WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Geneva College football team is off to its best start since joining the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) in 2011, and the Golden Tornadoes added to their impressive stretch in PAC play with a dominating 62-20 victory at Waynesburg on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  The 62 points scored are the most since 2001 when Geneva defeated Olivet Nazarene 77-14.  The Golden Tornadoes improved to 4-3 overall, including 4-1 in the PAC, which puts them in a tie for second place in the conference.

Things actually started poorly for the Golden Tornadoes, as two early fumbles gave Waynesburg great field position.  The Geneva defense held tough, though, forcing the Yellow Jackets to settle for two short field goals.

The Geneva offense began to get rolling after Waynesburg took its early lead, putting together two drives into Waynesburg territory.  Both drives stalled, though, but senior Ryan Reitler delivered a 42-yard field goal and then a season best 43-yard field goal to even the score at 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Geneva's defense continued its strong play, forcing a Waynesburg fumble on the ensuing possession, and sophomore Noah Hutcherson scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the Yellow Jackets' 12-yard line.  On the next play, junior quarterback Caleb Romano hit senior Keaton Baker for a touchdown pass to give the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the game.

Waynesburg responded with its best drive of the game, converting a couple third-and-long plays before quarterback Luke Hudson hit Elija Jackson for a 22-yard touchdown, pulling the Yellow Jackets level at 13-13.  The score proved to be the last highlight for Waynesburg for quite a while.

Geneva took control of the game over the final five minutes of the half.  The offense marched down the field and retook the lead on a one-yard touchdown run from senior David Reid with just over two minutes remaining.

Waynesburg tried to respond, but on 3rd-and-20, sophomore Wyman Shaheen broke around the edge of the line and sacked Hudson, forcing a fumble which junior Coltin Hill recovered.  The Golden Tornadoes quickly converted two plays later just before the end of the half.  Romano hit Baker for an 11-yard pass before scrambling for an 18-yard touchdown on the next play, giving Geneva a 27-13 lead going into the break.

The Golden Tornadoes received the ball to begin the second half, and the offense moved right down the field and added to their lead with another one-yard touchdown run from Reid.

The Geneva defense came up with another big play later in the quarter when freshman Najee Ankoma-Sey picked off a Hudson pass to give the offense the ball back.  The Golden Tornadoes took advantage again a few minutes later when Romano hit freshman Damien Lacks for a 25-yard touchdown.

Waynesburg appeared to have a big play on the ensuing kickoff when the Yellow Jackets' Carson Shiver broke through the coverage and appeared headed for a touchdown, but freshman Christian Hunter tracked him down from behind, stripping the ball, which freshman Dayntae Pierce recovered to give the offense the ball back again.  Two plays later, Romano found senior Luke Crumbacher over the top for a 64-yard touchdown pass, making it five straight touchdowns for the Golden Tornadoes.

The fireworks didn't stop in the final quarter, with Waynesburg finally breaking the Geneva scoring run with a long touchdown rush of its own.  However, the Geneva defense kept creating turnovers, and the Golden Tornado offense kept converting over the final 15 minutes.

Senior linebacker Reed Gordon picked up off a pass on the first play of the fourth quarter, the second straight week he has intercepted a ball.  Romano found senior Seth Tyson wide open along the sideline for a 14-yard touchdown pass, bringing an end to another prolific day for Romano, the NCAA Division III leader in passing yards, as Head Coach Geno DeMarco put in the reserves for the rest of the game.

Junior Lonnie Craft added an interception later in the quarter, and the final score of the game came on a two-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Will Patterson to freshman Michael Egetoe, closing out the 62-20 victory.  Sophomore Cody Patterson added an interception late and returned it for 94 yards for a score, but a blocking penalty negated the long touchdown return.

Romano finished the day with 373 yards passing and four touchdowns, along with another rushing touchdown.  He's now passed for at least 335 yards in five straight games.  Baker was his top target, finishing with 132 yards and a touchdown on nine catches.  Tyson added eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown, while Crumbacher and sophomore Dayne Johnke were both over 50 yards receiving as well.  Reid added two touchdowns rushing.

Defensively, the Golden Tornadoes forced seven turnovers, recovering three fumbles while intercepting four passes.  Patterson, Gordon, Hill and senior Nicholas Ciriello led the team with six tackles apiece.

Geneva will carry this recent momentum, four wins in its last five games, into next week's Homecoming game against Bethany.  The kickoff on Reeves Field is set for 3:00 p.m.