Sept. 15, 2007

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Allendale, Mich. - #1-Ranked Grand Valley State used a 21-point second quarter, followed by a 17-point third quarter en route to a 38-15 victory over Findlay before a crowd of 11,710 at Lubbers Stadium. Grand Valley State (2-0, 1-0) will hit the road for a key GLIAC tilt at Michigan Tech (3-1, 3-0) next Saturday.

Findlay started strong, driving 66 yards in 12 plays before Cameron Stevens kicked a 21 yard field goal. Following a three-and-out by Grand Valley State, Findlay again drove 49 yards into Laker territory, but this time senior all-american Anthony Adams forced a fumble that fellow senior Matt Beaty recovered. Sophomore QB Brad Iciek guided GVSU on a 10-play, 81-yard drive that was culminated with an Iciek to RB Preston Garris 19-yard scoring pass. Todd Carter added the PAT for a 7-3 Laker lead. Findlay tallied 115 yards in its opening two drives, but managed just 26 yards on 22 plays against the Laker starting defense the rest of the way.

Freshman running back Jimmy Berezik rambled 64 yards for a score that finished a three-play, 87-yard drive that put the Lakers up 14-7. Iciek then hit senior WR Brandon Horn with a 58-yard scoring pass with just 2:36 left in the second quarter. The drive was 81 yards in four plays.

"We started a little slow both offensively and defensively, but once we got a feel for what we could do I was pleased with both sides of the ball," said fourth-year head coach Chuck Martin.

Grand Valley State opened the second half with a 4-play, 86-yard drive that ended with an Iciek to Antione Trent 35-yard scoring pass. QB Chad Somerville turned a bad snap into a good two-point conversion when DT Lance Travis out jumped the Findlay defense to haul in pass. Berezik concluded the offensive scoring when he tood a handoff and scored from 42 yards out to give GVSU a 36-3 lead with 10:34 left in the third quarter. That would mark the end of the day for both the Laker offense and defense. The GVSU starting defense yielded three points and 141 yards on 41 plays, while the Laker starting offense produced 407 yards in 34 plays (12.7 ypp). Both units came out the game with GVSU leading 36-3. GVSU attemped just three passes in the second half. Findlay tacked on two late scored, but DB Corey Edwards returned a blocked PAT 80 yards for the first defensive PAT in school history.

"I thought we came out focused in the second half and put the game away with those two quick scores," said Martin. "It was nice to get both our second offense and defense a lot of reps."

Iciek completed 10-of-12 passes for 203 yards and three TDs. Berezik tallied 135 yards on just 10 carries (13.5), with TD runs of 64 and 42 yards. Blake Smolen added 56 yards on five caries, while Preston Garris toted the ball 10 times for 37 yards. As a team, GVSU rushed for 272 yards on 42 carries. LB Anthony Adams led the Laker defense with seven tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss (-3) and two forced fumbles. SS Jacob McGuckin chipped in seven tackles and a pass deflection. Redshirt freshman Alex Gilde recorded three tackles and tackle for loss and two blocked PAT.

Notes...• The Lakers' 88 victories since the 2000 campaign also ranks second in college football. GVSU is 90-10 in its last 100 games. The Lakers are 88-9 since 2000.

• Grand Valley State has won a school-record 30 straight games overall. The Lakers' current streak is the fourth longest in NCAA DII history. GVSU's last loss was Nov. 27, 2004 at North Dakota in the NCAA Northwest Regional final.

• The Lakers are 87-5 in their last 92 games with four National Championships (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006).

• The 2007 GVSU senior class is 40-3 with two National Championships. The 2006 senior class concluded their careers with an NCAA record 52-4 overall mark and three National Championships.

• The Lakers are 50-2 when being ranked number one since 2002...GVSU has been ranked in the AFCA top 25 in 85 straight polls.

• Grand Valley State has been ranked number one in the country in 57-of-the-last-71 polls since the opening game of the 2002 season...GVSU has finished the year ranked in the top 10 (2001-2, 2002-1, 2003-1, 2004-9, 2005 -1, 2006-1) in six straight postseason polls.

• Since 2001, the Lakers are 47-3 at home, 33-2 in their last 35 road games and 36-3 in all games away from Lubbers Stadium in their last 39.

Grand Valley State is 55-3 in its last 58 GLIAC games. The Lakers have won 22 straight GLIAC games dating back to the 2004 season.