BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College football team was glad to host its home opener on Saturday night against Carnegie Mellon, but the enjoyment didn't last long.  The game started well, but the Tartans eventually took control and finished out a 31-17 victory.  Carnegie Mellon improved to 1-1, while Geneva fell to 0-2.

Both teams punted on their first possession of the day, but it was Geneva that struck first when sophomore Hilton McClain Jr. (Belle Glade, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) took an end-around and blazed 59 yards untouched to put the Golden Tornadoes ahead 7-0.  However, the lead didn't last long.

Carnegie Mellon immediately responded as the Geneva defense struggled to contain Tartan running back Tre Vasiliadis.  Carnegie Mellon went 81 yards in 11 plays, capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ben Mills to even the score.

Geneva went three-and-out on its next possession, and on the first play of the second quarter, Vasiliadis broke through the Geneva defense and raced 67 yards for a touchdown to put the Tartans ahead 14-7.

Junior Gino Mavero (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) took a pitch on Geneva's next possession and sprinted 33 yards to set up the Golden Tornadoes inside Tartan territory, but Geneva had to settle for a 42-yard field goal by senior Daniel Nordaas (Largo, Fla./Keswick Christian).

Carnegie Mellon added to its lead on its next possession, driving 75 yards in 12 plays, with a Mills 5-yard touchdown pass to Vasiliadis pushing the Tartans further ahead, 21-10, heading into halftime.

The Tartans received the first possession of the second half, and once again the defense struggled to contain the Tartan rushing attack.  Carnegie Mellon put together another long drive, going 72 yards on 12 plays, with Vasiliadis plunging in from one yard out to extend the Tartan lead to 28-10.

Geneva finally got back into the end zone on its next possession, courtesy of McClain Jr. again.  Senior quarterback Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) hit the wide receiver for a 36-yard touchdown pass to pull Geneva to within 28-17 midway through the third quarter. 

Carnegie Mellon added a field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Geneva's last chance ended in heartbreaking fashion.  With just over four minutes to go, sophomore Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United) broke through the Tartan defense and headed towards the endzone from 28 yards away.  However, he was tripped up inside the 5-yard line, and as he stretched for the endzone, he lost control of the ball.  The ball rolled out of the back of the endzone, resulting in a touchback for Carnegie Mellon, effectively ending Geneva's chances for a comeback.

This game was one of the rare games where Geneva failed to produce more yardage on the ground than its opponent.  The Golden Tornadoes finished with 271 yards on the ground, but Carnegie Mellon finished with 345 yards rushing, led by Vasiliadis' 263 yards on 39 carries.  McClain Jr. led Geneva with 104 yards on just two rushes, while Lippiatt added 95 yards on 16 rushes.  In total, the Tartans outgained the Golden Tornadoes 476 yards to 318 yards.

Senior Dakota Allen (Plant City, Fla./Newsome) led the defense with 14 stops, tied for his career high, while junior Nicolas Ottaviani (Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside) added a career-high 11 tackles, as well as a forced fumble.  Junior Derrick Sneed (Macon, Ga./Rutland) and freshman Robert Zanders (Tampa, Fla./Gaither) also each contributed career-highs with nine tackles.  In total, the Tartans ran 75 plays to Geneva's 52 plays, with Carnegie Mellon holding a 37:53 to 22:07 possession advantage.

Geneva heads back out onto the road next week for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Saint Vincent.


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).