BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It hasn't been an easy first three weeks of the football season for the Geneva College football team, who battled key injuries along with a very difficult schedule over the past month.  Everything came together for the Golden Tornadoes on Friday night against rival Grove City, though, and Geneva led from start to finish in an impressive 24-17 win over the Wolverines.  The victory, which moved Geneva's record to 1-3 on the season, was win number 550 in program history, as well as Head Coach Geno DeMarco's 150^th career victory.  Grove City dropped to 2-2 with the loss.

The Golden Tornadoes received the opening kickoff and put together one of their most impressive drives of the season.  Led by junior quarterback Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) and freshman running back Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United), Geneva's triple-option attack methodically moved the ball down the field.  Facing a 3rd-and-goal from the Grove City 4-yard line, Luptak optioned left and pitched the ball to freshman Blake Peet (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) who sprinted into the end zone untouched to give the Golden Tornadoes an early 7-0 lead.  The drive went 12 plays and 75 yards and took 8:16 off the clock.

Grove City marched into Geneva territory on its opening drive, but as would prove to be a theme all night, the Golden Tornado defense came up big, stopping the Wolverines on a 4th-and-2 play from Geneva's 31-yard line to give the Golden Tornadoes the ball back.

Geneva's offense punted on its next possession, and Grove City again responded with a good drive.  This time it was freshman defensive back James Clark (Fairfax, Va./Wakefield) who came up with the big play, stepping in from of a Josh Ehst pass at the Geneva 8-yard line and intercepting a pass, which he returned all the way to midfield.   Geneva's drive stalled at the Grove City 29-yard line, but junior Daniel Nordaas (Largo, Fla./Keswick Christian) connected from 46-yards out to give the Golden Tornadoes a 10-0 lead.

The Wolverines put together another good drive in response, but the Geneva defense stiffened once again inside its own 10-yard line, forcing Grove City to settle for a short field goal to pull the Wolverines within 10-3.

Geneva's offense got going again on its next drive, marching 82 yards in just five plays, punching it in on a 3-yard run from Luptak to make it 17-3.  The Golden Tornadoes had back-to-back big plays on the drive, with Lippiatt rushing for 20 yards, followed by Luptak's 48-yard rush, to give Geneva the ball at the Grove City 11-yard line, setting up Luptak's short touchdown.

On Grove City's following possession, the Wolverines used a 53-yard pass from Ehst to Nick Gustafson to set Grove City up deep inside Geneva territory, and this time the Wolverines ran it in from four yards out with 1:51 remaining in the half to pull Grove City within 17-10.

Geneva answered with a drive in the final two minutes, with the Golden Tornadoes marching inside the Grove City 20-yard line, but Luptak's pass intended for junior Peyton Schell (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) in the end zone was picked off with 00:24 remaining in the half.

Grove City received the ball to start the second half, and the Geneva defense immediately forced a three-and-out.  On Grove City's punt, the snap sailed over the punter's head and was recovered at the Wolverine 3-yard line, setting up Geneva with a golden opportunity.  Three plays later, Luptak plunged in from one yard out to extend Geneva's lead to 24-10.

The next three possessions, two by Grove City and one by Geneva, ended in punts, the last of which was a Wolverine punt that gave the Golden Tornadoes the ball at the Grove City 37-yard line.  Geneva marched down and looked to have scored on a 3-yard Luptak run, but a holding penalty wiped the touchdown off the board, and after Grove City held, Nordaas missed on his field goal attempt to keep Grove City within two scores.

On Grove City's next possession, a big sack by senior Levi Raling (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) inside the Wolverine 5-yard line forced another Grove City punt that set Geneva up with great field position again, this time at the Wolverine 36-yard line.  The Golden Tornadoes again marched into the red-zone but were forced to settle for a field goal, but Nordaas' kick just missed again with 12:20 left in the game, giving the Wolverines another chance.

The defense would once again respond.  Grove City drove down to the Geneva 39-yard line, but Raling and freshman Dalton Roseman (Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne) stuffed Grove City's Zach Trusky on fourth-and-two, giving Geneva the ball back. 

The Golden Tornadoes' offense again put together a good drive, marching into Grove City territory, but a 40-yard field goal was no good with 3:32 remaining in the game, keeping the score at 24-10. 

Grove City responded with a 77-yard drive that culminated in an Ehst-to-Gustafson 4-yard touchdown pass with 1:16 remaining to pull the Wolverines with 24-17.

Grove City tried an onside kick on the following kickoff, and after the Wolverines initially thought they had recovered, Geneva emerged from the pile with the ball.  The Wolverines still had three timeouts remaining, though, and they used all three of those timeouts in forcing a Geneva punt, which rolled out of bounds at the Grove City 23-yardline with 00:50 remaining.  The Wolverines were able to move the ball to midfield, but a final heave into the endzone was knocked down by senior Casey Nau (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) at the buzzer, preserving the Geneva victory.

The Geneva offense put together its best performance of the season, finishing with 375 yards of total offense.  The Golden Tornadoes rushed for 363 yards, led by Luptak's 176 yards and two touchdowns, along with Lippiatt's 116 yards rushing.

Defensively, Geneva received contributions from just about everyone.  Junior Dakota Allen (Plant City, Fla./Newsome) led the Golden Tornadoes with 12 tackles, including two for a loss, as he has done all year.  Roseman finished with nine tackles, while Clark added eight tackles, an interception and four pass breakups.  As a team, Geneva held Grove City to 323 yards of offense and 17 points, well below its averages coming into the game of 439 yards of offense and 26 points per game.

"I couldn't be prouder of these guys," said Coach DeMarco.  "This was a total team effort.  We got great performances from a number of guys.  There were a lot of doubters out there that didn't think we could pick up a win like this against a very good team like Grove City, but these guys have just continued to work so hard every day at practice, and tonight they were rewarded for all their perseverance with a victory."

The win wraps up Geneva's regular season schedule.  The Golden Tornadoes will play one more game this season against a team from the south division next Friday, with the opponent and location being determined after tomorrow's games have been completed.


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).