GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats concluded their 2023 season with a 31-0 loss Saturday to the 21
st-ranked and Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champion Grove City Wolverines at Alumni Stadium.
Clayton Parrish scored Grove City's first touchdown on a three-yard run with 2:48 remaining in the first quarter to cap off a 15-play, 86-yard drive.
Parrish's second touchdown run, which was scored with 6:22 left in the first half, concluded another 86-yard drive which took seven plays. Grove City went on to lead 21-0 at the break after Logan Pfeuffer threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Heckathorn with 1:13 to play in the first half.
Parrish scored his third touchdown of the game on a 19-yard run with 11:21 remaining in the third quarter. Caleb Kuechly scored the final three points of the game when he made a 37-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Nico Flati led Grove City on the ground with 105 yards on 22 attempts. Parrish ran for 75 yards and scored three touchdowns on 15 totes. Pfeuffer completed nine passes for 154 yards. Scott Fraser caught four passes for 78 yards.
Andrew Plowden (Homewood, Pa./Penn Hills Charter) paced the Tomcats with 33 yards on the ground on 10 carries.
Joseph Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) completed nine passes for 44 yards.
Chase Lawler (Etters, Pa./Red Land) and Plowden caught four passes apiece for 31 and nine yards, respectively.
Ben Bladel led Grove City's defense with five tackles and four sacks.
The Wolverines went 10-0 for the first time in program history and retained possession of the Mercer County Cup in the 39
th annual battle for the cup. By winning the PAC title, Grove City has qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Jared Curcio (Avonmore, Pa./Kiski Area) made a game-high 11 tackles for the Tomcats.
Jordan Volpe (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) made five tackles, 2.5 of which were behind the line of scrimmage.
Donelle Thomas (Miramar, Fla./Miami Carol) made four tackles and intercepted two passes.
Prior to the game, 17 Tomcats were honored during senior day, including
Donnovan Blue (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills),
Lucas Buchanan (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Curcio,
Jarren Daniels (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance),
Raymond Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy),
Darnell Jordan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Westinghouse),
Hunter Knapczyk (Port Saint Lucie, Fla./Gateway Kissimmee),
Randall Miller (Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge),
Donny Pattison (Bradford, Pa./Bradford Area),
Jackson Pletcher (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Plowden,
Ryan Selig (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio/Cuyahoga Heights),
Caleb Shuler (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton), Thomas,
Jacob Traupman (Baden, Pa./Ambridge), Volpe and
Thomas Wilson (Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport).
Thiel won three games in 2023, the most since the 2016 team won four games.
