2009 Victory Bowl
The 2009 Victory Bowl was a college football post-season bowl game. The game was played on November 21, 2009 at Francis Field in Greenville, Illinois.[1] The Geneva College Golden Tornadoes, a provisional member of NCAA D-III Presidents' Athletic Conference played against the Greenville College 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.[2] Greenville took an early lead on a 1 yard touchdown run by Ambers. Gerard 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.[3] 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
Scoring summary
[4]
| 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[5]
| |
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
References
External links