Dublin Coffman rallied from 14 points down in the third quarter but couldn't finish the job, falling 42-35 to Grove City in a non-league home game on Friday, Sept. 18.

The loss drops second-year head coach Nick McVay's squad to 1-4. Grove City improved to 5-1.

Third-quarter surge

In-game score updates from Coffman Athletics on X traced a wild third quarter. Grove City led 35-28 with 8:51 on the clock. The Greyhounds then pushed the margin to 42-28 with 4:48 remaining, putting Coffman in a two-touchdown hole.

The Shamrocks answered. Coffman cut the deficit to 42-35 with 1:41 left in the third. The quarter ended at that score, and neither team found the end zone in the fourth. The final matched the end-of-third total.

Coffman's 35 points were the most the Shamrocks have scored in a loss this season.

The 1-4 record

Coffman's lone win came in the Aug. 21 opener, a 51-27 road victory over Bishop Hartley. The Shamrocks have dropped every game since.

Big Walnut beat Coffman 39-7 on Aug. 28. Quarterback Jack Morris scored the Shamrocks' only touchdown that night on a three-yard keeper in the fourth quarter, according to the Delaware Gazette. Dublin Jerome handled Coffman 45-28 on Sept. 4 in the Battle of Dublin. Then came a 35-0 shutout at Pickerington North on Sept. 11, a game in which Coffman failed to score for the first time all season. Cleveland.com noted that shutout was Pickerington North's second in a row entering Week 5.

Morris leads the Shamrocks in passing yards and running back Gavin McClain leads in rushing, according to MaxPreps. McVay's program went 2-8 in his first season in 2025, per a Columbus Dispatch preseason report.

What's ahead

Coffman travels to Olentangy Liberty (2-3) on Friday, Sept. 25, for Week 6. The Shamrocks' schedule shows the game as the first of three remaining regular-season contests before the OHSAA playoff picture takes shape.