GROVE CITY, Pa. -- A balanced offense and stout defense helped lift the Grove City College football team to a 42-15 home win over Thiel in the 35th Mercer County Cup game Saturday afternoon at Robert E. Thorn Field. 

Grove City retains possession of the prestigious Cup and closes the regular season with a 7-3 overall record. That is Grove City's best record since the 1997 team finished 9-2. Grove City also finished 6-3 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play, setting a program record for conference wins in one season. Grove City's six-game win streak is the longest for the Wolverines in 21 years.

Grove City led 7-3 after one quarter before breaking open the game with a 28-point outburst in the second quarter. Junior running back Wesley Schools (Port Jervis, N.Y./Port Jervis) pushed the lead to 14-3 with 13:34 remaining in the second quarter by scoring on a two-yard run. 

The Wolverines then scored 21 points in a four-minute span before halftime. Freshman quarterback Josh Ehst (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) fired a 24-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Cameron Drake (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) with 5:47 left in the half. 

Thiel muffed the subsequent kickoff and freshman cornerback Ben Palizay (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) recovered at the Thiel 33. Four plays later, Schools scored the second of his three touchdowns as he recorded a three-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the half.

Ehst then launched a 53-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Cody Gustafson (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) with 1:44 left in the half to cap the outburst. Schools scored on a four-yard run with 10:20 remaining in the third quarter to close Grove City's scoring.

Ehst opened the scoring four minutes into the game when he scored on a one-yard sneak. Senior linebacker Sam Henson (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) set up the touchdown by returning an interception to the Thiel 28.

Gustafson caught six passes for 133 yards. He finished the regular season with 1,059 yards, which surpasses Rick Sems' record of 1,023 yards set in 1991. Gustafson also owns Grove City's single-season (15) and career (20) touchdown records. 

Ehst finished 10 of 13 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Schools ran for 114 yards on 23 attempts, giving him 16 100-yard outings in the Wolverines' last 17 games. Overall, Grove City finished with 407 offensive yards and 22 first downs.

Henson led Grove City 10 tackles and also combined with sophomore linebacker Brent Engleman (Milton, Pa./Milton) on a sack. Sophomore safety Patrick Mark (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Wellington) had nine stops while senior nose tackle Connor Lowe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) had a sack. The Wolverines held Thiel to 217 offensive yards.

Nick Barca led Thiel (0-10, 0-9) with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Quarterback Damon Smith went 9 of 19 for 81 yards. 

Grove City will await a possible ECAC bowl invitational, which would be announced Monday afternoon. The Wolverines now lead the Cup series, 23-12.

Prior to the game, Grove City honored its 10 seniors: offensive tackle Dalton Callihan (Chicora, Pa./Karns City), linebacker Ethan Conto (Bruin, Pa./Karns City), guard Ethan Fry (Mansfield, Pa./Mansfield), Henson, fullback Kyler Horswill (Zuni, Va./Phoebus), safety Daniel Jackson (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield), tight end Rob Kunst (Butler, Pa./Butler), Lowe, defensive end Stephen McLoughlin (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) and tackle Brian Mitchell (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny).