Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The Grove City College defense forced seven Cortland turnovers Saturday afternoon as the Wolverines earned a 31-14 non-conference win over the No. 10 Red Dragons at Grady Field.
Senior safety Ryan Montgomery (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble while sophomore cornerback Noah Wheeler (McKinney, Texas/McKinney Christian) also intercepted two passes.
Junior cornerback Dominic DiNinno (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) and sophomore safety Mason Clouse (Templeton, Pa./Redbank Valley) also picked off passes for the Wolverines, who held Cortland to a 3-for-11 performance on third downs.
Grove City broke a 14-14 tie 1:27 into the third quarter when Wheeler returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown. His first interception preserved the 14-14 tie with 1:20 left in the first half as he picked off a deflected pass in the back of the end zone.
The Wolverines then sealed the win with 10 points in the final five minutes of the game. Freshman kicker Brady Lane (Jefferson, Ga./Mill Creek) drilled a 38-yard field goal with 4:44 left, pushing the lead to 24-14. That capped a 12-play, 40-yard drive that used 7:08.
Senior running back Ian Demeri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) closed the scoring on a three-yard touchdown run with 1:20 remaining.
Cortland took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive when quarterback Mike Rescigno scored on a five-yard run with 9:49 left in the first quarter. Grove City answered with a nine-play, 64-yard touchdown drive that culminated in junior quarterback Sutton Ellis (Brunswick, Ga./Frederica Academy) firing a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Breck Peacock (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy) four minutes into the second quarter.
Demeri gave Grove City a 14-7 lead with a three-yard touchdown run at the 7:01 mark of the second quarter. That came six plays after Montgomery's interception gave Grove City possession at the Cortland 41.
Demeri led the Wolverines with 81 rushing yards on 24 attempts. Peacock caught seven passes for 105 yards in his Grove City debut. Ellis completed 10 of 22 passes for 135 yards.
Senior linebackers Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) and Caleb Brubaker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) both recorded sacks for Grove City. Brubaker also had three tackles for loss and finished with eight total stops. Senior linebacker Jack Jollie (Jeannette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) added six tackles.
Grove City held a 36:43-23:17 edge in time of possession. Cortland outgained Grove City, 257-253. Rescigno went 11 of 28 for 161 yards. He also ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Grove City (1-0) will open its home schedule next Saturday against No. 2 Mount Union. Kickoff will be 1 p.m. at Robert E. Thorn Field.