It has been eight years since the Geneva College football team has made a playoff appearance.
Eight long years.
"It's been a long wait for our program to get back to where we want to be, but this season has been very rewarding, and we are hopeful to continue the ride," Geneva coach Geno DeMarco said.
The Golden Tornadoes (8-3), who have made several appearances in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association Victory Bowl in recent years, face a tough task today in the first round of the NAIA playoffs, when they travel to Georgetown (Ky.) (8-2), a three-time national champion.
Both teams finished the regular season with a flurry of victories. No. 16 Geneva won its final five, and No. 5 Georgetown is on a seven-game roll.
Geneva is led by junior quarterback Justin Sciarro, who has completed 144-of-294 passes for 1,924 yards and 19 touchdowns, and wide receiver Michael Lehman, who has 38 receptions for 541 yards.
Georgetown quarterback Jeff Smith has thrown for 2,524 yards and 25 touchdowns, as the Tigers average 475 yards of total offense per game.
In other games involving district teams, No. 15 Thiel (10-0) begins its first postseason run in school history by playing host to Johns Hopkins (8-2) and No. 14 Washington & Jefferson (9-1) travels to No. 17 Bridgewater (Va.) (8-1) in a pair of NCAA Division III playoff openers.
Although Thiel claimed its first Presidents' Athletic Conference championship since 1972 and handed perennial playoff-contender Washington & Jefferson its only loss this season, the Tomcats are ranked one spot below the Presidents in the American Football Coaches' Association Division III poll.
Also, Duquesne (6-3), ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major, visits St. Francis (Pa.) (3-7) in both team's season finale. The Dukes have won six consecutive games against the Red Flash, who are seeking their first four-victory season since joining Division I-AA Mid-Major.
Georgetown, which won NAIA championships in 1991, and then, back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002, will be making its eighth consecutive trip to the playoffs and 14th overall.
It marks Geneva's fourth playoff appearance, but first since 1997. The team declined an invitation to play in the annual NCCAA Victory Bowl prior to beating Urbana, 21-20, in its final regular-season game last Saturday, opting instead to shoot for an NAIA playoff bid.
"I'm so proud of these guys," DeMarco said. "They've all worked so hard to get to this point, and I can't think of another group of players that are more deserving to get this opportunity in the postseason."
Meanwhile, Geneva and Georgetown have never met in football, but it was the Georgetown men's basketball team that knocked Geneva out of the NAIA Tournament in 1996, when the Golden Tornadoes had advanced to the Elite Eight.
