When a football coach starts with the kicking game when asked to address his team's weaknesses, that means he has a solid squad.

Not that Geneva College coach Geno DeMarco believes he has all the bases covered for the coming season. He doesn't. He knows the Golden Tornadoes have flaws ... just not as many as in past years.

Geneva is coming off an 8-4 season that saw it return to the NAIA playoffs for the first time in seven years. It lost to Georgetown, Ky., 36-35, in the NAIA's first round.

That narrow loss has made the Golden Tornadoes hungry for more success this season.

"We've got to stay healthy, that's our deal," said DeMarco, who enters his 14th season at the Beaver Falls based college and is nine wins away from the 100-victory plateau. "If we are banged up, we'll have to fight, scratch and claw. But if we stay healthy ... "

Being concerned about the kicking game was not a smoke screen by DeMarco. Kicker/punter Zach Blair graduated after making good on 8 of 17 field-goal attempts and all 36 of his extra point tries last season. He also averaged 42.7 yards per punt and dropped 16 inside the 20-yard line.

"I don't know how you replace a Zach Blair," DeMarco said. "He might go down as the greatest kicker we've ever had."

The good thing is that if Geneva's offense is as good as advertised, DeMarco won't have to worry about attempting many field goals.

The catalyst is quarterback Justin Sciarro, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound fifth-year senior from Beaver Falls High school. Sciarro completed 156 of 317 passes for 2,110 yards and 22 touchdowns last year with 17 interceptions.

He has talented receivers in Mike Lehman, who caught 41 passes for 590 yards and eight scores, and Blackhawk High product Brian Dvorsak, who had 23 receptions for 330 yards. Luke Duriancik, who had 22 catches for 274 yards, also returns.

In the backfield, Geneva's two leading rushers -- Brandon Nathan and Michael Cobb -- are back. A West Mifflin High School product, Nathan rushed for 863 yards (4.1 per carry) and eight scores. Cobb from Connecticut gained 396 yards on 102 carries and three scores.

"Jutty [Sciarro] is playoff tested and has gone against some of the best defenses in the league," DeMarco said. "In the huddle, he has a calming effect on the younger guys. He's like a security blanket because there isn't much he hasn't seen."

In Matt Brown, a Freedom High product, and Bobby Bondi from Union High outside New Castle, Geneva has two quality backups at quarterback. Both have seen playing time in the past.

"We've got two guys in Matt and Bondi who would probably start at a lot of places," DeMarco said. "Maybe we'll do something to get all three of them on the field at the same time."

The offensive line will be anchored by Skylar Freed, a 6-2, 300 pounds from Rochester; Jim Raley, 6-3, 285, from Crestview High in Ohio; and Ted Nelson, 6-3, 270, from Bridgewater, N.J. Raley, who plays center, is a senior; Freed and Nelson are juniors.

Geneva averaged 336 yards and 27.6 points a game in 2005. DeMarco doesn't expect a drop off.

"We've gotten a little leaner, faster on offense than in the past," DeMarco said. "We're not just three yards and a cloud like we used to be."

Defensively, Geneva will have to find replacements for safety Tom Contenta, a four-year starter and the team's leading tackler, and lineman Frank Hernandez, the Golden Tornadoes' second leading tackler.

Linebacker Brian Hall, a 6-1, 240-pound senior from Yough High, returns after an injury limited him to just two games. He was Geneva's leading tackler in 2003 and '04. Bradley Roman, a 6-1, 230, senior linebacker was second team all-conference last season as was junior linebacker Greg Eberhart and senior defensive lineman Nick Phillips of Monaca.

In the secondary, Keith Davis, a sophomore from Woodland Hills, is back from a knee injury.

"We're a little thin in the secondary and that's a concern," DeMarco said. "We've got good depth at inside linebacker."

DeMarco will find out early just how good the Golden Tornadoes are. Geneva will open at home 7 pm. Sept. 2 against Thiel, which was 11-1 last year and has been picked to repeat as the Presidents Athletic Conference champions.

Geneva will again compete in the NAIA Mid-States Football Association, but change is coming. Geneva is joining the NCAA Division III PAC in 2007 and begins a four-year provisional period this season.

The Golden Tornadoes have played in a post-season game, either NAIA of National Christian College Athletic Association, nine of the past 11 years. DeMarco is quick to point out there are still post-season possibilities this season.

"There's still the NCCAA and some ECAC options," he said. "Change is good."

Geneva is also looking to upgrade Reeves Field and will install artificial turf for next season and improve the stands and entry way for 2008.

Those things have DeMarco, who is also the school's athletic director, excited. But his priority is this season.

"We have high expectations," he said. "All of our coaches do. If we can stay away from a lot of injuries we should be pretty good."