CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Geneva College football team suffered a heart-breaking loss on Saturday afternoon, leading for much of the day at Case Western Reserve before seeing the Spartans score in the closing seconds to defeat the Golden Tornadoes, 42-38.  Case Western Reserve improved to 4-3 overall, 3-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva dropped to 2-5, 2-4 in the PAC.

The Spartans got on the board just four minutes in when Marco Toth returned a blocked punt 41 yards for a touchdown, getting the game off to a bad start for the Golden Tornadoes. 

However, Geneva responded.  Senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) scored from one yard out early in the second quarter.  A moment later, sophomore Jawan Showers (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown East) picked off a Drew Saxon pass, and the Golden Tornadoes quickly converted it into a 16-yard touchdown run from freshman Josh Syster (Clymer, Pa./Purchaseline) to put Geneva ahead, 14-7. 

Sophomore Kaden Romero (Red Rock, Okla./Putnam City North) and freshman Malachi Pittman (McDonough, Ga./Eagle's Landing) combined for a sack to thwart the Spartans' next drive, and a few minutes later Luptak hit junior Jared Ozias (Connelsville, Pa./Connellsville) for a 62-yard touchdown pass to extend Geneva's lead to 21-7.

A key moment in the game occurred on Case Western Reserves's next drive.  The Geneva defense had the Spartans backed up on their own three-yard line, facing a third-and-long.  However, Case Western Reserve converted and ended up marching 97 yards for a touchdown just before halftime, giving the Spartans the momentum heading into the break.

Case Western Reserve scored on another long touchdown drive to begin the second half, pulling even at 21-21.  A Geneva fumble on the following kickoff gave the Spartans great field position, and that turnover led to another quick touchdown, putting Case Western Reserve back on top, 28-21.

Geneva's offense would respond again, though, with the response coming through the air again, courtesy of another long connection between Luptak and Ozias, this one covering 60 yards to even the game at 28-28.

The Geneva defense forced a punt on Case Western Reserve's next drive, and the offense found success through the air again.  Facing a third-and-18 near midfield, Luptak hit sophomore Blake Peet (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) on a route down the middle of the field for a 47-yard touchdown pass, giving Geneva the lead back, 35-28.

Led by Saxon, though, the Spartans had an answer, marching down the field and tying the game on another Saxon touchdown pass with eight minutes remaining.

Geneva's offense responded with a long, 80-yard drive that chewed up a good remainder of the clock.  However, the Golden Tornadoes had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from senior Daniel Nordaas (Largo, Fla./Keswick Christian) with 1:10 remaining in the game.  Unfortunately, that proved too much time for Saxon.

After a Spartan penalty on the kickoff, Case Western Reserve had to travel 90 yards to earn the victory, and the Spartans did just that, scoring on another Saxon touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining to pull out the 42-38 victory.

The Geneva offense had a big day, finishing with 339 yards of rushing and 525 yards of total offense, compared to Case Western Reserve who finished with 409 yards.  Luptak had a huge game, rushing for 192 yards and a touchdown, while passing for 186 yards and three touchdowns.  Syster finished with 65 yards and a touchdown, while Ozias had 122 yards receiving and two touchdowns. 

Defensively, Geneva was led by sophomore Dave Hines (Clinton, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt), who finished with eight tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. 

After starting their season with five of their first seven games on the road, the Golden Tornadoes will get a chance to return home next Saturday when Geneva hosts Waynesburg at 7:00 p.m. 

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).