Wolverines Stun Westminster, 36-33, on Homecoming

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GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Sophomore wide receiver Cody Gustafson (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) pulled in a two-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Josh Ehst (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) with seven seconds remaining in regulation Saturday afternoon to lift the Grove City College football team to a come-from-behind 36-33 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Westminster on Homecoming at Robert E. Thorn Field.

Gustafson's touchdown catch capped a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that used 2:35 of clock. Ehst completed three passes to Gustafson on the drive and also threw a 15-yard completion to freshman wide receiver Branden Caffrey (Ashburn, Va./John Champe). Ehst also ran for 13 yards on 3rd-and-1 near midfield. Ehst gave Grove City a goal-to-go situation when he threw a seven-yard pass to sophomore Cameron Drake (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley).

Ehst finished 15 of 26 for a career-high 230 yards. He also ran for 62 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Gustafson caught eight passes for 87 yards while Drake had six receptions for a career-high 128 yards. All six of Drake's catches came in the second half.

Junior running back Wesley Schools (Port Jervis, N.Y./Port Jervis) ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. Schools went over the 3,000-yard mark for his career, becoming the second back in program history to reach that milestone.

Grove City trailed 14-6 at halftime but opened the second half with a quick touchdown drive. Schools bulled in from the 1 at the 13:44 mark of the third quarter to close a four-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. Freshman kicker Nick Morrow (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) kicked the extra point. Drake caught a 38-yard pass on the drive while Gustafson followed with a 37-yard reception.

Westminster's Vincent Giles returned the subsequent kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, pushing the lead back to eight. The Wolverines countered with an 11-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that ended with Schools' second one-yard touchdown run at the 8:52 mark. The two-point conversion failed.

Grove City then grabbed a 26-21 lead 61 seconds later when Ehst scored on a one-yard sneak. That marked the first of five lead changes over the final 23 minutes.

Senior safety Daniel Jackson (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) set up the one-yard drive by intercepting a pass at the Westminster 45 and returning the ball 44 yards. It is Jackson's fourth interception of the season.

Westminster pulled back ahead, 27-26, at the 4:16 mark on Shamon Walker's 13-yard quarterback scramble. Grove City stopped the two-point conversion, however. Exactly four minutes later, Morrow's 33-yard field goal put Grove City ahead 29-27.

Westminster took its final lead, 33-29, when Keano Grice scored on a 27-yard screen pass with 11:21 left in the game.

Morrow kicked respective field goals of 44 and 30 yards in the second quarter for Grove City. Westminster opened the scoring at the 8:31 mark of the first quarter on Isiah Canton's two-yard touchdown run. Walker closed the first half with a two-yard run on the final scrimmage play of the second quarter. 

Freshman linebacker Parker Kilgore (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler), the reigning ECAC Division III South Rookie of the Month, led the Wolverines with 14 total tackles. Junior linebacker Luke Salerno (Cowansville, Pa./Karns City) and sophomore safety Patrick Mark (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Wellington) each had 10 stops. Mark had 2.5 tackles for loss. 

Freshman cornerback Ben Palizay (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) recovered a fumbled kickoff at the Westminster 11 in the second quarter to set up Morrow's second field goal.

Grove City finished the game with 440 offensive yards. The Wolverines held a 23-19 edge in first downs and a 33:16-26:44 advantage in time of possession. In the second half, Grove City owned possession for 18 minutes, 47 seconds of the 30 total minutes. Grove City also went 9 for 18 on third down and scored on each of the team's trips inside the Westminster 20.

Walker led Westminster with 114 rushing yards. He also completed 8 of 21 passes for 62 yards. Westminster finished with 293 offensive yards. 

Winners of two straight, Grove City (3-3, 2-3 PAC) will host Waynesburg in conference action next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Robert E. Thorn Field.