PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The physical nature of Geneva's triple-option attack has led to a number of injuries early on this season for the Golden Tornadoes, including to their starting quarterback and two starting running backs.  Those absences for the offense on Friday night at Carnegie Mellon contributed to another rough game for Geneva as the Golden Tornadoes dropped a 20-7 decision.  CMU improved to 2-1 overall, 1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) North Division standings, while Geneva fell to 0-3, 0-2 in the PAC North Division.

CMU got on the board first.  After forcing a Geneva punt, the Tartans marched 79 yards on 10 plays on their opening possession, scoring on a three-yard run from Luke Bikulege.  The extra point was blocked, giving CMU an early 6-0 lead.

The Geneva offense put together a solid drive in response, driving inside the CMU 25-yard line, but the drive stalled, and Geneva's field goal attempt missed wide right early in the second quarter.  The Golden Tornado defense held tight, though, forcing a three-and-out, and on the opening play of Geneva's drive sophomore Gino Mavero (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) rumbled 50 yards down to the CMU 20-yard line.  Four plays later freshman Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United) punched it in from three yards out, giving Geneva a 7-6 lead with eleven minutes remaining in the half.

Geneva's defense held again, giving the Golden Tornadoes the ball back, but Geneva's offense lost yards on its possession inside its own 10-yardline, and a short punt set the Tartans up at the Geneva 31-yardline.  Five plays later, on third-and-three from the Geneva 13-yardline, Bikulege broke through and scored again to regain the lead for the Tartans, 13-7.

Another late-half situation stung Geneva again.  The Golden Tornado offense couldn't generate any yardage and was forced to punt with just a little over a minute remaining, and CMU struck quickly with the Tartans completing a 36-yard touchdown pass with 00:53 remaining to give CMU a 20-7 lead at the half.

Neither team generated any points in the second half.  Geneva drove down to the CMU 31-yardline on its opening possession, but sophomore quarterback Boston Tafelski's (Brooksville, Fla./Homeschool) pass on fourth-and-five fell incomplete, ending the drive.  On CMU's next possession, sophomore Derrick Sneed (Macon, Ga./Rutland) picked off a pass.  After Geneva's offense punted, junior Dakota Allen (Plant City, Fla./Newsome) picked off another CMU pass, keeping the Tartans off the board.

Geneva's defense came up with another big stop on fourth down early in the fourth quarter, deep in Golden Tornado territory.  Unfortunately, Geneva's offense couldn't get much going, and CMU finished out the victory, 20-7.

The Geneva offense managed 193 yards of total offense, including 175 yards on the ground.  Mavero led the team with 66 yards rushing, while Tafelski added 63 yards.  Lippiatt finished with 44 yards and a touchdown.

CMU did most of their damage on the ground as well, with Bikulege accounting for 193 yards rushing and two touchdowns.  CMU finished with 304 yards of total offense, 284 yards coming on the ground.

Allen led the defense again, finishing with nine tackles, including two tackles-for-loss, and the interception.  Senior Gary Weaver (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) and freshman Dalton Roseman (Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne) each added seven tackles.

Geneva finishes out its regular season next Friday with a 7:00 p.m. home contest against Grove City.  After that game, the Golden Tornadoes will learn their opponent for their final game of the season, a crossover opponent from the PAC South Division.


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).