Sept. 2, 2011

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Allendale, Mich. - The No. 5 ranked Grand Valley State football team claimed an impressive 44-20 victory over Western Oregon Thursday (Sept. 1) on one of the hottest nights in Lubbers Stadium history. Temperatures stayed in upper 80's for the entire game, but the Lakers won their 11th straight season-opening game and 34th straight game at Lubbers Stadium before the second largest crowd (15,004) in Lubbers Stadium history. GVSU will open GLIAC action next Saturday (Sept. 10) night at Hillsdale College.

"We feel good about the win, but we have a lot of work to do before we go play a very good Hillsdale College team next Saturday, said second-year head coach Matt Mitchell. I saw a lot of good things for our first game, but I can also think of a number areas that we really need work on. However, we wanted to be 1-0 after the first game and we are so we will celebrate the win."

The Lakers started fast, taking the opening kickoff 60 yards in six plays for a score that took only 1:34 off the clock. Sophomore QB Heath Parling (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) hit junior WR Charles Johnson (Elsmere, Kent.) with a 30-yard scoring pass and sophomore place kicker Ryan Stokes (Merrillville, Ind.) added the first of his six PATs for a 7-0 Laker lead. The Laker defense then got on the board late in the first quarter following a fumble deep in Western Oregon territory. Junior defensive tackle Brandon Allen (Joliet, Ill.) dropped Evan Mozzochi in the end zone for a safety to give GVSU a 9-0 lead. The safety was the first for GVSU since 2008.

Grand Valley State scored twice in the last six minutes of the second quarter. Parling hit senior WR Jovonne Augustus (Grand Rapids, Mich.) with a 9-yard scoring pass, followed by a blocked punt for a score. Sophomore safety Erik Thompson (Pontiac, Mich.) blocked the punt that junior WR Israel Woolfork (Livonia, Mich.) scooped up and raced five yards for a score to up the Laker lead to 23-0 with 3:55 left in the first half. The Laker defense held Western Oregon to 87 yards of total offense in the first half, while the GVSU offense churned out 287 total yards (150 rushing/159 passing).

"I really liked the way we started and finished the first half offensively, but we let a couple of opportunities slip away in the middle. Defensively, I thought we controlled the line scrimmage and had a nice push by our defensive line," said Mitchell.

Western Oregon took 7:18 off the clock in its opening drive of the second half that resulted in a field goal. The Wolves drove 61 yards in 17 plays that concluded with a Kelly Morgan 32 yard field goal. The Laker punt team was then responsible for two TDs in third quarter. Michael Hatcher (Dearborn, Mich.) recovered a fumbled punt and junior RB Norman Shuford (Farmington Hills, Mich.) finished a 12 yard drive when he scored on a 1-yard run to up the Laker lead to to 30-3. Western Oregon added a second field in the third stanza, but senior FB Blair Hollis (Detroit, Mich.) forced another fumble on a Laker punt that sophomore DL Denzel Rodgers (Clinton Twp., Mich.) recovered on the Wolve 15 yard line. Parling hit Johnson with a 13-yard scoring strike to up the Laker lead to 37-6 with 30 ticks left in the third quarter. That would be the end of night for the Laker starters on both sides of the ball.

"I really liked the fact that we were able convert those two turnovers in the third quarter into touchdowns," added Mitchell.

Western Oregon converted a pair of fourth downs and scored on a 15-yard scoring pass to conclude an 11-play, 75-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter, but GVSU recovered the onside kick and freshman running back Ben Hutchins (Portage, Mich.) scored on a 1-yard TD run to give GVSU a 44-13 lead. Western Oregon concluded the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown with 2:37 left in the game.

GVSU tallied 397 yards of total offense, including 247 through the air and 150 on the ground. The Laker defense held Western Oregon to 247 yards of total offense (85 rushing/165 passing). Parling completed 15-of-27 passes for 205 yards and three TDs in his first collegiate start. Augustus caught four passes for 50 yards and a score, while Johnson hauled in three passes for 63 yards and two TDs. Shuford rushed for 58 yards and one TD on 10 carries, while hauling in three passes for 33 yards. Sophomore running back Hersey Jackson (Allendale, Mich.) rushed for 43 yards on 10 carries.

The Laker defense notched five QB sacks (-26), 14.0 tackles for loss (-48) and three QB hurries. Seniors Brad Howard (Mishawaka, Ind.) and Andre Thomas (Detroit, Mich.) each tallied eight tackles to lead the defense. Thomas chipped in 2.5 tackles for loss (-6) and a QB sack. Allen tallied five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss (-6) and a QB sack, while Ryan Pettis (Columbus, Ohio) chipped in five tackles and two tackles for loss (-7).