GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team closed the 2021 season Saturday afternoon by earning a 49-7 victory over visiting Utica in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Scotty Whitelaw Bowl at Robert E. Thorn Field. 

The Grove City offense produced a 400-yard passer, a 200-yard receiver, a 100-yard receiver and two 100-yard rushers Saturday as the Wolverines finished with 629 total offensive yards. Defensively, Grove City held Utica (6-5) to six first downs and 127 total yards. 

Senior quarterback Josh Ehst (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) earned the game's Most Valuable Player award after throwing for a career-high 411 yards and five touchdowns. Ehst completed 22 of 29 passes in the win. He also scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

Ehst became Grove City's career leader in passing yardage as he concluded his career with 7,741 yards. He also set a program record by throwing for 2,772 yards this year. His 20 touchdown passes ties his own program mark, set in 2019.

Senior wide receiver Cody Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) caught 13 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns while sophomore wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch) had eight receptions for 149 yards and a score. 

Junior running back Clayton Parrish (Mercer, Pa./West Middlesex) ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Senior Zach Trusky (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) posted 107 yards on 24 attempts.

Junior linebacker Ryan Fleming (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) helped lead the defensive effort by recording a career-high three sacks. He also forced a pair of fumbles and recovered one fumble. Sophomore cornerback Gabe Dunlap (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) intercepted a pass, his team-leading third pick of the season.

Parrish gave Grove City the lead at the 9:16 mark of the first quarter when he scored from two yards out. Senior kick Nick Morrow (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) kicked the first of his six extra points to put the Wolverines ahead 7-0. 

The lead then grew to 14-0 with 5:37 left in the opening period as Gustafson caught a four-yard touchdown pass. Ehst and Gustafson then combined for three touchdowns in an 11-minute span of the second quarter. 

Gustafson caught a five-yard scoring strike with 12:30 left in the half, pushing the lead to 21-0. Ehst then fired a 60-yard touchdown to Gustafson with 7:14 left in the half, capping a four-play, 88-yard drive. With 1:46 left in the half, Ehst tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gustafson.

Fleming stripped Utica quarterback Sonny Badyna at midfield with 31 seconds left in the half, giving Grove City one final possession. Following a Utica personal foul, Fraser caught a 27-yard pass to give the Wolverines goal to go. Ehst scored on a one-yard sneak on the final play of the first half.

Fraser caught a six-yard touchdown pass with 13:39 left in the game. Senior kicker Edward Bianco (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville North) added the extra point.

Utica closed the scoring with 10:02 left when Matt Brantley caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Belott. 

Senior linebacker Parker Kilgore (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) recorded a team-high eight tackles and sophomore safety Trevor Beck (Port Matilda, Pa./State College) added six stops. The Grove City defense held Utica to 1-for-12 performance on third down. Utica averaged 2.8 yards per play on its 45 offensive snaps. 

The Wolverines converted 9 of 12 third-down opportunities. Grove City owned a 38:30-21:30 advantage in time of possession.

Grove City's 629 offensive yards represents the second-highest single game total in program history. The Wolverines amassed 649 yards in a 71-21 win over Bluffton 24 years ago. 

Gustafson concluded the season with 97 catches for 1,420 yards and 14 touchdowns. He broke his own single-season records for receptions and receiving yards. He concludes his career with 341 receptions for 5,328 yards and 52 touchdowns, all of which are program records. Gustafson is the active NCAA leader in career receiving yards.

Fleming finished the season with 10 sacks, which is the third-highest total in program history. It's the first double-digit sack season for a Grove City player since 1998, when Mark Furgeson had 15 sacks and Ed Fox posted 11 sacks. Fleming forced five fumbles this season.

Grove City's 417 points and 4,990 total offensive yards this season are both program records. 

Grove City is now 3-1 all-time in ECAC bowl games. The Wolverines defeated Morrisville State in the 2018 ECAC James Lynah Bowl, 56-48. In 2019, Grove City topped Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the James Lynah Bowl, 41-38. Grove City fell to Merchant Marine, 25-12, in the 1997 ECAC Southwest Bowl.

Saturday's game marked the first all-time meeting between Grove City and Utica.