GVSU Postgame Press Conference
#10 Grand Valley State claimed a 30-7 season-opening victory over #13 Indianapolis Thursday (Aug. 30) night at Lubbers Stadium before an overflow crowd of 13,068. The victory snapped the Greyhounds 15-game regular season winning streak. GVSU, 1-0 overall, will hit the road for a non-conference matchup at Delta State (Miss.) next Saturday (Sept. 8). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (ET).
After a scoreless first quarter Indianapolis got on the board first with a 5-play, 74-yard scoring drive that took 2:25 off the clock. Indianapolis QB Jake Purichia had runs of 32 and 10 yards, followed by RB Al McKeller's eight-yard TD run and a made PAT.
Grand Valley State got on the board with an 11-play, 50-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 27 yard field goal off the foot of senior
J.J. McGrath at the 4:02 mark of the second quarter. Senior QB
Bart Williams completed a 13 yard pass to senior WR
Nick Dodson, and junior RB
Chawntez Moss added a 17 yard run. The drive was kept alive when Williams hit junior WR
Austin Paritee with a 26 yard pass and catch on third and 24.
Following an interception by junior CB
Kalen Dunham with 1:36 left in the second quarter at the Laker 40 yard line, Williams went to work in the two minute drill with completions to sophomore
Brandon Wadley that covered 19 yards, followed by a 34 yard completion to Paritee to the Greyhound seven yard line. Williams then hit Paritee with a seven yard fade to the back of the endzone and McGrath added the PAT for a 10-7 halftime lead.
GVSU put together a 7-play, 69-yard scoring drive on its second possession of the second half. Williams hit Wadley with a seven yard completion and Moss added a 23 yard run on a draw play. Following a defensive pass interference penalty, Moss went the final two yards and McGrath added the PAT for a 17-7 Laker lead.
Grand Valley State dominated the second half defensively and forced back-to-back three-and-outs in the third quarter. The Lakers put together a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took 4:17 off the clock. Williams hit freshman RB
Jack Provencher with an 11-yard reception and Moss then tallied runs of 11, 26 and 16 yards to set up an eight yard pass from Williams to Paritee on fourth and goal.
Senior CB
Jacob Studdard picked off a pass on the Lakers' four yard line and the GVSU offense sealed the win with an 11-play, 96-yard scoring drive that took 6:08 off the clock. Williams completed passes of 20 yards to Paritee and 15 and 12 yards to Provencher, before five consecutive running plays netted 39 yards, including an eight yard TD run from Provencher to culminate the drive. McGrath added the PAT for the 30-7 Laker lead.
The GVSU defense held Indianapolis to -3 rushing yards in the second, while the Laker offense rushed for 141 yards and two TDs in the final 30 minutes. In addition, GVSU held the ball 11:07 in the fourth quarter and 16:23 in the second half. The Laker offense rolled up 426 yards (183 rushing - 243 pass), while the GVSU defense held UI to 215 total yards (106 rushing - 109 passing).
Moss led the GVSU ground game with 135 yards and one TD on 26 carries, while Provencher added 53 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Williams completed 18-of-36 passes for 243 yards and two TDs, Paritee set career-highs in receptions (8) and yards (134), while Provencher added 49 yards on five receptions.
Junior LB
Isaiah Nkansah and sophomore LB
Tyler Bradfield each chipped in seven tackles, while SS
Jailyn Harden added six stops. GVSU recorded 8.0 tackles for loss and two QB sacks.
• Grand Valley State leads the all-time series with Indianapolis by a 21-3 margin and are 11-1 at home versus the Greyhounds.
• GVSU opened its 48th season of football with the 30-7 win over Indianapolis. The winningest FBS, FCS and Division II program in the country, Grand Valley State has a 392-142-3 (.732) all-time record.
• GVSU head football coach
Matt Mitchell is second in all-time wins at GVSU with 78. Current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is first with 118 career wins.
• Grand Valley State is 30-18 all-time in season-openers and have won 16-of-the-last-18 since 2001.
• The Lakers are 33-11 in home openers at Lubbers Stadium, including an 18-1 mark since 2001.
