HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team opened the 2015 season Saturday afternoon with a 26-13 setback at Juniata in non-conference action at Knox Stadium.

Grove City trailed 19-0 at halftime but pulled to within 19-13 with a pair of third quarter touchdowns. Grove City broke through with 7:27 left in the third quarter when senior wide receiver Tyler Patterson (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) pulled in a four-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Antonio Carroscia (Stow, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) on fourth-and-goal.

The Wolverines then cut the lead to 19-13 with 2:09 left in the period when Carroscia fired a 43-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Brett Pinson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson).

However, Juniata's DaVon Mitchell closed the scoring 18 seconds in the fourth quarter by catching a 16-yard touchdown pass from Hank Coyne.

Carroscia finished 26 of 41 for 250 yards. Senior wide receiver Josh Peach (Hartville, Ohio/Lake) caught nine passes for 100 yards while Pinson had three catches for 65 yards. Junior Zach Gazdacko (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) pulled in three catches for 34 yards and Patterson also had three receptions. Ten different men caught passes for Grove City.

Sophomore Andrew Schauer (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) led Grove City with 39 rushing yards on 11 attempts.

Juniata took a 3-0 lead on the first drive of the game when Kevin Bonalle booted a 25-yard field goal. Following Grove City's first possession, Juniata's Kirby Breault returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown.

Following a 27-yard field goal by Bonalle, Juniata's Ryan Bologa closed the first-half scoring by returning a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown at the 9:52 mark of the second quarter.

 Senior linebacker Brandon Berringer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) led the Grove City defense with 11 tackles. Senior nose tackle Brent Veerman (Powell, Ohio/Columbus Crusaders) posted two tackles for loss and a sack while sophomore cornerback Jake Seibert (Copake, N.Y./Belvidere, N.J.) also received credit for a sack.

Grove City limited Juniata to a 4-for-15 performance on third down. Juniata did own a 350-296 edge in total yardage. The Eagles also held a 32:26-27:34 advantage in time of possession.

Coyne completed 19 of 37 passes for 186 yards.

Grove City opens its home schedule next Saturday with a 7 p.m. game against archrival Geneva at Robert E. Thorn Field.