By Natalie Hanna · Contributing Writer
Grove City’s football team opened its PAC schedule with a tough loss to Washington & Jefferson on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The Wolverines scored their first touchdown in the third quarter with a 50-yard pass from junior quarterback Sutton Ellis to classmate wide receiver Sam Penna, followed by the extra point from freshman kicker Brady Lane, bringing the score to 34-7. Penna caught three passes for a total of 58 yards throughout the game, while Ellis threw for a total of 83 yards.
Senior running back Ian Demeri led the team with 142 rushing yards and closed the scoring with a two-yard touchdown run in 21 attempts, bringing the final score to 34-14. W&J outgained Grove City 448-281 and held a 35:50-24:10 lead in possession time.
“(It’s) obviously not the outcome we wanted, but it doesn’t change our identity. The last couple weeks we have not been playing to our best potential, and as we get into week five of the season, we need to be reaching that,” Ellis said.
On the defensive side of the game, senior linebackers Caleb Brubaker and Jack Jollie had 17 and 12 tackles, respectively. Senior linebacker Ben Bladel shared a sack with senior defensive end Jordan Karczewski.
Despite the loss, the team is prepared to bounce back and “attack the rest of the PAC the same way we did the last three games: we will play our game and just keep meshing as a team,” according to Ellis.
“We are really going to have to catch our footing over the next seven weeks to give ourselves a chance for a playoff berth,” Ellis said.
Having graduated a strong group of seniors last year, this year’s offense is working to find their rhythm with the addition of many new players and moving parts. They will be working hard this week and confronting the weaknesses FOOTBALL continued from 11
that were exposed by W&J over the weekend.
“Adversity builds character. Win or lose, we show back up ready to continue to grow in our visions and [our next game] is just another opportunity to do that,” Ellis said.
“It’s going to be a good game. It should be a pretty good atmosphere, (and) our fans travel well, so it always feels like we have a crowd backing us. We need to continue being anchored in our identities every day this week to be ready for this weekend. I know this team will work hard all week and we will go into Saturday having faith that we are prepared to get back on track and get a win,” he said.
Grove City returns to action tomorrow, Oct. 4, to face off against the Geneva Tornadoes. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Beaver Falls, Pa.
