#5 Grand Valley State dominated Northern Michigan in all facets of the game en route to a 47-14 victory at the Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan. GVSU improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in GLIAC action. The Lakers will return to the friendly confines of Lubbers Stadium next Saturday (Sept. 22) versus Michigan Tech on Family Day. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Grand Valley State started fast and never slowed down offensively, driving 81 yards in 11 plays on its first possession for a touchdown. Redshirt freshman running back Jack Provencher scored on a 20-yard run with 8:40 left in the first quarter, but the PAT hit off the upright for a 6-0 lead. Following a second consecutive three-and-out by the Laker defense, senior quarterback Bart Williams engineered a 5-play, 57-yard scoring drive that he culminated with a Williams 6-yard TD run, the first of his career. J.J. McGrath added the PAT for a 13-0 lead. The GVSU defense forced a fumble that junior linebacker Isaiah Nkansah recovered at the Wildcat 34 yard line to put the offense back in scoring position. The Lakers needed just five plays to score as Provencher took a short pass from B. Williams to paydirt and McGrath's PAT upped the Laker lead to 20-0 with 13:23 left in the second quarter. 
 

Post-game sound: Head Coach Matt Mitchell after the Lakers win at Northern Michigan to move to 3-0 on the year#AnchorUp pic.twitter.com/S1lVfz8y4M

— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) September 15, 2018

The Grand Valley State defense did not yield a first down until the :43 second mark of the first quarter, giving the Laker offense plenty of opportunities to score. GVSU upped its lead to 27-0 with 8:25 left in the second quarter when Williams hit senior wide receiver Nick Dodson with a perfectly thrown 22-yard pass. The TD pass for Williams was the 111th of his career, moving him into sole possession of second place behind current leader Curt Anes. 

Northern Michigan was able to put together an offensive drive on its last possession of the first half, driving 89 yards in 11 play for a touchdown. 

GVSU kept the pressure on offensively, taking the second half kickoff 83 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Williams and Dodson hooked up for the second time, this pitch-and-catch covering 28 yards for a touchdown. 

Following a Northern Michigan touchdown, Williams engineered a 7-play, 52-yard touchdown drive, hitting tight end Pete Cender with the 113th touchdown pass of his career for a 40-14 Laker lead. GVSU closed the scoring as backup quarterback Cole Kotopka drove the Lakers 77 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. Kotopka finished the drive with a 2-yard TD run and McGrath added the PAT for the final margin of 47-14. 

The GVSU defense dominated the game, limiting Northern Michigan to just 11 first downs in the contest. The Wildcats managed 217 yards of total offense, 114 via the ground and 103 through the air. The Lakers tallied six tackles for loss (-23) and two QB sacks (-18), limiting NMU to just 2-for-12 on third down conversion. Senior defensive end Dylan Carroll led the Laker defense for the second consecutive game, recording seven tackles, a TFL and a QB sack. Senior linebacker Brendan McMahon added six stops, defensive end Mike Pettis four tackles, 1.5 TFL and 1.5 QB sacks. 

Williams completed 17-of-29 passes for 280 yards and four TDs, toting the ball three times for 18 yards and a TD. Kotopka was 2-fo-5 for 16 yards through the air, while rushing for 17 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Dodson hauled in eight passes for 129 yards and two TDs to lead the receiving unit. Provencher added five catches for 39 yards and a TD, followed by Brandon Wadley's three catches for 80 yards, including an ESPN SportsCenter top 10, 48-yard one-handed reception. Junior RB Chawntez Moss hit the 100-yard rushing mark for the second time in three games, churning out 130 yards on 20 carries. Aryuan Cain-Veasey rushed for 53 yards on four carries.