| Year Game Played: | 2009 |
| Game Name: | Victory Bowl |
| Football Season: | 2009 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Geneva |
| Visitor Nickname: | Golden Tornadoes |
| Visitor School: | Geneva College |
| Home Name Short: | Greenville |
| Home Nickname: | Panthers |
| Home School: | Greenville College (Illinois) |
| Visitor Record: | 7–3 |
| Home Record: | 7–2 |
| Visitor Coach: | Geno DeMarco |
| Home Coach: | Eric Hehman |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 13 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 9 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 6 |
| Home 3Q: | 15 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | November 21 |
| Stadium: | Francis Field |
| City: | Greenville, Illinois |
| Mvp: | Offensive: Gerard Muchette (Geneva College) |
| Attendance: | 800 |
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).
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 Panthers' 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 Panthers' 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 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.
| 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 | |
| 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 |