Greenville, PA - Coming into Saturday′s football contest between Geneva and Thiel, the main focus was squarely on senior running back Gerard Muschette and his quest for the school′s all-time rushing mark. Muschette pulled closer to the all-time record while shattering the single game mark as Geneva rallied for a 34-20 victory over Thiel on Saturday afternoon. The win pushed Geneva′s record to 4-5 while Thiel remained winless at 0-8. The Golden Tornadoes broke their three game losing slide but not before a slow start had the Tomcats thinking upset.
Geneva did not do much of anything on offense in the first half and a pair of Thiel field goals had the Tomcats clinging to a 6-0 lead at the break. Whatever speech Geno DeMarco pulled out of the hopper at halftime, it should be framed a saved for another day because it certainly got the troops going in the right direction. David Girardi found Corey O′Patchen on a five yard scoring play on the first drive of the second half. The extra point was missed leaving the score knotted at 6-6, but not for long. Muschette scored the first of his four touchdowns from 12 yards out to give the Golden Tornadoes a 13-7 lead with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter. Muschette′s six yard touchdown reception from Girardi early in the fourth quarter extended Geneva′s lead to 20-6 and gave Muschette the all-time lead for touchdowns with 42 in Geneva College history. Muschette finished his recording break day with touchdown runs of 70 and 24 yards as Geneva pulled away for the victory.
When the dust settled, Muschette had broken the single game rushing mark with 302 yards on 30 carries breaking the old mark of 261 yards set by Melvin Cobbs in 1999. In two weeks, Cobbs better once again be on the look-out as Muschette has gotten within 108 yards of his all-time career rushing mark of 3,809.
For the third consecutive week, Geneva′s defense rose up and played very well. Allowing a late score of little significance did not dampen the spirits of a revitalized defensive unit that has found its stride. Scott Erb led the way with ten tackles in the victory including a sack. Freshman Fred Maxwell picked off his second ball in as many weeks to help the Geneva cause.
Geneva will enjoy a bye week next Saturday before welcoming Westminster to Reeves Field for a 1 pm start on November 13th. Gerard Muschette is used to being the center of attention and you can bet that all eyes will be on #22 as he looks to become Geneva′s all-time leading rusher against arch rival Westminster.
Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).
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