Sept. 28, 2008

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Allendale, Mich. - #2 Grand Valley State led 28-0 after one quarter and 45-0 after two quarters en route to a 52-6 victory over #23 Michigan Tech Saturday night before a Lubbers Statdium crowd of 12,405. GVSU improves to 4-0 overall and in GLIAC action, while Michigan Tech falls to 3-2 and 2-2. GVSU will hit the road for a GLIAC tilt at Tiffin next Saturay (Oct. 4).

The Lakers made a statement quickly as Blake Smolen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) took the opening kickoff back 31 yards to the Michigan Tech 48. James Berezik (Fraser, Mich./Warren De La Salle) tallied runs of 13 and 10-yards, followed by runs of one and 22-yards by Smolen. Freshman Greg Gay (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) finished the 5-play, 48-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run at the 12:50 mark of the first quarter. Michigan Tech picked up just two yards on three plays and was forced to punt. P.T. Gates returned the punt 21 yards to the MTU 48 and the Laker offense was back in action. QB Brad Iciek was sacked twice, but completed passes for 25 and 32-yards to TE Jonn Mathews. The 32-yard reception was on fourth down and went for a TD to put GVSU up 14-0 with 8:57 remaining in the opening quarter.

"I thought we really got off to a fast start and put Michigan Tech back on their heals," said fourth-year head coach Chukck Martin. "We really came out playing fast and when we do that we are a good football team."

Grand Valley State's Brad Howard (Mishawaka, Ind.) forced a fumble by MTU's Phil Milbrath that DT Danny Richard recovered. Smolen rushed for nine yards on first down and Iciek hit Mathews with a 27-yard scoring pass. PK Todd Carter (Flint, Mich.) hit the third of his seven PATs for a 21-0 GVSU lead. Drive number four for the Lakers consisted of four plays and covered 83 yards for a score. Iciek flipped a pass to Berezik that covered 42 yards and Mathews caught a 2-yard pass, followed by a 18-yard pass and catch from Iciek to Gay. Smolen then hauled in a 21-yard scoring pass from Iciek and GVSU led 28-0 after one quarter. Howard picked off a Steve Short pass at the MTU 22 and Iciek quickly converted that turnover in points as he hit Berezik with a 22-yard scoring pass to up the Laker lead to 35-0.

Backup QB Marquel Neasman (Bradenton, Fla) drove the Lakers 47 yards in eight plays as Carter connected on a 28-yard field goal. Gates then set up the Lakers' final scored of the half when he returned a punt 71 yards to the MTU six. Gates finished the scoring drive with a 6-yard TD run.

The Lakers' 45 first half points were their most since scoring 50 in the first half of a playoff game versus Indiana (Pa.) in 2002. Iciek led the starting offense to touchdowns on five-of-six first half possessions. Michigan Tech scored its only points on its opening possession of the second half, while GVSU sophomore Justin Sherrod (Wyoming, Mich./Park) scored the Lakers' only points of the second half on a 6-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter.

Iciek completed 9-of-10 passes for 190 yards and four TDs. Lawrence Kimble (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores) rushed for 56 yards on 14 carries, while Gates chipped in 46 yards on seven carries. Mathews caught four passes for 86 yards and two TDs. Defensively, Howard recorded nine tackles, two TFL (-7), forced a fumble, and picked off a pass. Matt Baker (Byron Center, Mich./South Christian) and Zach Breen (Rockford, Mich.) each collected seven tackles. GVSU tallied four QB sacks and 11 tackles for loss.