The 2009 Victory Bowl

Victory Bowl

The Victory Bowl is the championship football game between schools that sponsor football and are members of the NCCAA and did not qualify for either the NCAA or NAIA playoffs. It is one of the few post-season bowl games for smaller schools...

was a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 post-season bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

. The game was played on November 21, 2009 at Francis Field

Francis Field (Greenville)

Francis Field is a 2,000-seat football stadium in Greenville, Illinois. It is home to the Greenville College Panthers football team. The facility opened in 1987.-External links:*...

 in Greenville, Illinois

Greenville, Illinois

Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The estimated population as of July 2009 is 7,284. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bond County....

.. The Geneva College

Geneva College Golden Tornadoes Football

The Geneva Golden Tornadoes football program represents Geneva College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference . The team is also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association. Since its...

 Golden Tornadoes, a provisional member of NCAA D-III Presidents' Athletic Conference

Presidents' Athletic Conference

The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....

 played against the Greenville College

Greenville College

Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...

 of NCAA D-III Upper Mid-West Athletic Conference.

Geneva College won their fifth Victory Bowl in its sixth appearance (both NCCAA Victory Bowl records).

Game summary

Geneva claimed a hard-fought victory over Greenville 29-28, with the issue being decided in the game's final seconds. Greenville took an early lead on a 1 yard touchdown run by Ambers. Gerard "the Tomahawk" Muschette put Geneva on the board with a 5 yard touchdown run during the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. The Panthers extended their lead on a 39 yard touchdown run by Ambers. The failed extra point gave Greenville a 13-7 lead going into the half.

Ambers scored his third of three touchdowns for Greenville with a 14 yard run. Friedrich caught a two-point conversion attempt from Lira to extend Greenville's lead over Geneva to 21-7. The Golden Tornadoes answered back with Muschette's second touchdown run. The 1 yard run and the extra point cut the Panther's lead to 21-14. Greenville's final points of the game came in the third quarter when Fred scored on a pass of 33 yards from Lira. Ackerman's extra point put the score at 28-14 Greenville. Offensive MVP Gerard Muschette scored his third touchdown of the day late in the 3rd quarter on a five yard run, but a failed extra point resulted in a scored of 28-20. Senior Matt Barge scored for the Golden Tornadoes with 4:54 left in the 4th quarter to cut the Panther's lead over the Golden Tornadoes to 28-26. A failed two point conversion attempt by the Golden Tornadoes left Greenville ahead. A successful stand by the Golden Tornado Defense, led by Brian Wilson, gave the ball back to Geneva with 2:12 remaining.

The Drive

The Golden Tornadoes' final possession of the 2009 season began on their own 3 yard line, with 2:12 remaining in the game. Junior quarterback David Girardi completed a first down pass to Barge for a ten yard gain. Three incomplete passes resulted in a 4th and 10 for Geneva from their own 13 yard line. Heavy pass rush caused Girardi to scramble from the pocket who then completed a pass to Barge for a gain of 10 and a first down. Another pass to Barge, this time for 14 yards moved the ball out to Geneva's 37 yard line. A short gain on a pass by Girardi to Thurston moved the ball out to Geneva's 41 yard line. The Golden Tornadoes then relied "900 Saint Vincent" for a 47 yard gain down to Greenville's 12 yard line. The play called for Girardi to take a few steps towards Geneva's bench, asking for a new play. The ball was then directly snapped to running back Matt Barge who then lateralled the ball back to Girardi. Girardi then completed a deep post to Nuetzel for a huge gain. Geneva gained 8 more yards on two short passes to Dean and Thurston. A final incomplete pass led to a 4-2 at Greenville's 3 yard line when Nick Dipietro kicked the game winning field goal with :19 seconds left in the game.

Scoring summary

Plays	Yards	Scoring Play	Time	Score
1st quarter
10	54	GC - Ambers, 1-yard run (Ackerman kick)	4:30	Gen 0 - GC 7
2nd quarter
6	54	Gen - Muschette, 5-yard run (Dipietro kick)	2:34	Gen 7 - GC 7
6	43	GC - Ambers, 39-yard run (Ackerman kick failed)	0:45	Gen 7 - GC 13
3rd quarter
4	71	GC - Ambers, 14-yard run (Friedrich pass from Lira)	1:37	Gen 7 - GC 21
8	60	Gen - Muschette, 1-yard run (Dipietro kick)	2:42	Gen 14 - GC 21
4	37	GC - Fred, 33-yard pass from Lira (Ackerman kick)	1:57	Gen 14 - GC 28
4	65	Gen - Muschette, 5-yard run (Dipietro kick failed)	0:54	Gen 20 - GC 28
4th quarter
5	34	Gen - Barge, 7-yard run (two point conversion failed)	2:09	Gen 26 - GC 28
12	94	Gen - Dipietro, 20-yard field goal	1:53	Gen 29 - GC 28

Statistics

Statistical Comparison

	Gen	GC
1st Downs	21	16
Total Yards	358	331
Passing Yards	248	92
Rushing Yards	110	239
Penalties	4-28	4-30
3rd Down Conversions	2-12	5-16
4th Down Conversions	2-3	2-5
Turnovers	1	1
Time of Possession	27:29	32:31

Geneva College

• QB David Girardi: 19/35, 248 yds, Int
• RB Gerard Muschette: 20 rush, 113 yds, 3 TD
• WR Sam Thurston: 7 rec, 41 yds
• FB Matt Dean: 4 rec, 52 yds
• RB Matt Barge: 4 rec, 48 yds

Greenville College

• QB Lira: 3/9, 92 yds, TD
• RB Ambers: 26 rush, 126 yds, 3 TD
• WR Fred: 1 rec, 39 yds, TD

External links

• Victory Bowl at the NCCAA website