BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats lost a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game to the Geneva Golden Tornadoes Saturday night at Reeves Field, 45-10.
Thiel opened up a 10-0 early lead. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Tomcats needed just five plays to score the first touchdown of the game.
Senior quarterback
Marko Bakovic (Stockholm, N.J./Wallkill Valley) connected with freshman wide receiver
Caleb Shuler (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) for a 14-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage before freshman running back
Emmanuel Ramsey (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) ripped off a 24-yard run.
Ramsey gained two yards on the next two plays. Facing a third down-and-eight situation, Bakovic threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Shuler.
Chris Rosales (Port St. Lucie, Fla./St. Lucie West Centennial) tacked on the extra point to put Thiel up, 7-0.
Quarterback Amos Luptak fumbled on Geneva's first play, and Thiel freshman defensive lineman
Bill McCready III (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) recovered at the 29-yard line.
Bakovic threw a 10-yard pass to
Malik Beckford (Margate, Fla./J.P. Taravella) on the first play of the next drive, but the drive stalled at the 13-yard line, which led to a 31-yard field goal by Rosales.
Geneva returned the ensuing kickoff to the Thiel 42-yard line. Again, on their first offensive play, the Golden Tornadoes fumbled, which was recovered by
Trou Johnson (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) at the 38-yard line.
Unfortunately, Thiel's offense was held three-and-out and Geneva scored its first touchdown on its next possession on a one-yard run by Luptak.
Luptak scored on a 33-yard run on Geneva's next possession. It was the final score the Golden Tornadoes would need as the Tomcats were unable to score over the remainder of the game.
Geneva held a 21-10 lead at halftime after Luptak scored on a three-yard run with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Golden Tornadoes outscored the Tomcats 24-0 in the second half.
Geneva fumbled eight times, four of which the Tomcats recovered. Thiel fumbled twice, one of which was recovered by the Golden Tornadoes. Both teams threw one interception.
Geneva ran for 408 yards on 71 attempts. Luptak led the way with 154 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Justin Loughrie ran for 88 yards on 17 totes.
Bakovic completed nine passes for 103 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and one interception. Shuler caught three passes, one of which was a touchdown grab, for 55 yards. Ramsey paced the Tomcats with 24 yards on 12 carries.
Matt Crawford (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) and
Jaseem Campbell (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) led Thiel's defense with 11 tackles apiece.
The Tomcats will host the Case Western Reserve Spartans next Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The PAC game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
