BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College football team's high-flying offense could never get fully on track against Grove City in Saturday night's matchup on Reeves Field, and the Wolverines' defense stymied the Golden Tornado offense while leaving town with a 22-9 victory.  Geneva dropped to 2-3 overall, 2-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) standings.

Neither team's offense could put up points in the first quarter.  The Geneva offense was successful at moving the ball into Wolverine territory, but the Golden Tornadoes were unable to secure points before turning the ball back over to Grove City.

Geneva did get on the board first midway through the second quarter, settling for a 23-yard field goal by senior Ryan Reitler after initially having a first-and-goal.  That gave the Golden Tornadoes a brief 3-0 lead.

Things seemed to turn in Grove City's favor on the Wolverines' next drive.  The Geneva defense, which had been shutting down the Grove City offense up to that point, allowed Wolverine receiver Breck Peacock to get behind the secondary on a 3rd-and-5 play from the Geneva 25-yard line, and quarterback Sutton Ellis hit Peacock in stride for a 75-yard touchdown pass.

Geneva got a big return from freshman Allen Rouse on the ensuing kickoff, setting up the Golden Tornadoes at the Grove City 45-yard line.  But the offense couldn't pick up a first down, turning the ball over on downs, and the Wolverines took advantage by moving down the field for a back-breaking drive.  Ellis finished off the drive by hitting Peacock again for a touchdown, this one from just two yards away, with just seven seconds left in the half to take a 13-3 lead into the break.

The Geneva offense, behind the passing of junior quarterback Caleb Romano, continued to find success at moving the ball into Wolverine territory, but negative plays, often on sacks from Grove City All-American linebacker Ben Bladel, stalled the Golden Tornado drives.

Grove City added a third passing touchdown from Ellis late in the third quarter to extend its lead to 19-3, and the Wolverines hit a 44-yard field goal to effectively seal the win with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Geneva offense finally broke through for a score on the next drive when Romano connected with senior Luke Crumbacher for a 62-yard touchdown pass, but the Golden Tornadoes could not get any closer before falling, 22-9.

Romano finished with another big passing day, throwing for 335 yards, but he did throw two interceptions in Grove City territory.  Crumbacher was the big beneficiary of Romano's passing with five catches for a career high 150 yards and a touchdown.  Senior Keaton Baker also had a big day with five catches and 107 yards.

While Grove City used its passing game to score its touchdowns, its running game was very effective after the first quarter, totaling 193 yards on the ground, which allowed the Geneva defense to rack up a number of tackles.  Senior linebacker Reed Gordon finished with a career-high 18 stops, while senior linebacker Nicholas Ciriello and sophomore Noah Hutcherson each totaled 16 tackles apiece.  Junior defensive lineman Coltin Hill also reached a career high with 10 tackles.

Grove City finished with 375 yards of total offense behind a balanced offensive attack.  Geneva countered with 325 yards of offense, all coming through the air.  Bladel proved to a be a problem for the Golden Tornado offense in protection, with the standout linebacker finishing with four of Grove City's five sacks while pressuring Romano on a number of other passing plays.

Geneva will try to rebound next week when the Golden Tornadoes head to Thiel on Saturday for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff.