SLIPPERY ROCK — “Brady Callahan pass complete to Logan Lutz.”

The announcement epitomized unbeaten Grove City's 28-0 football win at Slippery Rock Friday night.

Callahan threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He threw two interceptions in the first half, but completed 72 percent of his passes.

Grove City coach Sam Mowrey said passing the ball is not a priority, but it was working on this night.

“I thought Brady did a great job finding some holes, and the same with our receivers,” Mowrey said. “(The receivers) were running some good routes and getting to the opening, and Brady a couple times made some good check-downs and got the ball out there.”

Callahan had one clear favorite receiver for the night, throwing both touchdowns to Lutz.

Mowrey said Lutz will do whatever he is asked to do, especially when chasing a victory.

“That's the kind of kid he is,” Mowrey said. “He's a selfless player. He does a great job.”

Lutz saw the majority of attempts, catching 10 for 147 yards. He also rushed for a touchdown in the first quarter.

“Their defense was pretty good,” Lutz said. “I'm just glad we got the win.”

Lutz said the short pass was what worked well for them all game.

“We knew we could get them in the passing game and trying to get them in those 10-yard digs, and it worked pretty much all night long.”

Lutz said he was able to focus on his routes and separating himself from his coverage because he has a good bond with Callahan. He said this also allowed him to turn and run for some good gains after some of the catches.

“I just know Brady is going to put the ball where I need it to make the plays,” he said. “I just try to trust him and make a play on the ball.”

Mowrey said the Eagles' defense was equally important in the victory. Grove City picked apart Slippery Rock's young quarterback, who played his first start. The Eagles finished the first half with three interceptions and added a couple of forced fumbles by the end of the game.

“We had a couple guys step up,” Mowrey said. “Our defensive line plays fast and physical, our linebackers get downhill to the ball, and they did that all night tonight and did a great job.”

Slippery Rock opted to start quarterback Vito Pilosi, who played until the fourth quarter, when replaced by the previous starter Jacob Shaffer. Pilosi finished with only one complete pass on five attempts.

“We were hoping for a little bit of a jolt with Vito in there,” Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz said. “We'll take a look to see if that jolt helped us at all in some of those plays.”

Slippery Rock found some success in their defensive effort, according to Wendereusz.

“Defensively, we've played solid, for the most part, all year, and tonight I don't think there was exception to that,” he said. “I think we got antsy at times, and when you do that to a good offense, they're going to find a window and make plays.”

Wendereusz said it is hard to play from behind against a team like Grove City.

“When that momentum started for that football team, you're not going to stop it,” he said. “That's a really good football team.”

Mowrey said the numbers were deceiving of Slippery Rock's effort and praised the team, especially the defense.

“They're good up front. They were disrupting some plays and getting in the backfield and blowing up some plays,” Mowrey said. “Their linebackers are pretty physical, and they get downhill to the ball too.”

He said the challenge the Rockets gave them would only sharpen his team moving forward.

“They did a great job,” Mowrey said. “They made a couple of great stops. That was a great test for us and was something we needed.”

Grove City 14 0 7 7 — 28

Slippery Rock 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

GC — Logan Lutz 7 pass from Brady Callahan (Aiden Reed kick), 8:03

GC — Lutz 8 run (Reed kick),:00

Third Quarter

GC — Trey Adams 1 run (Reed kick), 6:38

Fourth Quarter

GC — Lutz 17 pass from Callahan (Reed kick), 8:40

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Grove City, Trey Adams, 11-45, Logan Lutz 12-29, Carter Chinn 3-7, Tyler Greer 3-5, Qadir Muhammad 1-3. Slippery Rock, Vito Pilosi 14-61, Kaleb Kamerer 9-44, Seth Slater 8-11, Hunter Prementine 5-10, Patrick Shea 1-(-5), Jacob Shaffer 4-(-12).

Passing: Grove City, Brady Callahan 16-22-196-2. Slippery Rock, Vito Pilosi 1-5-7-3.

Receiving: Grove City, Logan Lutz 10-148, Carter Chinn 3-37, Trey Adams 1-7, Tyler Greer 1-3, Nick Murawski 1-1. Slippery Rock, Seth Slater 1-7.