BETHANY, W.Va. – The Geneva College football team dominated in every way possible on Saturday night at Bethany, jumping out to a big lead early and getting contributions from the offense, the defense and the special teams in a 42-7 victory over the Bison.  The victory is the second straight for Geneva, improving its record to 2-2 overall, 2-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Bethany dropped to 0-4, 0-3 in the PAC.
 
Bethany celebrated the installation of its new football turf before the game, which was just completed last week.  It proved to be the highlight of the night for the Bison.  Bethany received the opening kickoff and was forced into a three-and-out.  Sophomore Kazier Brandt (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) blocked the subsequent punt, and sophomore Jalen Collier (Sebastian, Fla./Sebastian River) scooped it up and scored from 12 yards out, giving Geneva a quick 7-0 lead.
 
On Bethany's next drive, sophomore James Clark (Fairfax, Va./Wakefield) picked off a pass from Bison quarterback Dom Salinetro, giving Geneva great field position at the Bethany 32 yardline.  On Geneva's next play, senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) broke through the Bison defense for a 32-yard touchdown run, and with just over two minutes gone in the game, the Golden Tornadoes led 14-0.
 
Geneva's defense continued to stymie the Bison, and after an empty Golden Tornado possession, Geneva got the ball back again and marched down the field, capping the drive off with a 7-yard touchdown run by sophomore Tyler Lippiatt (Salem, Ohio/United), extending Geneva's lead to 21-0 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
 
The Golden Tornado defense once again gave the Bethany offense nothing, forcing another three-and-out.  On the third play of Geneva's next drive, Luptak kept the ball around the left side and found nothing but green turf awaiting him, racing 54 yards for another Golden Tornado touchdown, extending Geneva's lead to 28-0 with 17 seconds still remaining in the first quarter.
 
Bethany's only positive play of the game occurred midway through the second quarter when Bison tight end Brennan Secrist got behind the Geneva defense and hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass to get Bethany on the board.
 
A few minutes later, after an empty Geneva possession, Clark picked off his second pass of the game, and Geneva converted that into another touchdown when freshman Jaeden Zuzak (Coal Center, Pa./California) plunged into the endzone from one yard out just before halftime, giving the Golden Tornadoes a 35-7 lead at the break.
 
The second half saw a little sloppier play from both teams, as Geneva used all of its bench with the big lead.  The only scoring occurred midway into the fourth quarter when sophomore Jawan Showers (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown East) picked off a pass and raced 61 yards for a pick-six touchdown.

The Golden Tornadoes rushed for 344 yards, while Geneva's defense held Bethany to -11 rushing yards on 21 carries.  That's the fewest rushing yards allowed since the Golden Tornadoes limited Grove City to -23 yards in 2015.  Luptak and Zuzak led the offense with 91 yards rushing apiece, with Luptak scoring twice and Zuzak once.  Lippiatt added 52 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, sophomore Kaden Romero (Red Rock, Okla./Putnam City North) led the team with nine tackles, three TFLs and a sack.  Junior Nicolas Ottaviani (Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside) added eight tackles, including 2.5 TFLs and a forced fumble.  Clark picked off two passes to go with two tackles, while freshman Robert Zanders (Tampa, Fla./Gaither) added two sacks.  Junior Derrick Sneed (Macon, Ga./Rutland) and freshman Brandon Graham (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) each picked off a pass.
 
Geneva will be back at Reeves Field next week for Homecoming, welcoming W&J to town for a 3:00 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 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).