Post Game Press Conference
Grand Valley State claimed a 61-14 victory over Northern Michigan Saturday before a crowd of 9,122 at Lubbers Stadium. The Lakers, 7-3 overall, will conclude regular season action next Saturday at Davenport (8-2). Kickoff is set for 12 noon.
Northern Michigan scored on its opening possession, driving 81 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. However, Grand Valley State would score 47 unanswered points to take a 47-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Senior WR
Kellen Reed caught the first of his three first half touchdowns, a 10 yarder from QB
Andrew Schuster, to complete a 7-play, 66-yard scoring drive. The Lakers'
Tyus Jackson caused a fumble on the Wildcats next possession that DE
Chase Schefke recovered and on the first play for the Laker offense Schuster hit Reed with a short out that Reed took 19 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 GVSU lead.
Northern Michigan snapped the ball out of the endzone on a punt for a GVSU safety and QB
Zak Olejniczak went 54 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive to up the GVSU advantage to 23-7. GVSU took advantage of a short field after a punt return and Schuster hit Reed in the back of the endzone for a 12-yard touchdown reception for this third receiving TD of the day.
The Lakers added a 6-play, 95-yard scoring drive that concluded with a Schuster to senior TE
Harrison Unger that covered 10 yards and PK Mathew Basik hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to up the Laker advantage to 40-7.
Olejniczak scampered in from 18 yards out midway through the third quarter to put the finishing touches on 47 consecutive GVSU points. Senior WR
Kenyon Owens scored on a 20-yard shovel pass and QB
Noah Oury added a 16-yard touchdown run for the final points.
The Laker offense racked up 522 yards, including 336 via the ground, and averaged 9.7 yards per play. Schuster completed 16-of-20 passes for 183 yards and five touchdowns, while Reed hauled in six passes for 70 yards and three touchdowns. Unger caught two passes for 27 yards and a TD, while
ArJon Thompson and
Corey Sandolph each hauled in a pair of receptions. Olejniczak rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on five carries, while Kellen Russess-Dixon chipped in 88 yards on seven carries and
Paschal Anyanwu added 86 yards on seven totes.
The GVSU defense limited Northern Michigan to 243 yards of total offense, including just 85 yards through the air on 8-of-19 passing. Sophomore LB
Keegan Sell led the way with nine tackles, followed by
Benji Allen with seven. CB
Deonte Pippen and
Torian Wyatt each recorded five stops. DE
Chase Schefke tallied 1.5 QB sacks, 1.5 TFL and recovered a fumble, while
Tyus Jackson notched three tackles, 1.0 QB sacks, 1.0 tackles for loss and forced a fumble.
Anthony Scott recorded four tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Notables…
- Andrew Schuster's 32 passing TDs in a single-season is seventh all-time…Schuster now has 54 passing touchdowns in his career, ranking him ninth all-time.
- Kellen Reed's 22 receiving touchdowns ties him with Eric Fowler (2006) for third in a single-season.
- Kellen Reed's 76 receptions in 2026 ranks him fifth in a single-season.
- Kellen Reed has 138 career receptions, ranking him eighth all-time
- Kellen Reed has 2,234 career receiving yards, ranking him eighth all-time.
- Kellen Reed has 34 career receiving touchdowns, third all-time and just one behind Jamie Potts (35).
