GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team nearly erased a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon but visiting Westminster escaped Robert E. Thorn Field with a 24-17 Presidents' Athletic Conference win over the Wolverines. Grove City drove to the Westminster 15 on its final drive but a fourth down incompletion in the end zone with four seconds left in the game ended the comeback effort.

Grove City cut Westminster's lead to 24-10 with 6:57 left when senior kicker Nick Morrow (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) booted a 20-yard field goal. After forcing the second of three fourth-quarter Westminster punts, Grove City trimmed the lead to 24-17 when sophomore quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) scored on a one-yard sneak with 2:42 left. Pfeuffer's sneak capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

Pfeuffer opened Grove City's scoring with four seconds left in the first half when he threw a one-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch). The touchdown cut Westminster's lead to 17-7 at halftime.

Pfeuffer finished 15 of 35 for 160 yards. Fraser caught six passes for 39 yards. Sophomore Ryan Lenhart (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) caught three passes for 52 yards. 

Junior running back Joey Guida (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) led Grove City's rushing attack with 76 yards on 10 carries. He also caught two passes for 36 yards. Sophomore running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) added 74 yards on 16 attempts. 

Senior linebacker Curtis Freyermuth (Meadville, Pa./Cochranton) intercepted a pass in the third quarter while freshman defensive end Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) blocked a field goal in the first quarter. 

Senior nose tackle James Parenti (Hilliards, Pa./Moniteau) led the Grove City defense with 10 tackles. Junior cornerback Trevor Beck (Port Matilda, Pa./State College) had nine stops and Bladel recorded eight tackles. 

Westminster outgained Grove City, 390-345. Westminster entered the game No. 4 in NCAA Division III, holding teams to only 194.0 offensive yards per game. Grove City held a 27-19 edge in first downs. Westminster went 8 of 19 on third down while Grove City finished 5 of 16 on third down.

Westminster quarterback Tyler McGowan completed 18 of 31 passes for 219 yards. Ryan Gomes ran for 110 yards on 26 carries. 

The Wolverines (6-2, 4-2 PAC) will have their open date next Saturday. Grove City will visit Washington & Jefferson at 1 p.m. in conference play November 5.