Nov. 25, 2006

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Allendale, Mich. - #1-ranked Grand Valley State turned in a stellar team effort Saturday afternoon at Lubbers Stadium en route to a 35-17 NCAA Division II Second Round playoff victory over South Dakota. GVSU improves to 12-0 on the year and will host North Dakota in the Northwest Region Championship game. It will be third straight year the Lakers and Fighting Sioux have met in the Northwest Regional title game. GVSU has now reached a regional title game six straight years and enter the UND game with a 4-1 record in regional title games.

South Dakota opened the game with a 9-play, 72-yard scoring drive as Frank Leibfarth connected on a 25-yard field goal. The Lakers quickly answered with a 5-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that took just 2:17. Finnerty scored on a run around left end and Todd Carter added the PAT for a lead the Lakers would not relinquish. Senior WR/RET Mark Catlin provided the next big play as he fielded a Luke Mikkelson punt at the USD 45 and eluded several would be tackles before scoring on a 45-yard punt return for a TD. It was GVSU's first punt return for a TD since 2003 when Scott Mackey returned a punt 71 yards for a TD at Findlay. Carter's PAT put GVSU up 14-3.

"Mark Catlin once again made a big play for us when he returned that punt for a touchdown," said GVSU head coach Chuck Martin. "You could feel the momentum really shift when we were able to go up 14-3," added Martin.

The Laker defense forced a Coyote punt and Finnerty led the Lakers on another scoring drive. RB Astin Martin toted the ball twice for 25 yards, Finnerty hit tight end John Mathews with a 43-yard completion, and then found Fowler in the end zone for a 22-yard TD reception. Carter added his third PAT of the day for a 21-3 Laker lead.

LB Kirk Carruth forced and recovered a fumble by USD QB Noah Shepard at the Coyote 48 to put the GVSU offense back in action. Finnerty rushed for 21 yards, before Astin Martin finished the drive with three carries for 31 yards. Martin scored untouched from eight yards out to give Grand Valley State a 28-3 halftime lead.

"I was extremely pleased with our entire team effort in the first half," said Martin. "We played well in all facets in the game and really took the wind out of their sails," added Martin.

Grand Valley State just tried to run clock the second half. South Dakota scored on a 10-play, 96-yard drive early in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers came right back with a 6-play, 68-yard scoring drive of their own. Finnerty completed passes of 23,21 and the final 12 yards for a TD to Fowler to give the Lakers a 35-10 lead. South Dakota added a late TD against the GVSU reserves for the final margin.

"We came out clicking offensively," said Finnerty. "The offensive line did a great job of pass and run blocking, and our entire receiving unit and Astin Martin did a great job of making plays," added Finnerty.

Finnerty completed 14-of-23 passes for 228 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 27 and another TD. Astin Martin rushed for 96 yards and TD. WR Eric Fowler caught six passes for 116 yards and two TDs to lead the receivers. Fowler broke the 100-yard receiving mark for the sixth time this season and ran his season total to 56 catches for 1,206 yards and 18 TDs. Antione Trent hauled in six receptions for 60 yards.

The Laker defense held the high powered Coyote offense to just 119 yards in the opening half. Redshirt freshman Jacob McGuckin tallied a career-high 15 tackles, while Buster Larkins added nine tackles and a interception. RF P.J. Beuke chipped in eight tackles and two QB sacks (-22). Brandon Carr tallied seven tackles and three pass deflections. GVSU recorded eight tackles for loss and five QB sacks in the game.

Notes...GVSU is 88-12 in its last 100 games...The Lakers are 82-5 in their last 87 games and 83-9 since the 2000 season...The GVSU senior class improved to 49-4 and GVSU is 47-2 when ranked number one in the country...Grand Valley State is 18-2 in its last 20 playoff games, with both defeats coming at the hands of North Dakota...Cullen Finnerty went over the 10,000-yard passing mark (10,067) and the 12,000-yard total offense mark (12,225). Cullen is one of four players in the history of college football to throw for 10,000 and run for over 2,000...Finnerty has now accounted for 130 TDs (100 passing-30 rushing) in his career.