LATROBE, Pa. – Head Coach Geno DeMarco, entering his 33^rd and final season, along with junior offensive lineman Roman Costanza, represented Geneva at the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Football Media Day on Wednesday, hosted at Saint Vincent College.  At the end of the day, the PAC released its preseason football poll, as voted on by coaches and media personnel at the event, and the Golden Tornadoes were picked to finish fifth, their highest preseason ranking in several years.  The event officially kicks off the upcoming sports season, with football players scheduled to report to Geneva's campus this weekend.

It was a significant day for Coach DeMarco at his final media day opener, as numerous coaches and administrators took the opportunity to thank DeMarco for all he has done for them personally, along with all he has done for Geneva College and the Presidents' Athletic Conference.  Several coaches mentioned specific times that Coach DeMarco had been a mentor or an encourager to them.

Geneva has nine starters returning on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, along with two special teams starters returning, giving the Golden Tornadoes one of the most veteran group of players returning in the PAC after several of the top teams in the conference lost a significant number of fifth-year players who utilized their extra season of eligibility due to COVID.  That group of players helped Geneva finish 5-5 last season, its best record in over ten years, and they are excited for the upcoming year.

"We've got some guys back, and we've also got some young guys coming in that are going to push them," said DeMarco.  "That's what you have to have to be able to do to move into the top of this very, very, difficult conference."

Coach DeMarco also talked about the challenges coaches, players and programs face as they go through a season, and how those things mold and shape people.

"You go through the season, and something happens at this position, and then something happens at the same position, and you get the same position again, and you may lose three or four guys at that position.  As coaches, we have to navigate through this.  The programs that navigate through these things on a weekly basis and are able to take all of these things that happen during the course of a season, sometimes we call that adversity, really it's an opportunity for us to grow as a football program, to grow as young men, and to learn about life.  That's what makes this profession so gratifying."

Costanza, who is an engineering major at Geneva, served as the player representative for the Golden Tornadoes.  The junior offensive lineman, who transferred to Geneva prior to last season, started all ten games for the Golden Tornadoes last year, earning All-PAC honors while also being recognized for multiple academic awards in his first season on College Hill.  He talked about how he's able to balance both academics and athletics and excel at both.

"I think balancing two things you love is not that difficult whenever you love and you have a passion for those things," said Costanza.  "I've loved the engineering aspect of school so much.  I've always loved math and physics growing up, and now that I've been able to expand my knowledge in those areas through engineering and apply that to real world scenarios, I think it's just something I'm truly passionate about.  And then playing football, with some of the stress of homework, I get to release that during practice and in games.  It's easy enough whenever you are able to manage your time, and whenever you are doing something that you love, it's not too hard to balance that and get through it, no matter how tough it is, because you are so passionate about it."

The Geneva football team opens its season on September 6 with a game at Widener.  The home opener is the following week when the Golden Tornadoes host Shenandoah on September 13.  The PAC opener for Geneva is September 20 with a home game against Saint Vincent.