GROVE CITY 40, CASE 33...
CLEVELAND, OH (November 4, 2006) -
Case Western Reserve University dropped a non-conference road game this afternoon to Grove City College, 40-33, at Robert E. Thorn Field. Case moves to 4-5 on the season and will host Washington & Lee University in their season finale this Saturday (Nov. 11) at home. Grove City improved to 2-7, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Grove City freshman quarterback Andrew DiDonato and senior wide receiver Scott Fichter led the Wolverines over the Spartans. DiDonato finished the day 20 of 35 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Fichter caught 10 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Case freshman quarterback Dan Whalen-pictured (Willoughby, OH) was 24 of 45 for 339 yards and three touchdowns, but threw three interceptions. Spartans senior wide receiver Joe Brenner (Lititz, PA) caught seven passes for 116 yards. Senior linebacker Tom Brew (Mentor, OH) led the defense with 11 tackles.
After a scoreless first quarter, Grove City found the end zone three times in the second quarter. The Wolverines capitalized on a Case fumbled punt return on the Spartan 24 for their first score. Scott Fichter threw a 10-yard touchdown pass back to Andrew DiDonato, giving Grove City an early 7-0 lead at 13:03. DiDonato then capped off an eight-play, 43-yard drive, with a six-yard touchdown run at 7:53. Tom Brew blocked the Wolverines’ extra point attempt (13-0). Grove City’s third score of the game came via a Fichter 10-yard touchdown pass to DiDonato with just 33 seconds left in the half. The Wolverines failed on a two-point conversion attempt and led 19-0 at the intermission.
The Spartans began the second half with a nice drive. Sophomore running back Corey Checkan (Georgetown, PA) finished off a seven-play, 55-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 12:25 on the clock. Case’s two-point conversion attempt failed. Grove City’s fourth touchdown followed a Dan Whalen interception toss on the Spartans’ 33-yard line. Fichter once again found DiDonato on an eight-yard touchdown pass to give the Wolverines a 26-6 lead with 3:34 left in the third quarter. Case ended the quarter by taking advantage of a Grove City turnover. After sophomore defensive tackle Gian Genovesi (Englewood, OH) intercepted DiDonato, Whalen threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Tim Cowdrick (Mentor, OH) to bring the Spartans within 13 points (26-13).
Whalen found senior wide receiver Matt Skolnicki (Lorain, OH) from 11 yards out for his second touchdown throw of the game to begin the fourth quarter (12:01). Grove City blocked the point after and held a 26-19 lead. The Wolverines increased their lead to 33-19 with a DiDonato 31-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Ian Tobin with 9:16 left in the game. Skolnicki caught his second touchdown pass of the game from Whalen with 2:44 left in the game to get Case within seven points, 33-26. The Spartans failed on the proceeding onside kick attempt and Grove City junior running back Matt Weil gave his team a 40-26 lead on a 22-yard touchdown run at 1:28 in the fourth. Whalen ended the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run with five seconds left in the game.
Box Score
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