Karns City Grad Conto Makes 10 Tackles in Grove City Football Win

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published September 2, 2018 4:17 am
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GROVE CITY, Pa. — A punishing rushing attack and an opportunistic defense helped vault the Grove City College football team to a 38-23 victory over visiting Juniata in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Robert E. Thorn Field.

(Ethan Conto (12) had 10 tackles in the Wolverines win Saturday. Submitted photo)

Grove City amassed 274 rushing yards and finished with 406 total offensive yards. Meanwhile, the Wolverine defense produced three takeaways, including the game’s first touchdown. Grove City also blocked a field goal in the victory.

Junior running back Wesley Schools (Port Jervis, N.Y./Port Jervis) charged through the Juniata defense for 220 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries. It is Schools’ eighth straight game with at least 100 rushing yards and his third career 200-yard outing. Meanwhile, junior quarterback Randall Labrie (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) went 14 of 19 passing for 132 yards.

In the second half, Grove City owned a 21:44-8:16 edge in time of possession. The Wolverines executed 49 offensive plays in the second half, compared to only 22 by Juniata.

Grove City jumped out to a 7-0 lead 64 seconds into the game when freshman cornerback Dan Melville (Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley) intercepted a pass at the Juniata 26 and returned it for a touchdown. Junior kicker Mitch Causer (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont-Hilltop) converted the first of his five extra points.

The Wolverines doubled the lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter when Labrie bulled across the goal line on a one-yard quarterback sneak. That capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive.

Juniata drove to the Grove City 1 early in the second quarter but junior defensive end Chris Wolfe (North Haledon, N.J./Passaic County Tech) forced a fumble that the Wolverines recovered, preserving the 14-0 lead.

The Eagles did cut the lead in half on Austin Montgomery’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Sean Owens with 4:34 left in the first half. In the closing moments of the first half, Grove City muffed a punt and Juniata recovered. Sam Craig’s 29-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter cut the lead to 14-10.

Causer’s 33-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the third quarter accounted for the only scoring in the period. Juniata again drove to the Grove City 1 but the Wolverines stopped Juniata on second and third down. The Eagles tried a 17-yard field goal but Wolfe deflected the kick to keep the lead 17-10.

Grove City then assembled a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that featured 11 straight running plays. Schools capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

Montgomery threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Daulton Snyder four plays later, bringing Juniata to within 24-17. But Grove City countered with another lengthy drive. Schools’ six-yard touchdown run closed an 11-play, 65-yard drive that used nearly five minutes. Late in the drive, on 4th-and-14, Labrie threw a 27-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Cody Gustafson (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg).

Grove City quickly regained possession when senior safety Daniel Jackson (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) intercepted Montgomery’s bomb attempt at the Grove City 30. Eight plays later, Schools scored on a three-yard touchdown run.

Gustafson led Grove City with seven catches for 94 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Jared Hurd (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) added five catches for 23 yards. Grove City owned a 406-378 edge in total offense, along with a 25-20 advantage in first downs. Overall, Grove City had a 34:06-25:54 time of possession advantage.

Senior linebacker Sam Henson (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) led the Wolverines with 11 tackles and senior linebacker Ethan Conto (Bruin, Pa./Karns City) had 10 stops. Melville added three pass breakups.

Montgomery went 20 of 33 for 261 yards for Juniata. Snyder caught six passes for 85 yards. Jake Wertz ran for 71 yards on 15 carries.

Grove City will open Presidents’ Athletic Conference play next Saturday afternoon at Bethany. That game has been designated as the PAC Kickoff Classic. Kickoff at Rine Field will be 3:30 p.m.

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