Grove City Wolverines College football preview 2024

GROVE CITY, Pa . (WKBN) – For the first time in school history, Grove City achieved a double-digit win season (11-1) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Coach Andrew DiDonato took over a program that in 2016 had fallen in 20 consecutive games. In DiDonato’s first year, the Wolverines finished 0-10. Since then, Grove City has put together five seasons of eight wins or more, including last year’s 11-win campaign that resulted in a league championship.

“With almost all our starters back on offense and the majority on defense from our historic 2023 season, we’re excited about the opportunities in front of us in 2024,” DiDonato said. “We’re most optimistic about our experience and the knowledge our guys have in our system. We talk a lot about good to great each rep and 1-0 each week. Our expectation is to continue to have the mindset of taking things one game at a time.”

The offense will welcome back ten starters that include team leaders Logan Pfeuffer (Peters Township/SR) at quarterback, Nico Flati (West Allegheny/SR) at running back and Scott Fraser (Butler, PA/SR) at receiver.

Fifth-year fullback Robert Tamburrino (Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin/SR), as well as fellow wideouts Ryan Heckathorn (Denver/SR) and Daniel Sullivan (Simsbury, CT/SO) will be joined back in the mix by four linemen – Dalton Foore (Shippensburg/SR) and Dylan Lane (Mill Creek, GA/SR) at tackles, along with guard Nate Brady (Exeter Township/SR) and center Brady Brungard (Springfield/SR).

“We’ll have a balanced offense. [Last year], we once again went over 2,000 yards rushing and 2,000 yards passing. We return our offensive line, fullbacks, running back, quarterback and all wide receivers. The proven balance of our offense is our strength,” DiDonato said.

Only a single opponent [Waynesburg] was able to score more than 25 points in a game last season against the Grove City defense.

The Wolverines were especially stout as the season wore on as they held their final four opponents [Allegheny, Saint Vincent, Bethany, Thiel] during the regular season to a total of 21 points.

“We return the entire defensive line, captain middle linebacker and the Defensive Player of the Year at linebacker [Ben Bladel] who finished towards the top in the country in [quarterback] sacks,” DiDonato said. “Our ability to stop the run and put pressure on the quarterback is what we’re looking to lead us this year as well.”

This year, Grove City will have Bryce Spolnik (South Fayette/SR), Kobe Bonanno (Redbank Valley/SR) and Jordan Karczewski (Central Valley/JR) all back as front-line starters.

At the linebacker spots, the team returns Ben Bladel (Moon/JR) and Jack Jollie (Penn Trafford/JR), as well as the versatile senior LB/S Jason Muench (Bethel Park/SR).

In the back end, Boden Davidson (Scottsdale/JR) is a returning starter.

The Wolverines begin 2024 with a matchup at home against Geneva on Saturday, September 7.

Grove City Wolverines
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Andrew DiDonato, 9th season
2023 Record: 11-1
Last 5 Years : 38-11 (77.6%)
League: Presidents’ Athletic Conference
Home Field: Robert E. Thorn Field
Base Offense: Multiple
Base Defense : 3-4

2023 Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 33.3
Scoring Defense: 15.3
Total Offense: 380.8
Total Defense : 257.1

2023 Individual Leaders
Passing : Logan Pfeuffer – 2,088 yards, 52.3% (137-262), 19 TDs
Rushing: Nico Flati – 1,234 yards, 4.7 avg, 8 TDs
Receiving : Scott Fraser – 1,038 yards, 14.0 avg, 10 TDs
Tackle s: Jack Jollie – 91
QB Sacks: Ben Bladel – 17
Interceptions : Gabe Dunlap, Boden Davidson & Dominic Magliocco – 3

2023 Results
Cortland 25 Wolverines 24*
Wolverines 21 Susquehanna 20*
Wolverines 31 Thiel 0
Wolverines 56 Bethany 14
Wolverines 49 Saint Vincent 0
Wolverines 31 Allegheny 7
Wolverines 48 Geneva 21
Wolverines 31 Washington & Jefferson 24
Wolverines 21 Carnegie Mellon 14
Wolverines 27 Case Western Reserve 24, OT
Wolverines 43 Waynesburg 27
Wolverines 17 Westminster 7
*-NCAA Division 3 championships

2023 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Standings
Grove City – 10-0 (11-1)
Carnegie Mellon – 9-1 (10-1)
Washington & Jefferson – 8-2 (9-2)
Case Western Reserve – 7-3 (7-3)
Westminster – 6-4 (6-4)
Geneva – 4-6 (4-6)
Allegheny – 3-7 (3-7)
Saint Vincent – 3-7 (3-7)
Thiel – 3-7 (3-7)
Waynesburg – 2-8 (2-8)
Bethany – 0-10 (0-10)

2024 Schedule
Sept. 7 – Geneva
Sept. 21 – at Saint Vincent
Sept. 28 – Allegheny
Oct. 5 – at Bethany
Oct. 12 – Carnegie Mellon
Oct. 19 – at Washington & Jefferson
Oct. 26 – Thiel (Mercer County Cup)
Nov. 2 – at Waynesburg
Nov. 9 – Case Western Reserve
Nov. 16 – at Westminster

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