ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Grove City College football team dropped a 21-17 decision Saturday afternoon at No. 6 Mount Union in non-conference action at rain-soaked Kehres Stadium. Mount Union quarterback Mikey Maloney fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Mason Ashby with 12 seconds left to give the Purple Raiders the lead.
Grove City took a 10-7 lead with 23 seconds left in the first half as junior wide receiver
John Perry (Cortland, Ohio/Howland) caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback
Mike Hollomon (Princeton, N.J./The Pingry School). Perry's touchdown -- the first of his career -- came on a deflection in the end zone.
The Wolverines pushed the lead to 17-7 with 3:22 left in the third quarter as Hollomon lofted a three-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver
Seth McGroerty (Middletown, Del./Red Lion Christian). That nine-play touchdown drive began at the Mount Union 24 after an interception and subsequent return by graduate student safety
Ryan Montgomery (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock).
Mount Union (1-1) cut the lead to 17-14 two minutes later when Kayden Minner caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Maloney. Minner's 33-yard sprint and a defensive pass interference penalty moved the Purple Raiders into the end zone.
Sophomore kicker
Brady Lane (Jefferson, Ga./Mill Creek) opened the scoring with a 31-yard field goal at the 5:40 mark of the first quarter. Grove City opened the game with a 17-play, 56-yard drive that used 9 minutes, 20 seconds.
Grove City finished the game with a 36:01-23:59 edge in time of possession. The Wolverines went 9 of 19 on third down, including an 8-for-11 performance in the first half.
The Wolverines intercepted Maloney five times Saturday. Senior safety
Dominic DiNinno (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area), junior cornerback
Noah Wheeler (McKinney, Texas/McKinney Christian), sophomore cornerback
Cameron Epps (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Allegheny) and freshman linebacker
Brayden Gerst (New Stanton, Pa./Hempfield) picked off passes, along with Montgomery.
McGroerty led Grove City with five catches for 66 yards. Hollomon threw for 148 yards. Senior running back
Chase Rankin (Coventry Township, Ohio/Coventry) ran for 82 yards on 23 carries.
Maloney finished 18 of 31 for 247 yards. Minner ran for 98 yards on 14 carries. Ashby had five catches for 100 yards.
Wheeler led Grove City with seven tackles. DiNinno, Montgomery and junior safety
Mason Clouse (Templeton, Pa./Redbank Valley) all had six stops.
Each went 2 for 4 on scoring opportunities inside the opponents' 20-yard-line. Grove City stopped Mount Union on fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the second quarter while Mount Union stopped Grove City on fourth-and-short at the 4 early in the fourth period.
Grove City will have its open date next weekend. The Wolverines (0-2) will travel to Saint Francis to start Presidents' Athletic Conference play September 26 at 1 p.m.
