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October 14, 2009

Geneva College (4-1) vs. Waynesburg University (3-2)

October 17, 2009

1:30 pm – Wiley Stadium

Waynesburg, PA

            The Golden Tornadoes head back to the road this week for a date with Waynesburg University. Geneva is coming off an impressive come from behind 34-17 victory over Grove City while the Yellow Jackets are licking their wounds following a 49-42 overtime loss to Westminster. While Geneva was busy celebrating its fourth victory of the season last Saturday, Waynesburg was taking stock on exactly who was left on the field after a rash of injuries sidelined several key components to the Yellow Jackets defense.

            Geneva got back to its roots last week with 270 yards of rushing offense. It used a career best 219 yards and three touchdowns from Gerard Muschette to cripple the Grove City defense and score 34 of the game’s final 37 points in moving to 4-1 on the season. Muschette leads the PAC in rushing with his 111.4 yards per game while Geneva is fourth in the conference with 155.4 yards of rushing offense per game. The Golden Tornadoes also got rushing touchdowns from Matt Dean and Matt Barge to spark Geneva’s comeback. Through air, David Girardi was efficient connecting on 13-18 passes for 178 yards.

            Waynesburg certainly put up enough offense to win last week to the tune of 553 yards. Through the air, sophomore Brad Dawson threw for 434 yards in the loss to Westminster. Dawson leads the PAC with 305.8 yards of passing per game. He has also thrown for 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions. The Yellow Jackets rank number one in scoring offense with an average of 38 points per game, along with being the number one ranked passing offense in the conference.           

            The problem for Waynesburg and the main reason it has started 0-2 in conference play has been its inability to stop opposing offenses. The Yellow Jackets are allowing 33.6 points per game and are last in pass defense allowing over 280 yards through the air per game. As for Geneva, its defense is surrendering only 21 points per game and ranks third in the conference. Geneva is also number one in turnover ratio and has forced 12 turnovers in the first five games of the season.

            Geneva and Waynesburg first hooked up on the football field in 1908 and have met 71 times since that first meeting 101 years ago. Last year, the Yellow Jackets rallied for 14 fourth quarter points in a 34-28 decision. It marked the first Waynesburg victory over a Geneva team since 1991. Waynesburg leads the all-time series with Geneva 39-28-4 and will welcome the Golden Tornadoes to its home field for the first time since Geneva entered the PAC.

            The Golden Tornadoes will return to Reeves Field next week where they have yet to lose in 2009. Geneva will put its perfect 3-0 home record on the line against Saint Vincent College in a rematch from earlier in the season where Geneva defeated the Bearcats 32-17 in Latrobe. Geneva will then host Bethany on Halloween in the final regular season home finale as the Golden Tornadoes close out the season with a pair of road games. Waynesburg will enjoy its only back to back home games of the season as it will welcome Bethany College to Wiley Stadium next weekend.