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November 15, 2008

Van Zanic                                                                                                                                

Director of Sports Information

(724) 847-6886

vgzanic@geneva.edu

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 15, 2008

SUCCESSFUL SEND OFF, GENEVA SENIORS
CLOSE OUT 2008 WITH FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN

Beaver Falls, PA – It was the final send off for the Geneva College seniors on Saturday afternoon at Reeves Field. The Golden Tornadoes and head coach Geno DeMarco ended their campaign in impressive fashion with a 29-26 victory over their arch rival Westminster College. The victory was Geneva’s fourth straight and helped improve its overall record back to the .500 mark at 5-5. The Titans finished their season with an identical 5-5 mark for the fourth time in the past six years.

In a rivalry that started in 1891, the 111^th edition of the Geneva and Westminster rivalry seemed more like a see-saw than a football game all afternoon. The Golden Tornadoes, which seemingly controlled the pace of the game throughout the day, could not put the Titans away. In fact, Westminster scored a touchdown on the game’s final play to pull within three points.

Before the Reeves Field faithful could get out their umbrellas on a soggy afternoon, the Golden Tornadoes were up 7-0. On just the second play from scrimmage, Matt Barge broke free for a 36 yard run. After the Titans fumbled the ensuing kick-off, Geneva took advantage with the first of three Nick DiPietro field goals on the day.

The teams traded field goals before the Titans got a one-yard run from Shawn Lehocky to cut the lead to just three. Geneva took a 16-13 lead into the halftime locker room. The first drive of the second half resulted in a five play, 74 yard drive that culminated with a Brian Dvorsak 31 yard field goal. After Westminster once again cut the lead to 22-20, it was Gerard Muschette who issued the final punch when he scored from 88 yards out early in the fourth quarter. The defensive, most notably Rich Kolesar held off the Titan offense. Kolesar came up with six pass break-ups to lead the secondary.             Derek McElhaney, playing his final game for the Golden Tornadoes, led the Geneva defense with 12 tackles. Seniors Dan Terracciano and Zach Feltrop chipped in with eight tackles each in the victory.

On offense, Geneva rushed the ball with great effectiveness for the fourth straight week. The Golden Tornadoes picked up 231 yards, including 132 yards from Matt Barge and 97 yards from Gerard Muschette. David Girardi threw for 162 yards on 8-18. He found Brian Dvorsak for four catches and 114 yards to lead the way.

Geneva said good-bye to 12 seniors on Saturday and ended it impressive fashion with four straight wins after starting the season at 1-5.