BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It had been a long time since the Geneva College football team had competed on Reeves Field, but the excitement of opening night was also buffered by the fact the Golden Tornadoes were welcoming a powerful Westminster team to town, a team that already had one blowout victory on its resume this year.  Geneva knew it would need to play an error-free game to have a chance to win, and multiple first-half fumbles allowed the Titans to open a huge halftime lead on their way to a 52-21 Westminster win.  Westminster improved to 2-0 overall, 1-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Northern Division, while Geneva fell to 0-1, 0-1 in the PAC North.

Despite the ugly final line, the game actually started quite well for the Golden Tornadoes.  Geneva received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, with freshman Blake Peet (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) providing the spark with a 49-yard run.  Sophomore Boston Tafelski (Brooksville, Fla./Homeschool) punched it in from one yard out on four-and-goal to put the Golden Tornadoes ahead 7-0 just under four minutes in.

Westminster had an answer on its opening drive, marching 72 yards on ten plays to tie up the score, 7-7.  On Geneva's ensuing drive, a Geneva fumble gave Westminster possession deep in Geneva's territory, and the Titans quickly doubled their lead with another touchdown.

Both teams traded empty possessions before Geneva marched down to the Westminster 21-yard line.  However, junior quarterback Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) was stopped for a loss on fourth-and-two to end the Golden Tornado drive.

Things got away from Geneva late in the second quarter.  Westminster scored a touchdown with 3:23 remaining in the half to take a 24-7 lead.  Over the final three minutes, Geneva fumbled three times, and each time Westminster quickly scored, including a fumble with 35 seconds remaining in the half that Westminster's Ian Barr scooped up and rambled 21 yards for a touchdown.  In the final three and half minutes of the half, Geneva's deficit went from 17-7 to 45-7.

Westminster received the opening kickoff of the second half, and a big kick return set the Titans up inside Geneva territory, and Westminster quickly scored again to make it 52-7.

At that point the Titans began to play many of their reserves.  Geneva managed to score twice in the fourth quarter, first on a 3-yard touchdown run by freshman Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United), and once more on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Luptak to senior Jake Ford (New Middletown, Ohio/Springfield Local).  The Luptak to Ford connection was one that was made often on the basketball court this season.

Westminster outgained Geneva offensively, 366 yards to 247 yards.  The Golden Tornadoes did most of their work on the ground, rushing for 220 yards of offense.  Peet led the rushing attack with 83 yards on just six carries.  Luptak added 57 yards on the ground.  Geneva's four first half fumbles proved extremely costly, as Westminster converted those four turnovers into four touchdowns, accounting for over half of the Titans' scoring.   The Titans were led by quarterback Cole Konieczka's 197 yards passing and two touchdowns and running back Vincent Giles' 83 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Defensively, junior Dakota Allen (Plant City, Fla./Newsome) had a game-high 10 tackles, while sophomore Nicolas Ottaviani (Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside) added seven tackles.  In addition, freshman James Clark (Fairfax, Va./Wakefield) picked off a pass for the Golden Tornadoes.

Geneva is back in action next Thursday when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Washington & Jefferson for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.


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 is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top 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.