GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team opened its Presidents' Athletic Conference North Division schedule Thursday night by earning a 24-14 road victory over Carnegie Mellon at Gesling Stadium. 

The Grove City defense held CMU to eight first downs, 41 rushing yards, 180 total yards and a 1-for-9 performance on third down. Meanwhile, the Grove City offense amassed 446 yards on 86 plays while accumulating a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession. 

Junior quarterback Josh Ehst (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) threw for 342 yards and one touchdown while also scoring on a pair of quarterback sneaks. Senior wide receiver Cameron Drake (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) caught 10 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. Fellow senior Cody Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) added eight receptions for 127 yards. 

Senior safety Jared Hurd (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) recorded a team-leading eight tackles and also intercepted a CMU pass in the end zone in the second quarter.

Sophomore linebacker Ryan Fleming (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) recorded a pair of sacks on Carnegie Mellon's final drive to help seal the victory. He finished with seven stops. Senior defensive end R.J. Debo (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) added a sack and a forced fumble. 

Grove City (2-0, 1-0) took a 7-0 lead with 5:21 left in the first quarter when Drake caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Ehst. Junior kicker Nick Morrow (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) kicked the first of his three extra points, giving the Wolverines a 7-0 lead. 

Carnegie Mellon tied the game 37 seconds into the second quarter on Luke Bikulege's three-yard touchdown run. Grove City reclaimed the lead on the final play of the half, however, as Ehst bulled in from the 1 on a quarterback sneak.

Ehst's scored capped a 17-play, 80-yard drive that began with 7:41 left in the half. Hurd's interception and subsequent touchback gave Grove City possession. 

Two early penalties on the drive put Grove City in a 3rd-and-28 situation. However, Drake's 33-yard reception gave Grove City a first down. Drake later caught a 16-yard pass to give Grove City goal to go at the 2-yard line.

Carnegie Mellon quickly tied the game in the third quarter as Bikulege scored with 13:40 left in the period. Grove City assembled another lengthy possession to reclaim the lead though. The Wolverines converted four third-down situations on a 15-play, 72-yard drive that used 7:24. 

Ehst scored on a one-yard sneak to give Grove City the lead for good, 21-14. 

A muffed Grove City punt gave Carnegie Mellon possession at the Grove City 30 with 11:43 left in the fourth quarter. The Wolverine defense held CMU to two yards in four plays and forced a turnover on downs. 

Ehst fired a 40-yard strike to freshman wide receiver Nick Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) on the second play of the drive, putting the ball at the CMU 30. On 4th-and-10, Cody Gustafson caught a 16-yard pass to keep alive the drive. Morrow drilled a 30-yard field goal with 7:46 left to close the scoring.

Junior running back Zach Trusky (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) led Grove City with 74 yards rushing on 34 attempts. Ehst added 22 yards on nine attempts. Grove City had possession for 39 minutes, 57 seconds. 

Bikulege led Carnegie Mellon with 58 rushing yards on 16 carries. Quarterback J.D. Dayhuff went 8 of 19 for 139 yards. 

Grove City will be off next week for Easter. The Wolverines will host Westminster at 7 p.m. Friday, April 9 in PAC North Division action.