Oct. 23, 2010

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Big Rapids, Mich. - No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 41-0 shutout victory over Ferris State Saturday (Oct. 23) in Big Rapids. GVSU improves 8-0 overall and 7-0 in GLIAC action, while Ferris State falls to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in GLIAC action. The Lakers have now won 10 straight meetings with the Bulldogs and have held possession of the Anchor-Bone Trophy every year since 2003. The shutout over the Bulldogs was the Lakers' first since a 28-0 win in 1989. Grand Valley State will remain on the road with a meeting at Michigan Tech next Saturday (Oct. 30).

GVSU took the opening kickoff and tallied a season-long 13-play, 95-yard scoring drive that took 7:58 off the clock. Senior QB Kyle McMahon scored on a 4 yard TD run and redshirt freshman place kicker Ryan Stokes added the PAT for a 7-0 lead. Following a FSU three-and-out, GVSU's Chris Crawford returned a Shawn Snoor punt 42 yards to the Ferris State 36 yard line. The Lakers drove 33 yards in seven plays for a Stokes 25 yard field goal. Stokes' field goal was the first of his career.

Sophomore running back Norman Shuford scored on a 1-yard TD run with 7:03 left in the second quarter that concluded a 7-play, 73-yard drive. Stokes' PAT upped the Laker lead to 17-0. Redshirt freshman Michael Hatcher then picked off a Tom Schneider pass to set up another scoring opportunity. McMahon hit junior WR Jovonne Augustus with a 55 yard TD pass on the Lakers' first play to give GVSU a 24-0 lead.

"I thought we came out with a sense of urgency in the first half and really played well in all facets of the game," said first-year head coach Matt Mitchell.

The Laker offense continued to roll on the opening drive of the second half. McMahon directed a 7-play, 58-yard drive that concluded with a McMahon 6 yard touchdown run. Backup quarterback Heath Parling directed a 14-play, 86-yard drive that resulted in a Stokes 23 yard field goal to give GVSU a 34-0 lead after three quarters. Parling added a 2 yard TD run in the fourth quarter to complete a 12-play, 50-yard drive for the final score of the day.

The GVSU defense held Ferris State to -7 yards of total offense in the third quarter and 13 total yards in the second half. In addition, GVSU held Ferris State to a season-low 118 yards of total offense in the game, including just 29 yards via the rush on 29 carries. The Laker defense tallied six QB sacks, the sixth-best single-game total in GVSU annals, and 11 tackles for loss (-58).

The GVSU offense tallied 503 yards of total offense, including 261 passing yards and 242 rushing yards. Ferris State entered the game with the top rushing defense in the GLIAC, yielding an average of 114.0 rushing yards per game, and the second ranked defense overall (302.4 ypg). The Lakers toted the ball 44 times for 242 yards and four TDs, while McMahon and Parling connected with 11 different receivers. McMahon completed 11-of-15 passes for 182 yards and one TD, followed by Parling's 10-for-16 outing for 79 yards. McMahon led the Laker ground game with 64 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Redshirt freshman Hersey Jackson added 46 yards on 10 carries, while Norman Shuford picked up 46 yards on six carries. Shuford added three receptions for 35 yards. Senior Carlos Clark hauled in three catches for 27 yards and senior Ryan Bass picked up two receptions for 45 yards.

Senior LB Justin Victor led the way with a team-high nine tackles. Defensive end Brandon Allen picked up six total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss (-23) and 2.5 QB sacks (-21). Junior LB Zach Breen added six tackles, while redshirt freshman Zach Galloway tallied five stops and 3.0 TFL (-20).

Notes... Every Laker that has made a road trip this season has played in the game and GVSU has outscored its opponents 147-17 on the road...GVSU converted 10-of-14 third downs versus the Bulldogs an held possession of the for a season-high 36:12...Redshirt freshman Ryan Stokes converted all five of his PATs and both of his field goal attempts...Grand Valley State is 129-13 in its last 142 games...The Lakers are 53-4 in their last 57 road games and 54-1 in their last 55 GLIAC games.