WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College football team dropped a 27-19 decision Saturday night to Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Washington & Jefferson at the Presidents' historic Cameron Stadium.

Grove City (5-1, 5-1) drove to the W&J 19 on its final drive of the game but turned over the ball on downs with 1:24 remaining in the game. Grove City drove into W&J territory on each of its three second-half drives but scored only three points as sophomore kicker Daniel Sullivan (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) kicked a 23-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. 

Sullivan's field goal cut W&J's lead to 20-19. The Presidents pushed the lead to 27-19 with 1:01 left in the third quarter on Kobe Derosa's one-yard touchdown run. 

Grove City took a 6-0 lead with 9:14 left in the first quarter when senior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) scored on a one-yard sneak.

That drive began at the W&J 5 after junior linebacker Caleb Brubaker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) recovered a fumble and returned it 65 yards to the 5. Senior safety Jason Muench (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) forced the fumble. 

W&J tied the game, 6-6, when Jacob Pugh completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to John Peduzzi with 5:03 left in the first quarter. Grove City reclaimed the lead in the second quarter as senior running back Nico Flati (Aliquippa, Pa./West Allegheny) scored on a six-yard run at the 11:32 mark. 

Sullivan's career-long 42-yard field goal gave Grove City a 16-6 lead with 6:40 left in the half. However, Pugh threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jacob Macosko in the final two minutes of the half to give W&J a 20-16 halftime lead.

Flati led Grove City with 102 rushing yards on 31 carries. Pfeuffer completed 12 of 24 passes for 138 yards. Senior wide receiver Scott Fraser (Butler, Pa./Knoch) caught four passes for 57 yards. Senior wide receiver Ryan Heckathorn (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) caught four balls for 46 yards. 

Brubaker also had a sack and eight tackles for Grove City. Senior safety Shay Aitken (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) forced a fourth quarter fumble that senior nose tackle Kobe Bonanno (New Bethlehem, Pa./Redbank Valley) recovered. Junior cornerback Boden Davidson (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian) had a team-high 10 tackles.

W&J held a 325-282 edge in total yardage. Grove City held W&J to 46 rushing yards on 20 carries. W&J went 6 of 9 on third down while the Wolverines went 8 of 17. W&J had 22 first downs and Grove City had 19 first downs. Pugh threw for 279 yards on 26-of-40 passing.

Grove City will host conference rival Thiel next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the 40th annual battle for the coveted Mercer County Cup.