BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- A furious fourth-quarter comeback fell just short Friday night for the Grove City College football team as the Wolverines dropped a 24-17 decision at Geneva in Presidents' Athletic Conference North Division action at Reeves Field. 

Grove City (2-2) trailed 24-10 in the closing minutes but cut the lead to seven when freshman wide receiver Nick Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) caught a five-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Josh Ehst (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) with 1:16 left. 

Geneva recovered the onside kick but Grove City forced a punt after using its three timeouts. The Wolverines drove to the Geneva 48 but Ehst's heave to the end zone on the final play of the game fell incomplete.

Grove City trailed 17-3 late in the first half but cut the lead to 17-10 with 1:57 left as sophomore running back Clayton Parrish (Mercer, Pa./West Middlesex) scored on a four-yard run. Gustafson's 53-yard catch and run set up Parrish's touchdown run.

Geneva drove to the Grove City 17 but junior cornerback Branden Caffrey (Ashburn, Va./John Champe) intercepted a pass with 24 seconds left in the half.

Junior kicker Nick Morrow (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) opened Grove City's scoring with a 25-yard field goal at the 5:50 mark of the second quarter. Morrow's field goal cut Geneva's lead to 10-3.

Ehst completed 21 of 39 passes for 239 yards. Senior Cody Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) caught 16 passes for 154 yards. Nick Gustafson added five catches for 85 yards. Junior running back Zach Trusky (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) ran for 90 yards on 23 carries. Parrish added 42 yards on 10 attempts. 

Senior safety Patrick Mark (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Wellington) and junior linebacker Parker Kilgore (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) both recorded 14 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Fleming (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) added 13 tackles and senior end R.J. Debo (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) posted a dozen stops. 

Geneva outgained Grove City 378-323. The Wolverines had 21 first downs while Geneva had 17 first downs. Grove City went 4 of 16 on third down while Geneva went 5 of 14 on third down. Geneva held a 32:06-27:54 edge in time of possession.

Geneva quarterback Amos Luptak ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. 

Grove City will conclude its spring 2021 season next weekend in PAC crossover action. The Wolverines will face a PAC South Division opponent at a site and time to be determined.