Oct. 5, 2013
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Postgame Press Conference | Game Highlights
ALLENDALE, Mich. - The 25th-ranked Grand Valley State football team showed its muscle on both sides of the ball on Saturday (Oct. 5) evening in front of 13,127 fans at Lubbers Stadium, rolling over Michigan Tech by a final score of 49-3.
The Lakers moved to 4-1 overall on the season with a 3-1 mark in the GLIAC, while Michigan Tech falls to 2-2 overall with a 1-2 record in the conference.
After forcing a Huskies punt on the first drive of the game, the Lakers offense took over and it looked as if junior quarterback Heath Parling was going to have a tough return at the helm, as he threw an interception on the first GVSU offensive play of the game. However, the Laker defense stepped up in a big way. On a short field, Michigan Tech was able to drive down to the Lakers' five yard line. After a stop from Charles Hill and Frank Boenzi pushed the ball back to the six and a stop by Luther Ware put the ball at the five, the Huskies opted to go for it on 4th and 1. The defensive end pair of Matt Mosley and Lucas Kozuch made the play that arguably set the tone for the game, however, stuffing MTU's fullback, Cole Welch, at the line of scrimmage to turn the ball over on downs.
From there, GVSU started moving up and down the field and never looked back. On a 10-play, 95-yard drive that ate up 4:41 of the clock, Parling capped things off with a 34-yard screen pass to Kirk Spencer that only went about four yards down field. Spencer did the rest of the work, weaving through the Huskies defense en route to the opening score of the game as the Lakers went up 7-0 with 4:09 to play in the first quarter.
After a Michigan Tech three-and-out, the Lakers saw an errant snap all but end their ensuing drive. Chris Picano then came on to punt and booted a high ball to the Michigan Tech 15 yard line, but returner Brett Gervais dropped it and Billy Seiler recovered, setting up the Lakers on a short field at the Michigan Tech 16 yard line. Six plays later, Parling hit freshman Joe Warner with a five yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-0 game with 11:50 to play in the second quarter.
On the following drive, the Huskies were finally able to get on the board, as Garrett Mead booted through a 44-yard field goal with 9:05 to play in the second to make it a 14-3 contest.
With 3:57 to play in the half, another special teams miscue by the Huskies led to more Laker points. On fourth and two, Erik Thompson rushed in on the punter and blocked the kick, as Deonte' Hurst picked the ball up and took it down to the one yard line of Michigan Tech. On the next play, Michael Ratay punched it in to make it a 21-3 Laker lead.
The Lakers got the ball back again with 1:43 to play in the half and on their own 15, but Parling orchestrated a spectacular drive, going 85 yards on nine plays in only 1:19, capped with a 14-yard screen pass for a touchdown to Brandan Green. GVSU carried a 28-3 lead in to the locker room.
At the half, the yardage was close as GVSU held a 248-193 offensive yardage edge, but one turnover on downs and one lost fumble were the difference for the Huskies.
GVSU took the kickoff to begin the second half of play and picked up where they it left off, going 83 yards on only four plays, as Parling hit Darryl Pitts with a 35-yard strike to make it a 35-3 game.
After a Michigan Tech three-and-out on the ensuing drive, the Lakers again punched one in the endzone, keyed by a drive-starting 48 yard run by Ratay. Chris Robinson finished it off with a one-yard over-the-top plunge to make it a 42-3 lead with 9:51 left in the third quarter.
The final score came early in the fourth quarter, when Ben Hutchins ran in to a pile at the line of scrimmage, but spun out of it and went 60 yards for a touchdown to make it a 49-3 game and cap the scoring.
Michigan Tech, which was ranked in the top 20 of Division II in total defense and pass efficiency defense, surrendered 507 offensive yards to the Lakers, led by Parling's 19-for-24 performace for 264 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.
Ratay finished with 117 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 16 carries (7.3 ypc), while Hutchins had four carries for 70 yards and a touchdown (17.5 ypc).
Spencer led the team in receiving yards, hauling in three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. Pitts (2 rec., 55 yds), Green (1 rec., 14 yds) and Warner (1 rec., 5 yds) all had touchdowns through the air, as well.
Jordan Kaufman led the way on defense, collecting a team-high nine tackles and half a sack (-2 yds). Hill, Ware and David Talley each had five tackles and a half-tackle for loss, while Talley also had a quarterback hurry. Reggie Williams was spectacular in the defensive backfield, collecting four tackles and four pass break-ups.
GVSU will now prepare to travel to West Michigan rival Ferris State for a 7 p.m. kickoff next Saturday (Oct. 12) in Big Rapids, Mich. A fan bus is being organized to travel up to the game. If interested, fans can call the GVSU ticket office at 616-331-3200. The cost is 20 dollars and includes food, a ticket to the game, a free t-shirt and transportation.
