Dec. 2, 2006

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Allendale, Mich. - #1-ranked Grand Valley State used a quick strike offense to build a 27-0 first quarter advantage and went on to claim a 30-20 victory over North Dakota Saturday afternoon at Lubbers Stadium. GVSU (13-0) will play Delta (Miss.) State Sunday, Dec. 10 at a time and site to be determined.

The play of the game between Grand Valley State and North Dakota might have come just after the coin toss. Grand Valley State won the toss and elected to defer to the second half, while the Fighting Sioux decided to go against the wind in the first quarter. That decision proved costly. GVSU forced a three-and-out took over possession on their own 47. Following an incompletion on first down, senior QB Cullen Finnerty hit Eric Fowler over the middle for a 33-yard completion, then found Terry Mitcell in the corner of the end zone on the very next play for a 20-yard completion and a TD. The TD drive covered 53 yards and took 44 seconds. Todd Carter added the PAT for a 7-0 Laker lead. North Dakota was again forced to punt after three plays netted four yards and the punt was downed at the UND 43. Finnerty hit Fowler with passes the covered 22 and 22-yards, then completed the drive with a 10-yard TD pass to Fowler. Carter added the PAT and GVSU led 14-0. That drived took 1:44 off the clock and covered 43 yards.

"North Dakota gave us great pass looks early in the game and we just had to take advantage of the opportunity," said GVSU head coach Chuck Martin. "Cullen (Finnerty) did a great job of getting us in the right play and protection, and then Eric (Fowler) and Terry (Mitchell) did a nice job of running routes," added Martin.

The Laker defense then got on the board on the Fighting Sioux's next possesion. UND QB Reed Manke fumbled when getting sacked by junior LB Anthony Adams, Adams then picked up the fumble and raced 28 yards for a TD to give GVSU a 21-0 lead.

"Anthony did a great job of forcing the fumble, and then showed his athletic ability by scooping it up and scoring," said Martin. "That was a huge play because we were able to score again while going with the wind."

North Dakota was still unable to put anything together offensively and was forced to punt from its own 14. Brent Halfmann netted 20 yards on the punt and GVSU was in great position again on the North Dakota 34. Finnerty hit Fowler with a 18-yard completion, before Blake Smolen recorded the Lakers' first rushing attempt in the first quarter on a 2-yard rush. Finnerty followed with a 10-yard rush to the UND four and then hit Fowler again in the corner of the end zone for the Lakers's fourth score in the first quarter. Fowler's TD catch was an incredible one-handed reception with his right hand. Fowler tallied six receptions for 108 yards and two TDs in the first quarter.

"Eric's (Fowler) TD catch that put us up 27-0 was one of the most amazing catches I have ever seen," said Martin. "It ranks with some of the all-time great catches in college football, but that is something that we see from Eric every day," added Martin.

Fowler added, "Cullen just put the ball where the defender couldn't make a play, but I could. We have been together for five years and we have a pretty good idea what each other is thinking during the game."

North Dakota got on the board early in the second quarter when Manke hit Brady Trenbeath on a short crossing route over the middle that Trenbeath then took 46 yards for a TD. North Dakota had one other scoring opportunity in the first half, but RB Ryan Chappell fumbled after being hit by DL Derrick Jones on the Laker five and Matt Beaty fell on the ball at the GVSU five.

Grand Valley State was moving into the wind in the third quarter and the Lakers opened with a 6-play, 47-yard drive that took 3:22 off the clock. Punter Justin Trumble then dropped a punt at the Fighting Sioux eight. UND, moving with the wind was forced to punt after four plays and the Lakers went on another time consuming drive that took 5:26 off the clock.

"Taking over eight minutes off the clock in the third quarter when North Dakota had the wind was a nice job by our offense," said Martin. "With that being said, we missed some scoring opportunities with untimely penalties and turnovers that we can't have next week," added Martin.

Finnerty lost a fumble on the North Dakota 21 and then on the Lakers' next possession, RB Blake Smolen lost a fumble on the GVSU 41. UND drove 41 yards in eight plays before Brandon Brady scored from 1-yard out with 7.8 seconds left in the third quarter.

"Our defense did a great job in the third quarter and if our offense hadn't turned the ball over twice North Dakota would not have scored in that third quarter," said Martin.

GVSU had the wind in the fourth quarter and the Lakers went back to work. Finnerty completed passes of 11 yards to Fowler, 50 yards to Mitchell and then 11 yards to Fowler again to move GVSU to the UND eight. Fowler was then tackled in the end zone on a pass attempt that gave the Lakers a first-and-goal. However, the UND defense held tough and forced Todd Carter to kick a 28-yard field goal to give the Lakers a 30-14 lead. UND scored a late TD on a 17-yard pass from Manke to Weston Dressler.

"I was pleased with our execution until midway through the third quarter, but then we got sloppy," said Martin. "However, I am extremely happy to be on of four teams still playing next week," added Martin.

Finnerty led the offense, completing 15-of-29 passes for 248 yards and three TDs, while rushing for 85 yards on 16 carries. Cullen accounted for 333 yards of total offense. RB Astin Martin rushed 11 times for 76 yards, while WR Eric Fowler hauled in a career-best 12 catches for 174 yards and two TDs. Fowler became the GVSU all-time, single-season leader for receiving yards with 1,380. Fowler broke former Laker great David Kircus' total of 1,341 yards in 2002. Fowler's 20 receiving TDs is third on the single-season list, behind Kircus' 35 in 2002 and 28 in 2001. Terry Mitchell caught three passes for a season-high 74 yards and a TD.

Defensively, LB Dan Skuta collected a team-high nine tackles and picked off a pass. Safety Jacob McGuckin tallied eight tackles and Bill Brechin a season-high seven stops with a pass deflection. DL Derrick Jones tallied six tackles, two tackles for loss (-15) and two QB sacks (-15), while Anthony Adams chipped in with six tackles, a TFL, a QB sack, a forced fumble and a fumble return for a TD. CB Brandon Carr picked off his team-leading fifth pass of the year and the Lakers tallied five pass deflections in the game.

Notes...GVSU has won 26 straight games, the longest winning streak in college football...GVSU is 83-5 in its last 88 games and the Laker senior class is now 50-4...GVSU is 19-2 in its last 21 playoff games, including 11 straight wins at home...GVSU is 48-2 when ranked number one...The Lakers are 44-3 at home in their last 47 games...Cullen Finnerty is 49-4 as a starting QB overall and 12-1 in the NCAA DII playoffs.