Nov. 6, 2004

Box Score

Ann Arbor, Mich. - #17 Grand Valley State used a strong running game and a stellar defense to claim a key 24-7 victory over #4 Michigan Tech before a crowd of 50,123 at Michigan Stadium. The GVSU win, coupled with a Nebraska-Omaha loss puts the Lakers in prime position to advance to the NCAA DII playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

The Lakers opened the scoring in the first quarter after Brandon Langston blocked an MTU punt and the Lakers took over possession at the MTU 30 yard line. Three plays later Cullen Finnerty hit Demonte Collins with a 37 yard TD pass. Scott Greene added the PAT and GVSU led 7-0. The Lakers took a 10-0 lead with 7:13 left in the third quarter after a 7-play, 67-yard drive. Green drilled a 22 yard field goal with 7:13 left in the third quarter to put the Lakers on top with what proved to be the game-winning field goal. Demonte Collins put the Lakers in scoring position again with an 18 yard punt return. Senior RB Michael Tennessee went 45 yards for a TD on the second play to put GVSU up 17-0 with 4:18 left in the third. GVSU moved ahead 24-0 when Tennessee added his second TD of the game on a 4-yard run with 5:14 remaining in the game. Michigan Tech scored their only points with 2:37 left in the game on a Daryl Graham's 12 yard scoring run.

"I'm so proud of how we competed today," said first-year head coach Chuck Martin. "We treated this like a playoff game and came out with a great deal of intensity. We defeated a very good football team in Michigan Tech today."

GVSU rushed for a season-high 299 yards on 51 carries, while holding the Husky running game that was averaging over 300 yards per game to a season-low 124 yards. Michael Tennessee rushed for 107 yards on 20 carries, while Brandon Langston added 105 yards on 11 carries. Cullen Finnerty chipped in 79 yards on 13 carries. Finnerty attempted just 9 passes, completing six for 37 yards and a TD. Demonte Collins extened his streak of consecutive games with a TD reception to 10.

The Laker defense held MTU, which came into the game averaging 486 yards of total offense per game, to just 308. The seven points scored was also a season low for the Huskies, 35.9 below their season average. Marcus Spencer led the Laker defense with nine tackles, three tackles for loss (-13) and a forced fumble. Lucius Hawkins added eight tackles and a fumble recovery, while Marvis Bryant chipped in seven tackles and a forced fumble. GVSU tallied nine tackles for loss, four QB sacks seven pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.

"This was a great environment that we played in today," said DT Keyonta Marshall. "To play in front of 50,000 fans was a great experience and to pick up the win made it even sweeter. This is what college football is all about," added Marshall.

Grand Valley State will await the NCAA selection Sunday at 1 p.m. The show will be carried live on ESPN News.