BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Widener Football battled Geneva from start to finish Saturday afternoon, but the Pride fell to the Golden Tornadoes, 21-14, at Reeves Field.

The 21-14 setback moves the Pride to 0-1 on the season and will play their first conference contest.

BY THE NUMBERS

·         Corey Schock completed 15-of-37 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown while adding four rushing yards.

·         Jaelen Richardson led the Pride through the air with four receptions for 94 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown.

·         Michael Turner paced the Widener rushing attack with 36 yards on 14 carries while adding five receptions for 33 yards.

·         Luke Shaeffer led the Pride defense with 11 tackles and two interceptions.

·         Asa McMillan added nine tackles and recorded a 10-yard interception return for a touchdown.

·         Ryan Caloiaro added three tackles while leading the team with 2.5 tackles for a loss.

·         The Pride defense totaled three interceptions, three sacks and a blocked field goal.

·         Brandon Yoder punted nine times for 252 yards, averaging 28.0 yards per punt and placing two inside the Geneva 20-yard line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

·         The Pride defense made an immediate impact in the opening quarter as McMillan intercepted Geneva quarterback Caleb Romano and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown with 8:47 remaining in the first quarter. Fred Adler added the extra point to give Widener an early 7-0 advantage. The final drive of the first would end with a Shaeffer tackle at the GEV50.

·         Widener continued to battle throughout the opening half, with the defense keeping Geneva off the scoreboard despite the Golden Tornadoes moving the ball. Shaeffer added his first interception of the afternoon with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, while the Pride defense also held Geneva to a blocked 30-yard field goal as the first half came to a close. The half would end with the Pride leading 7-0.

·         Geneva came out of halftime and found the end zone twice to take a 14-7 lead, but the Pride answered immediately. Schock connected with Richardson on a 70-yard touchdown strike with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, with Adler's extra point tying the game at 14-14.

·         The Golden Tornadoes regained the lead early in the fourth quarter, scoring on a one-yard rushing touchdown with 3:01 remaining to make it 21-14. Widener continued to battle until the final whistle, putting together a 13-play, 61-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that moved the Pride deep into Geneva territory. The drive ultimately ended with a fumble at the Geneva 17-yard line, allowing the Golden Tornadoes to run out the final seconds and secure the victory.

UP NEXT
Widener returns home for its home opener on Saturday, September 12, at 1 p.m. at Hirschmann Field at Quick Stadium against the 0-1 (0-0 MAC) Alvernia Golden Wolves.