Parrish scores twice; Grove City tops Spartans

Oct. 1—GROVE CITY — Clayton Parrish found a little running room. He hurdled a defender on the ground and made his way into the open field, crossing the goal line to put the Grove City College football team in front.

Parrish's second score of the game led to a 14-13 Wolverines win over Case Western Reserve Saturday afternoon at Robert E. Thorn Field in Grove City.

The West Middlesex graduate ran for 113 yards and two scores on 19 carries. He also moved into fourth all-time in rushing touchdowns at Grove City College with his 31st and 32nd career scores on the ground.

Parrish entered the game against the Spartans tied with Blaine Miller for fourth place with 30 rushing touchdowns. He now holds the spot, and he sits eight rushing touchdowns behind Doug Steiner's 40 for third all-time.

"I've been working really hard in the offseason — training, lifting weights running a lot — and none of that's possible without my teammates ... my coaches calling plays and my O-line blocking for me," Parrish said. "It's just been great all around. I'm really happy."

After Saturday, Parrish also has 1,424 career rushing yards. Jim Segerdahl is Grove City College's 10th all-time rusher at 1,609 yards.

Parrish's backfield mate Nico Flati ran for 42 yards on 14 attempts.

Grove City quarterback Logan Pfeuffer was 5-for-15 with 64 yards passing on a day that saw heavy rain roll in during the second quarter. Pfeuffer added 21 yards rushing on four carries.

Scott Fraser was the Wolverines' leading receiver with four catches for 44 yards. Joshua Gregory added a 20-yard reception.

The Wolverines (4-1, 2-1 Presidents' Athletic Conference) held the ball for over six minutes during the opening drive. Parrish capped the 11-play series with a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

The Spartans (3-2, 2-1 PAC) responded with a 12-play drive that took 6:44. They tied the game on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Drew Saxton to Ethan Dahlem just to the right of the field goal post in the back of the end zone.

As the rain began to fall, the Spartans took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Antonio Orsini midway through the second quarter. Case Western Reserve held a 13-7 lead after Ben Barney's extra point was blocked.

With a little over 2:30 remaining in the first half, the Spartans elected to go for a fourth down at their 39-yard line. Saxton's pass fell incomplete and the Wolverines were awarded a short field.

One play later, Parrish found a hole in the middle of the offensive line. He added a short jump over a falling defender and accelerated past the secondary, lowering the shoulder into a defensive back as he crossed the goal line.

The extra point attempt by Nick Morrow was good, and the Wolverines took a slim 14-13 lead with less than a minute left in the second quarter.

"I love it," Parrish said. "I'm a bigger guy. I'm 230 (pounds). I'm old school. I watched guys like (Grove City College career rushing leader) R.J. Bowers growing up. My hometown's West Middlesex, obviously, and Grove City. R.J.'s an alum. Big, heavy, power back. The 'Bus,' and that's just what I strive to be."

The Spartans drove down the field despite the seconds left on the clock. But Barney's 45-yard field goal attempt was short.

Morrow also had a failed field goal of his own in the third quarter. As the rain continued to fall, he lined up for a 37-yard field goal. But his kick was blocked and recovered by the Spartans at their 38.

Case Western Reserve couldn't take advantage of the blocked kick, however. It began a string of strong defensive stands by the Wolverines that clinched the win.

The first came in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Spartans were driving and had the ball at the GCC 45. But edge rusher Ryan Fleming knocked the ball out of Saxton's hand as he was throwing. Fleming jumped on the ball to secure the turnover.

The strip sack by Fleming now puts the senior at 19 1/2 career sacks. He's half a sack behind Ed Fox for second most in Grove City history. and he's now within striking distance of Mark Furgeson's program best 21 career sacks.

The second key defensive play came with seven minutes left in the game. Saxton dropped back with the ball on the Grove City 11-yard line. But senior linebacker Curtis Freyermuth undercut the route for an interception. He returned the ball to the Spartans' 43.

"Ryan Fleming, first of all, had an amazing career — him and Curtis," Grove City head coach Andrew DiDonato said. "But Curtis Freyermuth, he's one of our best players since his freshman year. Was at the right place at the right time. Had a chance to make an impact play and did it, and that's what you need from your best players."

The Wolverines converted a fourth down and 1 on the final drive with a QB sneak from Pfeuffer. Parrish put the finishing touches on the win with an 18-yard run and slid at the 3-yard line to run out the rest of the clock.

"I looked at coach (DiDonato), I'm like, 'Do you want me to score or do you want me to go down?' He looked at me and was like, 'I want you to go down. Great idea, man,'" Parrish said.

Saxton finished with 239 yards on 27-of-42 passing with a TD and two interceptions. Orsini ran for 59 yards and a score on 17 carries. and Dahlem caught six passes for 69 yards and a score.

Saturday's victory keeps the Wolverines in contention for the PAC title as they enter the second half of the season. They will visit Bethany next week and Allegheny College on Oct. 15 before returning home to face Westminster.

"As we've rebuilt this program, we've been able to beat some quality programs, but we haven't beat Case," DiDonato said. "To get this win — we always say 'brick by brick' — it's another brick we needed to lay as we continue to progress this program."

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CWRU 7 6 0 0 13

GCC 7 7 0 0 14

Scoring plays

G — Parrish, 2 run (Morrow kick).

C — Dahlem, 7 pass from Saxton (Barney kick).

C — Orsini, 1 run (kick blocked).

G — Parrish, 36 run (Morrow kick).

Team stats

CWRU GCC

20 First downs 15

65 Rushing yards 161

275 Passing yards 64

43-28-2 Att-comp-int 15-5-0

340 Total yards 225

1-1 Fumbles-lost 0-0

7-83 Penalties-yards lost 9-68

Individual stats

Rushing: CWRU — Orsini 17-59, Frombert 1-7, Duesler 2-3, Kipp 4-2, Saxton 4-(-6); GCC — Parrish 19-113, Flati 14-42, Pfeuffer 4-21.

Passing: CWRU — Saxton 42-27-2-239, Kipp 1-1-0-36; GCC — Pfeuffer 15-5-0-64.

Receiving: CWRU — Dahlem 6-69, Coyne 5-53, Orsini 6-41, Wojkowski 4-37, Fromberg 1-36, Knurek 5-36, Wade 1-3; GCC — Fraser 4-44, Gregory 1-20.