GREENVILLE, Pa. – A week after the Geneva College football team made an historic 27-point comeback against Saint Vincent, the Golden Tornadoes put up a strong defensive effort on Saturday night at Thiel, winning 27-14. Junior linebacker Tyler Cann, who had three crucial fourth quarter interceptions in last week's comeback, sealed the victory with another fourth quarter interception, returning this one for a touchdown and sending Geneva off to its second straight win. The Golden Tornadoes are now 2-1 on the season, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Thiel fell to 0-3, 0-2 in the PAC.
The game did not get off to a good start when Geneva fumbled the ball on its opening possession, giving the Tomcats great field position at midfield. It would prove to be one of the few mistakes Geneva made all night, though, as the Golden Tornado defense stood strong and forced a Thiel punt after a three-and-out.
Geneva took the ensuing possession and traveled 80 yards on 11 plays, capped off by a 14-yard touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Levi Cook, to make it 7-0. Thiel responded quickly, though, with its one positive drive of the night until late in the game, taking the ball 69 yards, mostly through the air, finished off with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Thiel wide receiver Devin Turner to tie the game at 7-7.
It wouldn't take long for Geneva to retake the lead, as Geneva went right back down the field, with sophomore Frankie Centofanti running it in from 9-yards out to give Geneva a 14-7 lead. Later in the quarter, just two minutes before halftime, senior Trewon Marshall added to the lead with a five-yard touchdown run, and Geneva took a 20-7 lead to the halftime break.
The second half proved to be an offensive struggle for both teams, as the defenses held strong. Neither team scored in the third quarter, and it wasn't until Cann picked off Thiel quarterback Marko Bakovic and ran it back 16 yards for a touchdown that either team scored. That put Geneva up 27-7 and sealed the victory for the Golden Tornadoes. Thiel added a late last minute touchdown for the final score, 27-14.
"We did enough to pick up a difficult conference victory on the road," said Head Coach Geno DeMarco. "Our defense was the difference in the game. It was a great team win but our defense rose up time and time again and I couldn't be prouder of the guys on that side of the ball."
The Golden Tornado defense held the Tomcats to just 21 yards rushing on 23 attempts, and Thiel's offense, outside of its final drive of the game after the outcome had already been decided, had just 147 yards of total offense against the Geneva starters. Cann led the way defensively with six tackles and the interception return for a touchdown. Freshman Jacob Robertson added four tackles, including three sacks, and along with sophomore Kendrick Wells' two sacks, Geneva totaled five sacks on the night.
Marshall led the way offensively with 127 yards rushing on 27 carries, including one touchdown. Cook added 84 yards and one touchdown, while Centofanti rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown. All told, Geneva outgained the Tomcats in yards, 322 to 232, with all of Geneva's yardage coming on the ground.
Geneva has its third road game in four weeks next Saturday when it travels to Waynesburg University for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. The following week Geneva is off, after which the Golden Tornadoes will return to Reeves Field on Saturday, October 6, for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff against Bethany on Homecoming.