GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team dropped a 24-17 decision Friday night to visiting Westminster in Presidents' Athletic Conference North Division action at Robert E. Thorn Field.

Grove City (2-1, 1-1 PAC North) trailed 17-3 in the third quarter before rallying to tie the game. Junior quarterback Josh Ehst (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Cody Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) with 2:52 left in the period, cutting the lead to 17-10.

Grove City then tied the game with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter as Gustafson hauled in a 10-yard touchdown catch from Ehst. 

Westminster reclaimed the lead with 5:35 left when Vincent Giles caught a seven-yard touchdown on a shovel pass from Cole Konieczka. That capped a 95-yard scoring drive.

Grove City twice drove into Westminster territory in the final five minutes but could not rally again.

Gustafson caught a Grove City-record 19 passes for 162 yards and the two touchdowns. Ehst finished 25 of 47 for 217 yards. Junior running back Zach Trusky (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) ran for a team-high 74 yards on 24 carries while sophomore Clayton Parrish (Mercer, Pa./West Middlesex) added 43 yards on 10 attempts.

Westminster took a 7-0 lead with 10:32 left in the first quarter when Frank Antuono scored on a one-yard sneak. Grove City answered at the 5:18 mark as junior kicker Nick Morrow (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) drilled a 32-yard field goal. Westminster led 10-3 after one quarter as Dylan Kidder kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:53 left.

Senior safety Patrick Mark (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Wellington) recorded a team-leading 12 tackles for Grove City and junior linebacker Parker Kilgore (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) added 10 stops. Sophomore nose tackle James Parenti (Hilliards, Pa./Moniteau) added nine tackles. 

Sophomore linebacker Ryan Fleming (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) intercepted a pass and senior defensive end Brent Engleman (Milton, Pa./Milton) recorded a sack.

Grove City owned a 28-26 edge in first downs. The Wolverines executed 89 offensive plays and finished with 348 yards. Westminster accumulated 367 total yards. Grove City went 12 for 20 on third down and Westminster converted 10 of 17 third downs. Grove City held a 33:55-26:05 edge in time of possession.

Konieczka completed 15 of 28 passes for 159 yards. Ryan Gomes ran for 94 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. 

Grove City will visit Geneva in the regular season finale next Friday night at 7 p.m.