NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College football team saw its season come to an end on a cold and cloudy Saturday afternoon at Westminster.  A 22-point run by the Titans over an eight-minute stretch in the second quarter proved to be the difference as Westminster held the Geneva offense in check in a 31-6 victory.  Westminster improved to 8-2, while the Golden Tornadoes finished the season with a 4-6 record.
 
The Geneva defense came up with the first big play of the day when sophomore linebacker Kaden Romero (Red Rock, Okla./Putnam City North) tipped a Titan pass at the line of scrimmage and junior Haddon Schlarbaum (Riverview, Fla./Newsome) grabbed it inside Westminster territory.  However, the Golden Tornadoes were unable to take advantage of it, and their fourth-down attempt came up a yard short.
 
Westminster got on the board first later in the opening quarter on a 25-yard field goal.  The Geneva special-teams unit came up with a second big play for the Golden Tornadoes on Westminster's next drive when, on a Titan punt, sophomore Damian Lomeli (Tampa, Fla./Gaither) burst through the line and blocked the punt, picking the ball up and returning it to the Westminster 2-yard line.  However, the Geneva offense could not punch it in.  Three plays netted -2 yards, and after three pre-snap penalties on fourth down, the Golden Tornadoes had to settle for a 36-yard field goal by senior Daniel Nordaas (Largo, Fla./Keswick Christian).
 
That sequence began the stretch that proved to be the difference in the game.  Riding the momentum from that big goal line stand, the Titans scored two quick touchdowns, sandwiched around a high snap on a Geneva punt that led to a Westminster safety, and on Geneva's following drive, the Titans forced a fumble and returned it 22 yards for another touchdown.  Within less than eight minutes, the score went from 3-3 to 25-3.
 
Geneva did put together its best drive of the day late in the half, led almost completely by sophomore Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United).  The Titan defense shut down the perimeter of the Golden Tornado triple-option attack, and Lippiatt took advantage up the middle.  Geneva covered 62 yards on its drive, with Lippiatt picking up all but six yards, but the Westminster defense stiffened inside the Titan 10-yard line, forcing the Golden Tornadoes to settle for another Nordaas field goal, this one from 30 yards away, cutting the Westminster lead to 25-6 heading into the halftime break.
 
Junior Derrick Sneed (Macon, Ga./Rutland) picked off a pass on Westminster's first drive of the second half, but the Geneva offense could never find any sustained success against a strong Titan run defense.  The Golden Tornado defense kept the Westminster offense in check in the final half, allowing only two field goals in the second half, but Geneva eventually fell 31-6.
 
Lippiatt proved to be the only thing Geneva could get going offensively, with the fullback rushing 20 times for 115 yards.  The rest of the Golden Tornado offense managed -7 yards on the ground, with Westminster holding Geneva to 108 rushing yards and 151 yards of total offense.  The Titans finished with 477 yards of total offense, with 307 yards coming through the air.
 
Geneva was led defensively by freshman Gabe Trexler (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus), who finished with a career-high 12 tackles.  Seniors Alex Neal (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney), Giovanni Segura (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) and Matt Wilkie (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) all picked up career-highs with eight tackles apiece in their final game, while sophomore James Clark (Fairfax, Va./Wakefield) and Romero also each had eight tackles. 
 
Geneva will head into the offseason looking to replace 13 seniors that have played their last game for the Golden Tornadoes, including three-year starting quarterback Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley).
 

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).