Sept. 21, 2013

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 Postgame Press Conference |  Game Highlights

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The 10th-ranked Grand Valley State football team used five first-half touchdowns to beat Tiffin in its GLIAC-opener on Saturday (Sept. 21) night in front of 10,761 fans at Lubbers Stadium on Military Appreciation Night, 42-17.

The Lakers are now 3-0 on the year and 1-0 in GLIAC play, while Tiffin falls to 0-3 with an 0-2 mark in the conference. GVSU will hit the road for the first time next Saturday (Sept. 28) when the Lakers head to Columbus, Ohio to take on undefeated Ohio Dominican at 12:00 p.m. in a key GLIAC contest.

On the second drive of the game for GVSU, the team reeled off a streak of what would be five straight touchdowns. With 9:39 to play in the first quarter, junior quarterback Isiah Grimes found sophomore tight end Jamie Potts for a 32-yard scoring strike to get the scoring started at 7-0.

After the Lakers blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt by Tiffin on the ensuing drive, GVSU capitalized with another touchdown, keyed by a 50-yard pass from Grimes to senior Brandan Green on the second play of the drive. Junior Michael Ratay pounded the ball in front one yard out and freshman Joel Schipper put the extra point through to make it 14-0 with 1:42 to play in the first quarter.

Tiffin threatened again on the following drive, driving down to the GVSU 15 yard line before senior Charles Hill forced a fumble that was recovered by freshman De'Ondre Hogan to thwart the drive. The Lakers capitalized again, this time keyed by a Grimes-to-Green 45 yard pass. On the final play of the drive, sophomore Kirk Spencer had an 11 yard run, then fumbled the ball straight up in to the air, but it was grabbed out of mid-air by wide receiver Darryl Pitts, who carried it two yards in to the endzone to make it a 21-0 game with 11:45 to play in the first half.

It only took one play for GVSU to get the ball back again, as Deonte' Hurst picked off a Joey Frendo pass at the Tiffin 42 yard line, which he returned to Tiffin's 28. On the first play from scrimmage, Grimes found Potts on a wide open wheel route for the 28-yard touchdown and the Lakers led 28-0.

The fifth straight GVSU touchdown came courtesy of a 42-yard Ratay touchdown run, his second of three on the day, to make it 35-0 with 7:52 to play in the first half.

Tiffin got on the board on their next drive, as a touchdown pass from six yards out cut the lead to 35-6. The point after attempt rang off the right goal post and the two teams went in to halftime with the 35-6 score.

GVSU had 372 yards of total offense in the first half, compared to only 167 for the Dragons. 

The Lakers were held off the board in the third quarter, while Tiffin got a 34-yard field goal from Seth Pekoe at the 5:57 mark of the quarter to make it a 35-9 game. The Dragons inched closer on their next drive when Antonio Pipkin found Jerry Brown on a short pass that he carried in to the endzone for a 25-yard touchdown. A two-point attempt was good and the Laker lead was cut to 35-17 after three quarters of play.

The final score of the day came at the 6:11 mark of the fourth, when a drive that consisted of nine plays that included eight runs was punctuated with a Ratay two-yard touchdown plunge to make it 42-17 and put an end to the scoring.

Ratay led the way offensively, rolling up 174 yards and three touchdowns on the ground on only 14 carries (12.4 yards/carry). As a team, GVSU had 291 yards rushing compared to only 87 for Tiffin.

Grimes finished the day 11-for-23 for 266 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Green was again the yardage recipient, catching three passes for 114 yards. Potts caught two passes for 60 yards, both of which went for touchdowns.

David Talley led the defense with nine tackles (1.5 for loss, -7 yards) and a forced fumble. The defense as a whole sacked Tiffin quarterbacks seven times in game, headlined by Matt Mosley's two sacks (-8 yards) and one quarterback hurry. Branden Delk had eight tackles, including one for loss (-2 yards) and half a sack to go along with a pass break-up. Tommie Bush, Dylan Heyvaert and Hogan all had a sack on the day, with Hogan also recovering a fumble and hurrying the quarterback once.