WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Geneva College football team had to overcome a second-half deficit on Friday night, but the Golden Tornadoes finished their season with a come-from-behind 21-14 victory at Waynesburg.  The win enables Geneva to finish out this COVID spring season with two straight victories, completing its season with a 2-3 record.  Waynesburg finishes the season 0-5.

Geneva received the opening kickoff of the game and marched down the field, moving to the Waynesburg 19-yard line.  However, facing a fourth-and-two, freshman Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United) was stopped short, turning the ball over to the Yellow Jackets.

Waynesburg picked up two first downs on its drive, but the Geneva defense forced a punt.  However, junior Peyton Schell (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) muffed the punt, and the Yellow Jackets recovered at the Geneva 24-yard line.  On Waynesburg's first play from scrimmage, Justin Flack ran up the middle for a touchdown, giving the Yellow Jackets an early 7-0 lead.

The Geneva offense once again drove into Waynesburg territory, this time to the Yellow Jackets' 33-yard line.  However, on fourth-and-three, Lippiatt was again stopped short of the first down, turning the ball back over to Waynesburg.

The Geneva defense forced a three-and-out on Waynesburg's drive, and the Yellow Jackets punted the ball back to the Golden Tornadoes.  However, for the third time in three drives, Geneva drove down to the Waynesburg 30-yard line, but a fourth-down pass from junior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) fell incomplete, and another Golden Tornado drive stalled inside Waynesburg's territory.

This time it was Geneva's turn to come up with a fourth-down stop.  Waynesburg drove down to the Geneva 33-yard line, but facing a fourth-and-two, the Yellow Jackets' pass fell incomplete.  On the following drive, the Golden Tornadoes finally came away with points when freshman Blake Peet (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) took a pitch from Luptak and raced 43 yards down the sideline and into the end zone to even the score at 7-7 with 1:39 remaining in the half.

The Geneva defense forced another quick punt, allowing the Golden Tornadoes to get the ball back one final time in the half.  Geneva drove into Waynesburg territory, but junior Daniel Nordaas' (Largo, Fla./Keswick Christian) 43-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer was blocked, keeping the score tied at 7-7 going into halftime, despite Geneva holding a 245-101 advantage in total yards from scrimmage.

Waynesburg received the second half kickoff, and on its second play from scrimmage, Flack burst through the left side of the line and went 70 yards untouched for a touchdown, giving Waynesburg the lead back, 14-7.

Junior Brady Corklin (Titusville, Pa./Titusville) returned the following kickoff out towards midfield, and after back-to-back completions to senior Nick Monteleone (East Palestine, Ohio/East Palestine) and Schell, Luptak ran it inside the Waynesburg 5-yard line, giving the Golden Tornadoes first-and-goal.  Luptak finished off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, tying the score at 14-14.

Waynesburg used another big run from Flack to drive into Geneva territory, but the Golden Tornado defense stiffened and came up with another fourth-down stop to give the ball back to their offense, and on Geneva's second play, Peet raced 45 yards to move the ball inside the Waynesburg 25-yard line.   The Golden Tornadoes then went to the air to take their first lead of the game, with Luptak connecting with Schell on a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Geneva a 21-14 lead.

Waynesburg took the ensuing possession inside Geneva territory, but the Golden Tornadoes were able to force a Yellow Jacket punt early in the fourth quarter.  Geneva drove inside the Waynesburg 40-yard line, but the drive stalled, forcing a Geneva punt for the first time in the game.  Sophomore Kurt Pucci's (Friedens, Pa./Somerset) punt was a good one, though, pinning the Yellow Jackets back at their own 3-yard line.

Waynesburg picked up two first downs, but on fourth-and-nine with less than two minutes remaining, junior Dakota Allen (Plant City, Fla./Newsome), who had been all over the field all game, picked off the Tyler Raines' pass to seal the victory for Geneva, 21-14.

Peet rushed for a season-high 131 yards to lead the team in rushing, while adding a touchdown.  Luptak added 78 yards rushing and a touchdown along with a season-high 121 yards passing, including the game-winning strike to Schell.  Lippiatt added 88 yards rushing, while Schell finished with three catches for 60 yards and the touchdown.  As a team, the offense finished with 429 yards of total offense, including 308 on the ground.

Defensively, Allen finished with a season-high 14 tackles, along with the game-sealing interception.  Waynesburg finished with 312 yards of total offense, with Flack accounting for 202 yards and both Yellow Jacket touchdowns.

"We have had little to no success playing down here in recent years, so to be able to come back in the second half and do enough to get a win is rewarding," said Head Coach Geno DeMarco.  "I'm especially happy for our seniors to end with a couple wins, and for everyone else, it's back to work because the fall is right around the corner."

Because of the unusual spring season, Geneva has less than four months before players are scheduled to report back in early August for the beginning of the fall season.

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).