GROVE CITY — For the past two seasons, Zach Gross has been doing some serious studying.

The Knoch graduate was taking meticulous notes while watching his quarterbacking mentor, Andrew DiDonato, at Grove City College.

"When DiDo was here, he was a great leader more than anything," said Gross, a junior who finds himself in a battle for the starting quarterback job with the Wolverines this season. "Honestly, I learned more life lessons from him than anything football related. He was just a great guy to be around."

Gross is one of four Butler County natives who figures to make an impact with Grove City this season.

But Gross, who had an unassuming but successful high school career at Knoch, is in a battle with fellow junior Clayton Hall for the starting spot.

Gross is more of a drop-back passer; Hall is more of a scrambler.

All Gross can do is try to distinguish himself after backing up DiDonato the last two years.

"It's up to the coaching staff," Gross said. "I still have to prove I can get the job done.

"I definitely learned a lot from the experiences I had to go through at Knoch," Gross added. "I went through a lot of adversity. I think that can only help me now in this situation."

One Butler County native who has a firm grasp on his position as a starter is Seneca Valley graduate Aaron Palmieri.

The junior cornerback shifted from wide receiver to corner between his freshman and sophomore seasons and immediately became a playmaker on the Grove City defense.

"He's as good of a cover corner as we've ever had here," said Grove City coach Chris Smith. "He can cover people, he's quick and smart and he's able to hit people."

Palmieri played exclusively on defense at Seneca Valley. That made his ultimate transition back to cornerback easy, he said.

"I had high expectations for myself," Palmieri said. "I just wasn't sure how much I would play. Playing corner was kind of more natural for me. It's more instinctual playing in the secondary."

Palmieri made 54 tackles and had one interception last season for the Wolverines.

Slippery Rock High graduate Craig Bicehouse enters his senior year as one of the most consistent place kickers in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Bicehouse booted six field goals a season ago, including a 32-yarder in the season finale against Thiel that forced overtime in an eventual Grove City win.

"Craig Bicehouse is just solid," Smith said. "He is not the definition of a kicker. You don't worry about him. You can put pressure on him and he responds. When you have a good kicker, you really appreciate what you have."

Bicehouse walked off the street to assume the team's kicking duties at midseason in 2008 after Butler graduate Chris Haley went down with an injury. He is hoping to add distance to both his field goals and kickoffs this season.

"Playing soccer in high school, I never really had the time to focus (on kicking)," Bicehouse said. "Now I do. I only had one touchback last season. I'm hoping to add to that number."

Mars graduate Shane Kaclik is hoping to add to his playing time this season.

The sophomore has been pretty hard to ignore in camp this summer.

"Shane is going to have a role," Smith said. "We have to make one for him."

Kaclik played primarily on special teams last season as a freshman, a year after his senior season at Mars was cut short by a leg injury.

But this year, he could see time in the backfield.

"I worked hard this offseason to try to put myself in a good spot," Kaclik said. "It was tough my senior year at Mars, getting hurt in the middle of the season. It just made me more determined."