BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Despite a spirited second-half performance, the Allegheny College football team dropped Saturday's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup at Geneva College by a final score of 30-13.

Geneva (3-4, 3-4 PAC) dominated the first half on both sides of the ball and scored 30 unanswered points. The Golden Tornadoes, known for their run-heavy, triple option offense, not only moved the ball effectively on the ground, but found big plays through the air with a surprising passing attack. Of its 444 yards of total offense, 344 yards came in the first half alone.

But it was a tale of two halves, and Allegheny (1-6, 1-6 PAC) didn't go down in the fight without landing a few glancing blows. Unable to find any success on the ground, quarterback Trevor Brncic (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) and his receivers turned a dismal first half into a noteworthy passing performance in the final 30 minutes. In total, Brncic completed 29-of-52 attempts for a career-high 360 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Gisewhite (Corpus Christi, Texas/Flour Bluff) and Ian Durci (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) were the primary beneficiaries of Brncic's second-half success. Gisewhite led all receivers with 12 receptions for a game-high 162 yards. Durci added seven catches for 113 yards, but had a second-quarter touchdown reception waived off due to a holding penalty.

Tight end Austin Williams (Warsaw, N.Y./Warsaw Central), who finished with seven catches for 55 yards, caught Allegheny's first touchdown. Brncic then found running back Dominic Berarducci (Erie, Pa./McDowell) out of the backfield for the team's second score.

Following Berarducci's touchdown catch, the Gators recovered an onside kick. With only 68 seconds remaining, Brncic navigated the Allegheny offense down to the three-yard line. Facing a third down with only 2.6 seconds left, his final pass was off the mark towards the back of the end zone.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny's offense finished with 359 total yards with an average of 5.4 yards per play.
• Of those 359 yards, 218 came in the fourth quarter, and all of those fourth-quarter yards came through the air.
• Brncic finished with 360 passing yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
• Gisewhite (162) and Durci (113) both surpassed 100 yards receiving.
• Williams and Berarducci each caught one touchdown.
• Gisewhite also had 107 yards on four kick returns, resulting in 269 all-purpose yards.
• Geneva compiled 444 yards, with 283 rushing yards on 61 total carries.
• Geneva quarterback Caleb Romano had a game-high 81 rushing yards with 161 passing yards and three total scores.
• Coltin Colucci (Brewster, Ohio/Fairless) blocked an extra point and led all Gators with 13 tackles.
• Azary Matsuda (Roseville, Calif./Granite Bay), Jonmarc Crawford (Guilford, N.Y./Sidney), and Vital Joseph II (Humble, Texas/Summer Creek) also finished with double-digit tackles.
• Joseph II picked off Romano to end Geneva's first offensive series.

News and Notes

• Allegheny recorded season highs in total yards (359) and passing yards (360) against Geneva.
• Making his fifth start of the season, Brncic recorded single-game career-highs for pass attempts (53), completions (29), and yards (360).
• Brncic's 360 passing yards are the most by a Gator quarterback since Jack Johnson '24 threw for 410 yards against the College of Wooster on November 6, 2021.
• The last time Allegheny had multiple 100-yard receivers was on October 20, 2018, when Dwaine Barber '20 (131) and Alex Victor '20 (121) helped lead the Gators to a 54-10 win over Kenyon College.
• Gisewhite's 12 catches and 160 receiving yards are both single-game career-highs for the junior transfer.
• Durci surpassed 100 receiving yards for the second time in his career.

Up Next
Allegheny returns to Frank B. Fuhrer Field to host Waynesburg University on Saturday, October 26, at 5:05 p.m.