MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College football team fell to Grove City College, 42-6, in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action on Saturday evening at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

In the penultimate home game of the season, the Gators (2-5, 2-3 PAC) were marred by ill-timed penalties and turnovers in a battle against the Wolverines (4-2, 3-1 PAC), who won a share of the PAC title and qualified for the NCAA tournament last fall.

A fumble on the opening kick return and a blocked punt on the first drive of the game set up Grove City with short fields, and the Wolverines cashed in on their first two possessions to take a quick 14-0 lead. From there, Grove City mainly relied on a bruising run game behind heavy personnel formations, often bringing in an extra offensive lineman to wear down the Gator defense and chew up the clock.

Despite their shortcomings, the Gators only trailed by two possessions at halftime. Allegheny drove 75 yards on 13 plays in the second quarter, mixing in some option plays with quarterback Carson Colucci (Brewster, Ohio/Fairless) and running back Dominic Berarducci (Erie, Pa./McDowell) while also lining up Terran Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) in several different spots to get him involved. One of only three pass plays on the drive, Colucci capped it off with a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Griffin (Hingham, Mass./Hingham).

In the third quarter, Allegheny pushed the ball into Grove City territory, but saw a promising drive end with a fumble just outside the red zone. In the fourth quarter, it appeared that Cory Holleran (Kill Buck, N.Y./Salamanca) scored on a field goal blocked by Armadi Stinfort (Belle Glade, Fla./Glades Central), but the rookie corner was flagged for lining up in the neutral zone. Instead, the infraction set the Wolverines up with a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line, leading to their final touchdown of the evening.

Inside the Box Score

• Colucci connected with Griffin on a play-action pass in the flat for Allegheny's lone touchdown against the Wolverines.
• After missing two-and-a-half games due to injury, Colucci returned to the lineup and threw for 101 yards on 11-of-26 passing (42.3%).
• Wide receiver Devin Larry (Loganville, Ga./Loganville Christian) led all Gators with a game-high six receptions for 72 yards.
• Berarducci carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards.
• Mitchell totaled 106 all-purpose yards: 10 rushing, 11 receiving, and 85 on kick returns.
• Grove City's running back duo of Chase Rankin and Ian Demeri combined for 155 yards and three of the team's five rushing touchdowns.
• Quarterback Sutton Ellis only completed 8-of-18 passes (44.4%) but threw for one touchdown and ran for a second.
• Defensively, freshman linebacker Ryan Croston (Jefferson, Ohio/Pymatuning Valley) logged a game-high 12 tackles.
• Croston and defensive end Huriel Calice (Peabody, Mass./Phillips Academy Andover) each had one sack.

News and Notes

• Berarducci is closing in on 1,000 career rushing yards with 918 through 15 career games.
• Allegheny's leading receiver, Larry, eclipsed the 500-yard mark on the season with 504 receiving yards.
• Griffin has a touchdown reception in three consecutive games after going 25 games without a score to start his career.

Up Next
Allegheny renews its rivalry with the PAC's newest member and former North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) foe, Hiram College, on Saturday, October 25, at 3 p.m. in Hiram, Ohio.