramper and Mike Sullivan all had touchdown catches for Slippery Rock, which also got a score on the ground from Idris Lawrence.
Boyd leads California University of Pennsylvania to last-second victory
California University of Pennsylvania running back Bobby Boyd Jr., a McKeesport product, rushed for a 23-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to lead the Vulcans to a 28-21 PSAC West victory over Seton Hill Saturday afternoon at Offutt Field in Greensburg.
Boyd carried the football 17 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns to lead Cal (5-1, 3-0) past Seton Hill (2-4, 0-2) and to its third straight conference victory.
Vulcans quarterback Davis Black threw for 251 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while completing eight passes for 134 yards and two scores to Eric Willis III.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania loses second straight heartbreaker
Just a week after dropping a heartbreaking decision to Slippery Rock in the game’s final seconds, Indiana University of Pennsylvania suffered another one, this time in the form of a 27-23 decision against Edinboro on the road at Sox Harrison Stadium.
Fighting Scots (2-4, 1-2) quarterback Bernard Isaac connected with Evan Low for the game-winning touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the PSAC West contest. The Crimson Hawks (4-2, 1-2) surrendered a touchdown to Slippery Rock with 12 seconds remaining last Saturday in a 33-32 loss.
IUP running back JD Younger rushed 22 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Karst Hunter threw for 208 yards and two interceptions. Hunter also rushed for 36 yards and a score.
Duquesne defense dominates St. Francis on the road
Duquesne held St. Francis to just 172 yards of offense, 29 on the ground, and turned two turnovers into touchdowns en route to a 38-7 Northeast Conference road victory Saturday afternoon at DeGol Field in Loretto.
The Dukes (4-2, 2-0) did not allow a third-down conversion on 13 Red Flash (2-4, 0-2) attempts while also racking up four sacks.
Sophomore linebacker Ty Howard returned his first career interception 40 yards for a touchdown for Duquesne, while defensive back Malichi Lowery recovered a fumble and took it 40 yards for a score.
Linebacker Khatavian Franks registered a team-high eight tackles, one for a loss, and one sack for the Dukes, while Carlos Ramirez added a sack. Peters Township product Nico Pate, Elizabeth Forward graduate AJ Ackerman, Jason Patterson and Kevin Kurziner each recorded a half sack for Duquesne.
Quarterback Darius Perrantes threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Dukes passing attack. He found Joey Isabella six times for 94 yards and a touchdown, while also connecting with Steven Mahar Jr. for a score through the air.
Duquesne running back JaMario Clements rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Robert Morris blanks Delaware State
Robert Morris quarterback Anthony Chiccitt, a Bethel Park product, threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the Colonials to a 23-0 decision over Delaware State at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Saturday afternoon.
Chiccitt completed 25-of-31 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 16 yards and a score to lead Robert Morris (3-3) past Delaware State (1-6).
Carl Smith caught three passes for 88 yards and a touchdown to lead the Colonials and Cole Mitchell added two grabs for five 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.