ALLENDALE, Mich. — #6 Grand Valley State claimed a 51-28 victory over Wayne State Saturday before a Homecoming crowd of 10,377 at Lubbers Stadium. The Lakers will hit the road for a GLIAC contest at Michigan Tech next Saturday (Nov. 9).
Grand Valley State started fast, scoring on its first seven possessions of the game to build a 44-0 lead with 12:49 left in the third quarter.
The Laker defense forced the first of seven three-and-outs on Wayne State's opening possession and the GVSU offense went to work with a 12-play, 44-yard drive that concluded with Mathew Bacik 34-yard field goal. Senior WR Kyle Nott hauled in a third down pass from sophomore QB Vinnie Meschi and raced 76 yards for a Laker touchdown. Bacik added the PAT for a 10-0 lead. Sophomore RB Syone Usma-Harper finished a 3-play, 47-yard scoring drive with a 10-yard TD run. Meschi connected with sophomore WR Kellen Reed on a 37-yard pass-and-catch to set up the score.
The Laker special team's unit got on the board when junior LB Riley Simpson blocked a punt that senior LB Damonte McCurdy scooped up and returned 12 yards for a TD to up the Laker lead to 24-0. Junior TE Harrison Unger hauled in the first TD reception of his career from Meschi that covered three yards. Bacik added field goals of 34 and 26-yards to give the Lakers a 37-0 halftime lead.
Reed returned the second half kickoff 57 yards to the Wayne State 43-yard line and WR Darrell Johnson tallied runs of 21 and 4 yards, followed by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Alex Thole to senior WR Cody Tierney to up the GVSU lead to 44-0 with 12:49 left in the third quarter. Sophomore RB Derrick Woods finished the scoring for GVSU when he concluded a 12-play, 54-yard with a 7-yard scoring run.
The GVSU starting defense limited Wayne State to 68 total yards on 25 plays in the first half. Junior safety Luke McLean led the defense with 10 tackles, 1.5 TFL (-6) and a forced fumble. Senior safety Kobe Hayward added four stops and sophomore defensive tackle Josh Schell recorded a GVSU record for a defensive lineman when he recorded four pass deflections in addition to his three tackles. GVSU notched nine tackles for loss and two QB sacks.
The Laker offense rolled up 453 total yards, 234 via the ground game and 219 through the air. Meschi, starting his first game for the lakers, completed 8-of-14 passes for 200 yards and two TDs. Woods led the ground game with 56 yards and a TD on nine carries, while junior David Holloman added 42 yards on seven carries. Khalil Eichelberger chipped in 37 yards on seven carries. Nine different receivers caught a pass for the Lakers, led by Nott's 76 yards for a TD on one reception. Reed caught one pass for 37 yards, Donovan Johnson hauled in one pass for 33 yards and Tierney hauled in one pass for 19 yards and a touchdown.
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