GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team closed the 2022 regular season Saturday afternoon with a 66-6 Presidents' Athletic Conference win over visiting Thiel in the 38th Mercer County Cup, held at Robert E. Thorn Field.

The Grove City defense forced six turnovers and held Thiel (1-9, 1-7 PAC) to 15 net rushing yards. Grove City outgained the Tomcats, 497-146. 

Senior linebacker Nik Grabiec (Newport, Pa./Newport) returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown, one of five interceptions by the Grove City defense. Senior linebackers Curtis Freyermuth (Meadville, Pa./Cochranton) and Parker Kilgore (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) also picked off passes, as did freshman linebacker Nathan Kadosh-Harris (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) and freshman safety Keagan Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch).

Senior linebacker Ryan Fleming (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) had 3.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. Junior linebacker Cole DeFillippo (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) and freshman defensive end Ben Bladel (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) both forced fumbles on quarterback sacks. Sophomore safety Jason Muench (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) also had a forced fumble. 

Sophomore quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) completed 13 of 15 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch) grabbed six passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Fraser now has 1,113 receiving yards, the fourth-highest single-season mark in program history. 

Junior wide receiver Ryan Heckathorn (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) and sophomore wide receiver Ryan Lenhart (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) also caught touchdown passes from Pfeuffer. 

Grove City's stable of running backs amassed 222 yards and five rushing touchdowns. Senior Clayton Parrish (Mercer, Pa./West Middlesex) led Grove City (7-3, 5-3) with 59 yards and two scores on 10 attempts. Freshman Ian Demeri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Trafford) added 51 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) and junior running back Joe DeLuca (Mars, Pa./Mars) also scored rushing touchdowns. 

Fraser's 13-yard touchdown catch from Pfeuffer 2:40 into Saturday's game gave Grove City a 7-0 lead. Parrish scored from one yard out to cap the Wolverines' next possession. Senior kicker Nick Morrow (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) drilled the second of his nine extra points, pushing the lead to 14-0.

Heckathorn caught a 50-yard touchdown pass with 3:09 left in the quarter. In the second quarter, Parrish, Demeri and Flati scored on short touchdowns runs. Lenhart's eight-yard touchdown catch with 42 seconds left in the half gave the Wolverines a 49-6 halftime lead. 

Grove City scored on its first seven possessions.

Grabiec's 27-yard interception return to the end zone pushed the lead to 56-6. Morrow kicked a 25-yard field goal 13 seconds into the fourth quarter while DeLuca closed the scoring at the 5:39 mark with a three-yard run.

Freyermuth now leads Grove City with five interceptions this season. Fleming and Muench led the Grove City defense with five tackles each. Grove City held a 31:49-28:11 edge in time of possession. 

Prior to the game, Grove City honored its 20-man senior class as part of Senior Day: punter Jared Custer (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area), Fleming, guard Tim Forry (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield), Freyermuth, Grabiec, Kilgore, guard Vinny LePre (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove), cornerback Andrew Mason (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area), Morrow, fullback Mason Muir (Armagh, Pa./United), cornerback Isaac Munson (Erie, Pa./Erie), fullback Zack O'Brien (Peyton, Colo./Falcon), long snapper C.J. Otwell (Laurel, Del./Laurel), nose tackle James Parenti (Hilliards, Pa./Moniteau), Parrish, wide receiver Eric Schneider (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), defensive end Ethan Ward (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) and student coaches Daniel Blose (Ashburn, Va./Ashburn) and Troy Donofrio (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley).

Grove City will await a possible Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) bowl invitation. The ECAC bowl pairings will be announced Monday afternoon.