BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College football team suffered a frustrating loss to Saint Vincent on Saturday evening, unable to hold a big early lead before seeing the Bearcats leave town with a 28-19 victory. Geneva dropped to 1-3, while Saint Vincent improved to 2-2.
Things could not have started any better for the Golden Tornadoes. They received the opening kickoff and used a 59-yard pass from junior Brutus Ogilvie to senior Hilton McClain Jr. to drive 76 yards and score an opening touchdown on an 11-yard touchdown run from sophomore Logan Kent.
On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Daniel Guzevich forced a fumble, which sophomore Kiefer Mandagelo recovered. Six players later Ogilvie scored from one yard out to double the Geneva lead, 14-0, less than five minutes into the game.
The Geneva defense forced a three-and-out on Saint Vincent's first possession, and the Golden Tornadoes again drove into the Saint Vincent redzone. However, the drive stalled and Geneva missed a 34-yard field goal. That miss seemed to be the turning point in the game.
The Bearcats responded with an 80-yard, 11-play drive, with Ty Martin running it in from nine yards away to cut the Geneva lead in half, just before the end of the first quarter.
The Geneva offense responded with another long drive, moving the ball all the way down to the Saint Vincent three yardline, but the Golden Tornadoes had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from sophomore Ryan Reitler.
The Saint Vincent offense drove 65 yards on the following drive, on six plays, with Martin scoring again. This one came on a 6-yard touchdown run to pull the Bearcats to within 17-14.
The Bearcats forced a Geneva fumble on the next drive, giving Saint Vincent a short field, which quickly turned into another Bearcat touchdown to give Saint Vincent its first lead of the game, 21-17.
The back-breaking play of the game occurred in the closing seconds. Geneva lined up for a punt with 15 seconds remaining from the GTs 34-yardline, but the snap sailed over the head of freshman punter Titan Thomas. The ball rolled all the way into the endzone where Saint Vincent's Austin Wells fell on the ball with eight seconds remaining to send the Bearcats into the halftime break with a 28-17 lead, despite Geneva outgaining Saint Vincent in total yardage.
The second half was a far different affair. After the two teams combined for 45 points in the first half, neither team's offense could get anything going. The Geneva defense responded to the tough second quarter with a strong effort, not allowing the Bearcats to score another point. Saint Vincent's best chance occurred in the third quarter, but senior Derrick Sneed broke through the line on a 26-yard field goal attempt to come up with a big block.
The Geneva offense was unable to replicate its early success, though. The only points of the second half occurred when Saint Vincent's punter chose to step out of bounds in the closing seconds on a punt when the Bearcats were backed up inside their own five yardline.
Geneva finished with a total yardage advantage of 316 to 272, but three turnovers proved too costly to overcome. Junior Josh Syster led the offense with 104 yards rushing on 22 carries. McClain hauled in four passes for 81 yards.
Defensively, junior Gabe Trexler led the team with 12 tackles, including three tackles-for-loss. Sophomore Luke Blasko finished with eight stops.
Geneva will try to rebound next Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes host undefeated and first-place Grove City on Homecoming. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
