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| Dominic Magliocco pulls in W&J's final pass at the 2 to seal Grove City's win. Grove City athletics photo by Doug Nashtock |
Grove City improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1926 and defeated Washington & Jefferson for just the fourth time in 40 seasons in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, as the bonus fifth weekend of September was a memorable one in Division III football.
This recap includes games between teams not ranked in the D3football.com Top 25d.
A balanced offensive attack and a pair of fourth quarter takeaways by the Wolverine defense helped Grove City get to that 31-24 victory in front of an overflow crowd on the Wolverines' homecoming. Washington & Jefferson took its first loss of the season.
Grove City trailed 24-17 entering the fourth quarter but surged ahead as quarterback Logan Pfeuffer fired a pair of touchdown passes to wide receiver Scott Fraser. Pfeuffer's 24-yard strike to Fraser tied the game at 24 with 12:55 left. The Wolverines then forced a W&J punt as linebacker Ben Bladel sacked Jake Pugh on third down. Following a punt, the Wolverines moved 67 yards in 10 plays to take the lead. Pfeuffer's 5-yard touchdown pass to Fraser gave Grove City a 31-24 lead with 5:23 remaining. W&J drove to the Grove City 18 on its subsequent possession. However, defensive end Bryce Spolnik stripped Pugh from behind and sophomore end Jordan Karczewski recovered the fumble at the Wolverines' 22. Dominic Magliocco later intercepted Pugh's last gasp heave at the 2 to seal the win.
The victory means that Grove City has already defeated its three biggest competitors for the PAC automatic bid with six weeks to go, and it beat them all in the past three weeks: Case Western Reserve, Carnegie Mellon and Washington & Jefferson.
Illinois College ensured it would remain in the Midwest Conference playoff hunt as the Blueboys defeated Monmouth 20-17. It's the first win for IC against Monmouth since 2014. The Blueboys held the Scotts off by intercepting a pass near midfield in the fourth quarter, forcing two three-and-outs and getting a fourth-down stop in IC territory in with 1:10 left to play. Destin Chance overcame four sacks to complete 23 of 40 passes for 264 yards and two scores, while Thomas Little ran for 138 yards in the win.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps held off its on-campus rival, Pomona-Pitzer, reclaiming the Sixth Street rivalry trophy with a 30-20 win against the program it literally shares its campus with in Claremont, California. It was the Stags defense which got the scoring started, intercepting Pomona-Pitzer quarterback Ethan Gretzinger on consecutive snaps in the first quarter. Jacob O'Connell returned the first pick 79 yards for a touchdown and Thanio Bright took the second 35 yards for a score to make it 14-0 early. Rich Brutto connected on three field goals to make it 23-7 at halftime and freshman Ben Kim got his introduction to the rivalry with a 25-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the fourth quarter, helping his team keep Pomona-Pitzer at bay.
Union posted its third shutout in five games as the Garnet Chargers improved to 5-0 with a 34-0 win against St. Lawrence in front of an announced crowd of 5,976 fans. Union held the Saints to 36 rushing yards and just 136 yards overall. That total includes minus-22 yards on three sacks. Senior Donovan Pacatte went 16-for-25 and 181 yards with two passing touchdowns for Union.
Christopher Newport snapped a 21-game NJAC winning streak for Salisbury and a seven-game win streak in the series, defeating the Sea Gulls 24-14. Fifth-year senior Josh Uvodich led the defensive attack by intercepting two passes, breaking up two passes, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble, and making four tackles. His interception with just over four minutes to play sealed the win. "This means a lot to a lot of people associated with our program," CNU coach Paul Crowley said following the victory. "It's been about 10 months since we lost a really tough game at Salisbury to end the year last year, and there are a number of our guys who decided to come back for a fifth year to get another opportunity against them. I'm really happy for them and for everyone who wanted to see us win this game."
Western Connecticut ran all over Mass-Dartmouth, handing the Corsairs their first loss of the season, by a 52-21 score. Chad Blaszky ran for 233 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, while Kamryn Holmes added 10 carries for 74 yards and a score as the Colonials marched for 353 yards rushing. Mass-Dartmouth had the ball for just 20 minutes, 35 seconds, keeping the ball out of the hands of standout quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos, who threw for 210 yards on 15-for-28 passing.
Kennedy Fauntleroy scored on a 1-yard touchdown run — his fourth touchdown of the contest — with just 23 seconds remaining and Malcolm Anderson converted a two-point rush attempt as Bridgewater walked away from Hampden-Sydney with a 39-38 victory. Fauntleroy rushed for 246 yards, averaging 7.7 yards per carry in the win. Hampden-Sydney had retaken the lead early in the fourth quarter when Andrew Puccinelli found Jamahdia Whitby for a 33-yard touchdown pass. It was one of four TD passes on the day for Puccinelli.
Capital snapped its 17-game losing streak and got a trophy in the process as the Comets defeated crosstown rival Otterbein 35-31 and take home The Oar for the first time since the trophy was brought back in 2021. The Comets used a seven-play, 61-yard drive with just over a minute left in the game to score the eventual game-winning touchdown. On that drive, freshman quarterback Donovan Duncan connected with Nate Younker and Mike Elmore on big completions to move the chains. The catch by Elmore went for 42 yards and set up the Comets on the 8-yard line. On the ensuing play, Duncan and Elmore connected again, putting the Comets ahead 35-31 with just 27 seconds left.
Albion rolled past Kalamazoo in a battle of unbeaten teams, defeating the Hornets 44-17 in the MIAA opener for both squads. Phillip Jones-Price ran for 106 yards and a touchdown while Luke Lovell completed 21 of 27 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Thiel liked winning at home so much, it went and did it again, as the Tomcats held off Waynesburg in a 15-14 victory in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Dual threat quarterback Joseph Fell threw for 141 yards and ran for 122 and his team's two touchdowns in the win. Thiel held Waynesburg to 77 yards passing.