Nov. 2, 2013
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Postgame Press Conference
ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Grand Valley State football team used an extremely balanced offense and second-half defensive dominance to key the Lakers to a big 31-21 GLIAC victory over visiting Hillsdale on Saturday (Nov. 2) evening.
GVSU got 269 yards rushing and 298 yards passing (567 total) on the game and held the Charger offense to only 104 total yards of offense in the second half, including only 22 rushing yards, as the Lakers picked up the victory in front of 8,129 fans on a rainy night at Lubbers Stadium. The Lakers move to 7-2 overall with a 5-2 record in the GLIAC, while Hillsdale falls to 4-5 overall with a 4-3 mark in the conference. GVSU will travel to Wayne State for a 12 p.m. tilt against the Warriors next Saturday (Nov. 9).
Hillsdale got on the board first in the contest, going 80 yards on 10 plays after the opening kickoff, 68 of which came on the ground, punctuated by a four-yard touchdown with 11:22 to play in the opening stanza.
After the two teams exchanged punts, the Lakers were able to tie the game up at seven with a six-yard touchdown run by junior Chris Robinson with 4:54 to play in the first quarter.
The Chargers responded with another touchdown on their ensuing drive, finished with an eight-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-7 Hillsdale.
Again, however, GVSU responded. Keyed by a 33-yard run from Robinson, junior Michael Ratay punched it in from a yard out with 12:23 to play in the second quarter to tie the game at 14.
Hillsdale again sustained another drive on their next possession, using up 5:20 of the clock on a 11-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown run to make it 21-14 Chargers with 7:03 to play in the first half, a lead Hillsdale would take in to the locker room.
The Chargers outgained the Lakers in the first half, 263 to 231, but the tables turned after the two teams came out for the second half of play.
After a fake field goal by GVSU was snuffed out by Hillsdale on the Lakers' opening drive of the second half, GVSU forced a three-and-out and rebounded in a big way. Junior Heath Parling hit senior Brandan Green with a 49-yard strike to open the drive, and Ratay went in from 10 yards out to tie the game up at 21 with 7:08 to play in the third.
The Lakers forced another Charger punt on their next drive and proceeded to take the ball down inside the Hillsdale five yard line, but a fumble at the goal-line gave the ball back to the Chargers as the third quarter ended.
The fourth quarter opened with pressure on the Hillsdale QB and an intentional grounding call that backed the Chargers up deep in their own territory on fourth down. A 20-yard punt return by senior Reggie Williams then set the Lakers up with good field position, which they capitalized on with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Parling to Jamie Potts to give the Lakers their first lead of the game, 28-21.
GVSU forced another three-and-out on the ensuing drive and extended the lead to 31-21 with a 28-yard field goal from freshman Joel Schipper that bounced in off the right goalpost with 7:13 to play in the game.
Two plays in to the Hillsdale drive, the Laker defense came up with a big play, as Luther Ware forced a fumble near midfield that was recovered by Williams to give the ball back to the Lakers. After some time was run off the clock on the Laker drive, Hillsdale got the ball back with 2:53 to play, but a sack by Ware on 4th-and-6 from the GVSU 36-yard line ended the drive with only 31 seconds left on the clock.
The Laker offense got a big performance from sophomore Jamie Potts, who set new career highs with eight catches for 157 yards, in addition to a touchdown. Six catches and 126 of those yards came in the second half.
Robinson led the way on the ground, rushing for 137 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, while Ratay finished with 97 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Parling went 19-for-29 for 298 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, reigning GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week De'Ondre Hogan had another big game, collecting seven tackles, including 2.5 sacks (-9 yards) and a forced fumble. Luther Ware finished with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Williams had two tackles, a fumble recovery, and two of the Lakers' seven pass break-ups. Jordan Kaufman had a team-high eight tackles for the Lakers.
