GROVE CITY — Head coach Andrew DiDonato has brought Grove City College's football program near the top of the Presidents' Athletic Conference in recent years.

Butler County products will help the Wolverines as they attempt to continue that resurgence.

Specifically, Moniteau graduate James Parenti and Knoch graduate Scott Fraser will play key roles at nose tackle and wide receiver, respectively.

In 2016, DiDonato took over a program that had not won a game in two full seasons. GCC went 0-10 in his first year and improved to 4-6 in 2017.

The Wolverines then turned in records of 8-3 and 9-2 before the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. The PAC instead played a shortened schedule last spring and GCC went 2-2 in just four games.

“We lost some of our key guys to graduation from 2019,” said DiDonato. “One of the positives that came out of the spring is a lot of younger guys stepped in. We got some answers as to who we can count on moving forward.”

One of those positive responses came from Parenti. Due to injuries to teammates, he had started three games as a freshman.

Last spring, he moved into a starting role in earnest and totaled 25 tackles.

“The whole thing was abrupt,” said Parenti. “We had a fifth game scheduled, but it was canceled. It was still good to get on the field.

“Not playing any games (in 2020) turned out to be a good thing for me. I practiced all fall and worked on my technique instead of worrying about preparing for games.”

DiDonato trusts Parenti to handle his responsibilities, which often lead to little fanfare, but are crucial to the success of the defense.

“Being the nose in a 3-4 defense, we can only run that if we have a guy who is able to take on double-teams,” DiDonato said. “We want to get multiple hats to the football and James needs to do his job for that to happen.

“He's got an explosive first punch, can strike quickly and we're looking for him to be a leader for the whole defense.”

Parenti (6-foot, 285 pounds) is encouraged that the defense can match the level of play of the team's high-powered offense.

“I think this defense is capable of a whole lot,” he said. “We all get along well and that makes it really fun.”

Fraser brings perfect size (6-4, 195) to the wideout position and hopes to become a familiar target for senior quarterback Josh Ehst, who has thrown for nearly 5,000 yards and added 45 touchdown passes in 23 collegiate games.

“He filled in on certain packages in the spring,” DiDonato said of Fraser. “But he's had an unbelievable camp. The jump he's made in his route running is amazing and he's set to be a starter.”

The spread offense run by the Wolverines has been a welcome change for Fraser, who also played wide receiver at Knoch.

“In high school, we ran the triple option and I was blocking almost all the time,” he said. “I worked hard in the offseason and am really excited for this opportunity.”

Senior Cody Gustafson is the unquestioned leader of the receiving corps. An All-America candidate and four-year starter, Gustafson tallied back-to-back 1,200-yard receiving seasons in 2018-19. He caught a school single-game record 19 passes against Westminster last spring.

Gustafson and Fraser are almost identical in size.

“I watch him in practice every day and have even watched film of him,” Fraser said. “It's tremendous what you can learn from a guy like that.”

DiDonato is anxious to see how this year's team can add to the recent success.

“I'm very confident in this group,” he said. “We felt we had to get a specific identity in all three phases and I think we've done that.

“I feel this is as talented a team as we've had.”

The Wolverines open the season Sept. 4 at Juniata.