Grand Valley State claimed a 45-22 victory at Roosevelt Saturday evening in Arlington Heights, Illinois. GVSU will host Northern Michigan in the final home game of the 2026 campaign next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. as the 1976 football team will be honored, along with eight GVSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductees.
Roosevelt took a 7-0 with an 11-play, 64-yard scoring drive that took 6:22 off the clock to open the game, however, senior WR
Kellen Reed answered quickly with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The kickoff return for a touchdown was the fifth of Reed's career. GVSU took a 14-7 lead with a 9-play, 70-yard scoring drive that finished with an
Andrew Schuster to Reed 1-yard TD pass. Roosevelt blocked a GVSU punt and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.
The Lakers moved quickly down the field, using just 2:48 off the clock to up the lead to 21-14. Schuster hit Reed with two passes and senior TE
Evan Furtney hauled in a 17-yard pass from Schuster. Sophomore RB
ArJon Thompson concluded the drive with a 14-yard TD run and Mathew Basik kicked his third PAT of the first half for a 21-14 GVSU lead.
GVSU opened the second half with a 7-play, 70-yard scoring drive that finished with a
Paschal Anyanwu 3-yard touchdown run. Zak Olejnkczak rushed five time for 60 yards on the drive to set up the touchdown. Basik booted a 31-yard field goal to conclude a 7-playd, 47-yard scoring drive to up the Laker lead to 31-14. Olejniczak added a 15-yard touchdown run in the closing minute of the third quarter to build the lead to 38-14 and added a second rushing touchdown, this one covering two yards, to conclude a 10-play, 79-yard drive. Olejniczak toted the ball 10 times for 118 yards and two TDs in the second half.
The Lakers tallied 452 yards of total offense, rushing for 253 yards and passing for 197, while the defense limited Roosevelt to 180 total yards. Olejniczak toted the ball 11 times for a career-high 128 yards and two TDs, while Thompson added 44 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Anyanwu chipped in 43 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Schuster completed 21-of-27 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. Reed caught 12 passes for 107 yards and one TD, while returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Kellen Russell-Dixon hauled in three passes for 20 yards and Anyanwu caught one pass for 28 yards.
Ryder Gravenhof led the defense with six tackles, while
Torian Wyatt,
Josh Anderson,
Isaac Poot and
Chase Schefke each contributed four stops.
Troy Temple picked off a pass and
Deonte Pippen notched two pass breakups.
