When Logan Pfeuffer was named the starting quarterback his sophomore year at Peters Township, he led a program that was just two years removed from a 3-7 record to a team that would become a formidable opponent in the WPIAL 5A classification for years.
The 6-foot-2 Pfeuffer was at the helm of the program for three years as the Indians went 30-6 during that span. In his first year under center for the Indians, Pfeuffer guided them to a semifinals appearance but would come up one score short against Penn Hills.
A year later, on a bigger stage, Pfeuffer and the Indians suffered a one-point loss in the program’s first-ever WPIAL championship appearance. With one last chance during his senior year, Pfeuffer returned the Indians to the WPIAL 5A championship where they would come up short again yet again.
While that era is in the past for Pfeuffer, and three years he will never take for granted, it is something that he uses as motivation as he takes over the quarterback reigns in his sophomore year at Grove City.
And just as Peters Township was seeking its first-ever championship with Pfeuffer leading the way, Grove City is looking to end a long conference championship drought. The Wolverines have their eyes set on an outright conference title that has not been won since 1997.
“Our vision is to compete for a PAC championship,” Pfeuffer said.
The competitiveness to win a championship was built in Pfeuffer throughout his childhood as he comes from an athletic background.
Pfeuffer’s dad had a love for football and coached Logan and his brothers’ teams in grade school.
His dad and brothers had a big influence on him and why Pfeuffer fell in love with the game of football.
“I have an older brother who’s seven years older than me, and I went to all his practices and all his games, and I fell in love with the sport right then and there,” Pfeuffer said.
Like any other athletic family, the Pfeffer’s pushed each other to become better.
“We’re brothers so we fight here or there, but we definitely pushed each other to be the best we possibly could,” Pfeuffer said.
With that competitiveness built in him throughout the years, Pfeuffer has carried that to Grove City.
Now, as Pfeuffer and the Wolverines continue to fight in the Presidents Athletic Conference standings, they currently sit in second with a 6-1 overall record and 4-1 in conference. The only thing in their way, an undefeated and ranked Carnegie Mellon team that has a head-to-head advantage over the Wolverines.
Nonetheless, Pfeuffer has thrived in his first season as the signal caller at Grove City. In seven games, Pfeuffer leads the PAC with 1,500 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes, respectively. He has also been a threat on the ground, rushing for 125 yards and three scores.
With the success Pfeuffer is having in his sophomore season, he gives credit to a mutual effort across the offense.
“It all starts with the o-line,” Pfeuffer said. “The amount of time I have back there to sit back and read the defense and get the ball to my [receivers]. “It’s a collective effort from the line to the receivers, to the running backs, to the coaches.”
As Pfeuffer mentioned, not only has it been a complete team effort, but the coaching staff has been an instrumental part in his play as well.
“It’s crazy the amount of trust they have in me, especially coach DiDonato, with taking over after a four-year starter,” Pfeuffer said. “I have full trust in them to put me in the right position.”
This season, Pfeuffer took over for Josh Ehst, who spent four seasons under center for the Wolverines and etched his name into the record book as one of the best quarterbacks to play for Grove City. Ehst holds a number of program records, including the single season passing record with 2,772 in 2021 while Pfeuffer was his understudy.
In the single season that Pfeuffer spent with Ehst at Grove City, he absorbed as much as he could from the veteran.
“He mentored me through the whole process,” Pfeuffer said. “After practice, we’d go eat dinner. We talked about life. We’d go watch film for 45 minutes to an hour. The relationship I built with him and learn from everything he did on the football field and in the film room was really helpful.”
After consuming as much information and knowledge from Ehst, Pfeuffer worked during the offseason knowing he would be next up at the quarterback position with specifically one area in mind.
“Get faster,” Pfeuffer said “At college football, at any level, is a step up from high school. From speed to my mental side to get from read to read faster. My preparation was to do everything faster with the pace of the game.”
The steps Pfeuffer took during the offseason had led up to each and every in-game situation where he knows the importance of his play.
“Just do my job, that’s my mentality,” Pfeuffer expressed. “Do my job, make the right read and then I believe I have the arm strength to get the ball wherever it has to be on time.”
With the play from Pfeuffer and his supporting cast, the campus and community have also started to take note.
“There are professors here that I have never even spoken to, and they come up and wish me good luck or tell me I had a great game. The community backing us is awesome,” Pfeuffer said.
From Peters Township to Grove City, the community support has been one ongoing theme. Losing back-to-back championship games is never easy, but Pfeuffer was appreciative of the support his high school program received.
“Seeing the stands coming out of the locker room seeing them packed of people without kids on the team or in the marching band, they were there just to support us,” Pfeuffer said. “Seeing the community come together was a crazy experience.”
Since starting football at the age of five, growing up in a household that was ruled by sports, to leading Peters Township to three deep playoff runs, Pfeuffer looks to continue his path and lead Grove City to a championship he so desperately desires.
