GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Grove City College will induct its undefeated 1966 football team into the College' Athletic Hall of Fame in conjunction with the September 28 night home football game against Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Allegheny. 

The team will be honored in the Hall of Fame area at 3:30 p.m. in the Physical Learning Center, adjacent to the Grove City College Arena. Returning players and families will be recognized prior to kickoff of the Grove City-Allegheny game at Robert E. Thorn Field. 

Registration is open for the Hall of Fame ceremonies here. 

Below is a review of the historic 1966 season:

In 1965, Grove City posted a 4-4-1 overall record. The four losses came by a combined 17 points, however, and with 21 lettermen returning for 1966, Grove City had plenty of reason for optimism.

"Never have I had 21 lettermen report to camp as I will have this year," head coach Jack Behringer said in the preseason press guide. "Never have I had a veteran returning to every position but two on both offensive and defensive teams. Never have I had as sound all-around teams on both offense and defense as this year.

"Certainly I've had better individual players, no one can question that," Behringer continued. "But as collective members of teams, our offensive and defensive teams are outstanding."

Behringer's forecast proved to be extremely accurate as Grove City amassed a program-record 269 points while holding the nine opponents to a total of 92 points. The Wolverines recorded two shutouts and limited five other foes to just one touchdown. Opponents averaged 2.5 yards per carry against a Wolverine defense that also intercepted 21 passes. 

Game-By-Game Recaps:

September 24 · Williamsport, Pa.
Grove City 27, Lycoming 8
Grove City opened the 1966 season by making its first-ever trip to Lycoming. A balanced offensive attack that featured 162 rushing yards and 152 passing yards helped carry the Wolverines to a 27-8 victory. Junior quarterback Mike Zeigler completed 7 of 12 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns with senior halfback Russ Snead catching three passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns. 

Defensively, an early goal line stand by the Wolverines helped preserve a 0-0 tie until the Grove City offense kicked in gear. The Collegian cited linebackers Ron Hillegas and George Santypal for their defensive efforts against the Warriors, who had just 59 passing yards against Grove City.

October 1 · Grove City, Pa.
Grove City 20, Brockport State 0
 A rain-soaked Homecoming crowd of approximately 5,000 saw Grove City improve to 2-0 for the first time in 32 years as the Wolverines blanked the visitors from western New York at College Field. Larry Sawyer's punt return to the Brockport 9 set up Grove City's first touchdown, a one-yard plunge by Bob Laird. Zeigler then threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to end Ken Wyman late in the second quarter, giving Grove City a 12-0 lead. Snead's two-point conversion boosted the lead to 14. 

A Sawyer interception in the third quarter at the Grove City 40 set up the Wolverines' final touchdown drive, as Jim Durand bulled in from the 1 to close the scoring. 

October 8 · Washington, Pa.
Grove City 28, Wash. & Jeff. 10
A furious fourth quarter comeback gave Grove City its third win of the season while also spoiling W&J's Homecoming weekend. Grove City trailed 10-8 entering the final period but stormed back with 20 unanswered points. Sawyer intercepted a pass on the final play of the third quarter to give Grove City possession in W&J territory. Early in the fourth quarter, Zeigler scored on a one-yard sneak to give the Wolverines a 14-10 lead.

Sawyer then thwarted another W&J drive with his second interception of the half. Grove City assembled a 71-yard scoring drive that Snead capped with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Later in the quarter, Zeigler's 11-yard touchdown run and Paul Pendergast's two-point pass to end Bill Ammon capped the win. 

Halfback Greg Magness led Grove City with 85 yards while Snead had 81 yards and Zeigler gained 75 on the ground. Grove City finished with 274 rushing yards and 356 yards of offense.

October 15 · Pittsburgh, Pa.
Grove City 52, Carnegie Tech 35
After owning a 30-9 lead, Grove City needed a 22-point fourth quarter to knock off Carnegie Tech in a battle of undefeated squads. With help from two blocked punts, the Tartans had taken a 35-30 lead but Grove City marched to the Tech 1, and, on fourth-and-goal, Zeigler put Grove City ahead for good by scoring on a bootleg over left end. Moments later, Sawyer inter-cepted Tech quarterback Tom Hubka and returned the pick 48 yards for a touchdown. Zeigler's two-point conversion run gave Grove City a 44-35 advantage. 

Defensive tackle Lynn Crawford recovered a Tech fumble at the Tartans' 23 on the next possession, and Pendergast sealed the victory with an eight-yard touchdown run and a two-point pass to Magness. 

Santypal's interception and return to the Tech 12 set up Grove City's first touchdown, a seven-yard run by Zeigler. Zeigler finished with four touchdowns and accounted for 26 of Grove City's 52 points. Hubka had not been intercepted in Tech's first three games but Grove City picked off five passes. Charlie Purdue also blocked a punt for the Wolverines to set up the game's second touchdown. 

October 22 · Grove City, Pa.
Grove City 21, Westminster 21
Grove City rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit to take a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter, but a late Westminster touchdown forged a 21-21 deadlock in the season's fifth game. Grove City tied the game at 14 in the third quarter on Zeigler's 16-yard touchdown pass to Brian Bancroft. Following an interception by Henry Horvat, Zeigler opened the fourth quarter by firing a 48-yard touchdown bomb to Bancroft that put the Wolverines ahead 21-14.

Horvat's second interception of the game came with 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, Grove City fumbled at its own 19 and the Titans tied the game on Smitty Cornell's 19-yard touchdown pass to Gary Hughes. 

October 29 · Grove City, Pa. 
Grove City 41, Geneva 6
Grove City pummeled winless Geneva by piling up 383 rushing yards and 27 first downs while the Wolverine 'D' held Geneva to 15 rushing yards and five first downs at College Field. Bob Downs and Magness both scored on touchdown runs in the first quarter to give the Wolverines an early 14-0 lead. 

Zeigler threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Snead that stretched the lead to 20-0 in the second quarter while Magness scored on an 18-yard touchdown run that gave Grove City a 27-6 halftime lead. Jack Ramsay's one-yard touchdown plunge and Pendergast's seven-yard touchdown pass to end Dick Eble closed the scoring for Grove City, which posted its highest point total ever against Geneva.

November 5 · Grove City, Pa.
Grove City 8, Delaware Valley 6
The Grove City defense forced six turnovers by Delaware Valley's highly-touted pro-style offense to keep the Wolverines unbeaten in 1966. Earl Blomberg recovered two fumbles while Tony Silver recovered a fumble. Jake Steelman intercepted two passes for the Wolverines and Dave Hannan also picked off a pass.

Delaware Valley's nationally-ranked defense limited Grove City to 183 yards, but 67 of those yards came on a pivotal play in the first quarter as Wyman hauled in a 67-yard touchdown pass from Zeigler to give Grove City a 6-0 lead. Bancroft caught the two-point conversion, which provided the eventual margin of victory.

November 12 · Grove City, Pa.
Grove City 38, Hiram 6
Grove City charged out to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in closing the home schedule with a one-sided victory over the Ohioans. Zeigler put Grove City ahead early by tossing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Wyman on the opening drive of the game. Bancroft's two-point catch gave Grove City an 8-0 lead. Snead's three-yard touchdown run and a Zeigler two-point run pushed the lead to 16-0 by the end of the first period.

Purdue recovered a fumble at the Hiram 35 in the third quarter, setting up Zeigler's second touchdown pass to Wyman. Snead's 62-yard punt return to the Hiram 20 preceded a third Zeigler-to-Wyman scoring connection and a 30-0 lead. Sawyer recorded his fifth interception of the season in the fourth quarter and returned it 30 yards to the Hiram 10. Magness scored on the next play while Wyman followed by catching Pendergast's two-point pass. 

November 19 · Greenville, Pa.
Grove City 34, Thiel 0
Grove City emphatically closed the 1966 season by routing Mercer County rival Thiel 34-0. The Wolverines piled up 536 offensive yards and 26 first downs while the Grove City defense limited Thiel to 142 yards and seven first downs. On Grove City's second possession, Zeigler's 43-yard pass to Snead set up Magness for a six-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.

In the second quarter, Snead caught a 51-yard touchdown from Zeigler that boosted the advantage to 16-0. Wyman and Magness also caught touchdown passes from Zeigler while Pendergast threw a 12-yard touchdown strike to Bancroft. 

STATISTICAL RECAP
Zeigler set a single-season program record with 15 touchdown passes. That mark stood for 37 years and is still the third-best total at Grove City. He threw for 883 yards and also ran for 364 yards. 

Magness led Grove City with 603 rushing yards while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Snead added 384 yards and also paced the team with 13 catches for 341 yards. Wyman finished with 11 catches for 312 yards. His seven touchdown catches stood as the Grove City single-season record until 2003. Bancroft added eight pass receptions and also intercepted one pass on defense.

Sawyer led the defense with five interceptions while Hannan had four picks. Horvat and Steelman each intercepted three passes as Grove City finished with 21 interceptions.

HONORS
Zeigler, whose playing style drew comparisons to then-NFL star Fran Tarkenton, earned West Penn Conference Most Valuable Player honors while Horvat and linebacker John Naugle earned all-conference honors on defense. West Penn Honorable Mention went to Blomberg, tackle Lynn Crawford, tackle Ted Dittrich, guard George Keller, Magness, tackle Bob Ostrowski, Sawyer and Snead. Dittrich, Keller and Naugle all earned All-District honors from the Pittsburgh newspapers.