CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The Grove City College football team concluded its historic 2023 season Saturday afternoon by dropping a 25-24 decision at No. 11 Cortland in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, held at the Red Dragons' Grady Field.
No. 16 Grove City finishes the season 11-1 overall, setting a program record with 11 wins. Cortland advances to the national quarterfinals to face Alma, which upset Mount Union in Saturday's second round, 24-20.
Grove City led 24-17 with 1:23 left in the game but Cortland's Jaden AlfanoStJohn scored on a one-yard run. Cortland then went for the go-ahead two-point conversion and quarterback Zac Boyes found tight end Omari Kendrick in the end zone for the two-pointer.
Grove City quickly drove into Cortland territory, however, as senior wide receiver Ryan Heckathorn (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) caught three passes on the drive from junior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township). His 12-yard reception on third-and-10 gave Grove City a first down at the Cortland 42.
Pfeuffer later fired an eight-yard completion to senior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch), placing the ball at the 20. The Wolverines' 37-yard field goal attempt drifted left, however, allowing Cortland to secure the win.
The Wolverines trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter as Boyes completed a six-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Laap in the first quarter and then scored on a 14-yard run to open the second period.
Grove City answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that Pfeuffer capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Heckathorn at the 8:50 mark.
Late in the half, Grove City took over possession at the Cortland 38 after a 17-yard punt return from senior Gabe Dunlap (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford). Pfeuffer tossed a 34-yard strike to Heckathorn with 11 seconds left in the half. On the next play, the Wolverines tied the game as junior wide receiver Ryan Lenhart (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) caught a four-yard touchdown pass.
Grove City took its first lead of the afternoon in the third quarter as sophomore kicker Caleb Kuechly (West Chester, Ohio/Mars Hill) kicked a 20-yard field goal with 6:39 left in the third quarter. The Wolverines opened the second half with a 16-play, 72-yard drive that consumed 8:21 of clock.
Cortland's Mike Baloga tied the game with a 27-yard field goal but the Wolverines answered with another lengthy touchdown drive. Fraser capped a 15-play, 67-yard drive by catching a seven-yard touchdown pass with 8:27 remaining. The scoring march used 7:58.
Pfeuffer completed 18 of 30 passes for 197 yards. He also ran for 38 yards on four attempts. Junior running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) ran for 116 yards on 25 carries, recording his eighth 100-yard game of the season.
Heckathorn caught a career-high eight passes for 96 yards. Fraser added seven catches for 75 yards. Grove City finished with 381 total offensive yards.
Defensively, senior free safety Trevor Beck (Port Matilda, Pa./State College) and sophomore cornerback Boden Davidson (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian) both intercepted passes. Sophomore linebacker Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) recorded two sacks, giving him a Grove City-record 17 quarterback sacks this season.
Junior nose tackle Kobe Bonanno (New Bethlehem, Pa./Redbank Valley) blocked a field goal attempt in the second quarter.
Dunlap and sophomore linebacker Jack Jollie (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) both recorded a team-high 11 tackles. Bladel and graduate student linebacker Ryan Fleming (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) both added six stops.
Grove City limited Cortland to 352 total yards. The Red Dragons averaged 517 total yards and 47 points per game over the first 11 games of the season. Boyes completed 19 of 28 passes for 263 yards. He also ran for 50 yards on a dozen attempts. Laap had eight catches for 111 yards.
Grove City went 10 of 15 on third down and owned a 34:28-25:32 edge in time of possession. Each team punted once.
Saturday's game marked the first-ever meeting between the programs. Last week, Grove City earned its first-ever NCAA playoff win by edging host Susquehanna, 21-20, on Lenhart's touchdown catch on fourth down with seven seconds left. Cortland won at Endicott in the first round, 23-17, when the Red Dragons stopped Endicott as time expired.
No. 11 Cortland edges Grove City in 2nd Round of NCAA Playoffs
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231125_e133.xml
2023
Grove City
24
Cortland
25
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 18 Grove City (11-1) | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| No. 11 Cortland (11-1) | 7 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 25 |
Nov 25, 2023