The 24th edition of the annual Mercer County Cup will take place this afternoon as the Grove City and Thiel college football teams renew their Presidents’ Athletic Conference rivalry beginning 1 p.m. at Alumni Stadium/Stoeber Field, Greenville.
Since the county cup competition began, Grove City leads the series 14-9, but the Wolverines have not won since 2003 (16-15). The Tomcats have taken the last trio of tilts, including ’04 (24-9), ’05 (30-0) and ’06 (20-0).
The Wolverines (2-2, 2-4) whipped Bethany (36-15) last week as quarterback Andrew DiDonato passed for 190 yards and rushed for another 77, including a 13-yard touchdown, while Ian Tobin tallied 2 TDs and also hauled in a 2-point conversion. Conversely, Thiel (1-2, 2-4) battled at perennial PAC power and nationally-ranked Washington & Jefferson for 3-plus periods, trailing 14-12, before bowing (28-12).
DiDonato is among the PAC passing pacesetters (112 completions, 188 attempts, 1,043 yards, 3 TDs), with loop leader Tobin (50 catches, 257 yards) his favorite target, along with Jay Yanak (22-280, 12.7) and Stephen Mercer (17-208, 12.2, 2 TDs). Grove City’s ground game is paced by Matt Weil (94 carries, 335 yards, 3.6 yards/carry, 6 TDs) and DiDonato (91-219, 2.4, 2 TDs).
In the absence of starting signal-caller Willie Bova (68 of 132, 731 yards, 2 TDs) — who sustained an ankle injury 2 weeks ago in a win over Bethany — the Tomcats’ twosome of Danny Hess (105-400, 3.8, 4 TDs) and Steve Minton (73-373, 5.1, 2 TDs) have effectively moved the ball overland. Marc LaScola has filled in capably in Bova’s absence in a spread-shotgun formation, yet continues to lead Thiel in receiving (27-256), bolstered by John Adams (20-294, 14.7).
Weil is the Wolverines’ leading scorer (36), while placekicker Sammy Koyl leads Thiel (24), having converted 6 of 7 PATs and 6 of 7 field-goal attempts. He launched 3 field goals against Bethany.
GCC’s defense has been spearheaded by linebackers Adam Eichler (62 tackles) and Bill Waugh (58, including a team-high 30 solos) and cornerback Mike Baker (37), while Sam Swartzfager (48 tackles, including 23 solos), linebacker Michael Stimac (44) and end Chris Lorber (41) lead Thiel.
Both coaches lead their respective alma maters. Chris Smith of Grove City (’72) is the dean of PAC gridiron mentors — the only conference coach to win back-to-back crowns (1997-98, led by former West Middlesex High standout and former D-III All-American R.J. Bowers) — and the school’s all-time winningest field boss (90-134-2), while his coaching counterpart Jack Leipheimer (’74) is in his 7th season as the Tomcats’ taskmaster (33-35). Smith is 14-9 against Thiel, while Leipheimer has led his teams to 5 wins in 6 meetings against the Grovers. Leipheimer led Thiel to the ’05 PAC plateau, a school single-season standard 11 wins, and an NCAA Division III playoff win.
Notes: The game will be broadcast on NewsTalk 790 (WPIC AM), with Hugh Ringer and Rod Wilt calling the action, as well as WSAJ (91.1 FM), with Ryan Briggs and Todd Messer making the call. Pre-game shows begin at 12:30 p.m. ... Among local student-athletes, Pete Polesnak (Kennedy Catholic High) is a 6-foot-5, 255-pound freshman who starts at left offensive tackle for GCC, while junior Matt Turek (Grove City High) is a 5-10, 230-pound starting defensive tackle for the Tomcats. .... Only a sophomore, DiDonato already is GCC’s career leader in completions (263) and ranks 4th in passing yards (2,597). He is the 1st GCC quarterback to post back-to-back 1,000-plus yards passing seasons.
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