Westminster vs. Grove City college football

To watch the full game, scroll to the bottom of this story.

GROVE CITY, Pa. (WKBN) – The 2023 college football season kicked off with one of the great rivalry games in Division 3 football – Westminster versus Grove City.

Their last five meetings have resulted in games decided by 20 points with the largest margin being a touchdown twice.

Andrew DiDonato begins his 8th season at the helm of the Wolverine football program. Grove City won the ECAC James Lynah Bowl, 31-14, over FDU-Florham.

Westminster is led by coach Scott Benzel, who enters his 10th year as the Titans’ leader. Since 2015, the blue and white compiled a winning percentage of 73.8% (59-21).

Carnegie Mellon topped the Presidents’ Athletic Conference preseason poll. The Tartans’ are seeking their third straight league championship in 2023. Coach Ryan Larsen’s group were also ranked 16th in the D3Football.com poll as well.

The Titans and the Wolverines have each closed out the last six seasons in the upper half of the league standings. Westminster was tied atop the conference with Carnegie Mellon in 2021.

College Football Game of the Week
Saturday, Sept. 2, at 1 p.m. (Live on MyYTV and WKBN.com)
Westminster at Grove City

Last 5 Meetings
Oct. 22, 2022 – Westminster, 24-17
Sept. 25, 2021 – Westminster, 33-32
Apr. 9, 2021 – Westminster, 24-17
Oct. 12, 2019 – Grove City, 43-41
Oct. 6, 2018 – Grove City, 36-33

Last Meeting
…The Titans mounted a 17-point lead in the first half to register the 24-17 victory at Robert E. Thorn Field. Westminster’s Ryan Gomes ran for 110 yards as the Titans had three separate ball carriers score touchdowns (Tyler McGowan, Brayden Thimons, Nicholas Treloar). Ty Eilam (Sharon) hauled in 6 passes for 101 yards for the Titans as well.

2022 Team Statistics
Scoring Offense: Grove City, 39.5; Westminster, 26.4
Scoring Defense: Westminster, 11.2; Grove City, 16.5
Total Offense: Grove City, 441.1; Westminster, 321.6
Rushing Offense: Grove City, 235.9; Westminster, 156.9
Passing Offense: Grove City, 205.2; Westminster, 164.7
Total Defense: Westminster, 219.0; Grove City, 272.2

Game Notes
-Westminster has won their last three meetings with Grove City and 7 of the last eleven.

-In the series, each of the last five matchups have been decided by 7 points or less.

-When coach Andrew DiDonato took over the Grove City program, the Wolverines had completed the previous two seasons without a win. In 2016, Grove City failed to score a victory in DiDonato’s first season. From there, the Wolverines have taken off – within the last four ‘fall’ campaigns – the team has won 8-games or more in each year and have come away victorious in their bowl game in each year.

-Coach Scott Benzel’s Titan group has finished with just one losing season (2014: 4-6) during his tenure in New Wilmington. Westminster is seeking their 9th straight winning season – the longest streak since the Titans racked up 18 consecutive years from 1980 to 1997.

2022 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Standings
Carnegie Mellon – 8-0 (11-1)
Washington & Jefferson – 6-2 (9-2)
Westminster – 6-2 (7-3)
Grove City – 5-3 (8-3)
Case Western Reserve – 5-3 (6-4)
Saint Vincent – 5-3 (5-5)
Waynesburg – 3-5 (4-6)
Geneva – 3-5 (3-7)
Allegheny – 2-6 (3-7)
Thiel – 1-7 (1-9)
Bethany – 0-8 (1-9)

Area Standouts
Westminster (18)
Brice Butler, JR/DB (Farrell); Carter Chinn, SR/DL (Grove City); Kyle Crown, FR/OL (McDonald); Gage Dlugonski, SO/OL (Grove City); Tahj’Mere Gibson, FR/LB (Farrell); Matthew Howard, JR/OL (Grove City); Tamairi Jackson, FR (Harding); Christian Latone, FR/LB (Fitch); Xavier McDonald, JR/OL (Wilmington); Colson Minshull, FR (Mercer); Ben Pugh, SO/K-P (Canfield); Jalen Royal-Eiland, SO/WR (Mineral Ridge); William Slater, FR (Fitch); Marcel Smith-Austin, SR/WR (Sharon); Christian Snyder, FR/LB (Sharpsville); Lane Voytik, SR/QB (Sharon); Nathan Wadsworth, SO/OL (Grove City); Corte Williams, SR/DB (Sharon).

Grove City (14)
Peyton Ahlquist, FR/LB (Canfield); Brady Brungard, JR/C (Springfield); Andrew Coffee, JR/WR (West Branch); Sean Cole, FR/LB (Lakeview, PA); Jase Herrick, FR/S (Greenville); Curtis Hovis, SO/RB (Grove City); Gavin Mauger, SO/WR (Lakeview, OH); Hayden McCreadie, FR/S (Grove City); Clayton Parrish, SR/RB (West Middlesex); Johnny Ruggles, FR/CB (Fitch); Tommy Seese, SO/G (Hubbard); Noah Vesey, SR/WR (Champion); Ethan Wiley, SO/QB (Mercer); Carl Alex Winkelvoss, FR/G (Reynolds).

Upcoming Schedule
Westminster
Sept. 9 – Thiel
Sept. 16 – at Washington & Jefferson
Sept. 23 – at Waynesburg

Grove City
Sept. 9 – at Waynesburg
Sept. 16 – at Case Western Reserve
Sept. 23 – Carnegie Mellon