Courtesy of Tim Nott, Grand Valley State Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grand Valley State claimed an NCAA Division II playoff road 38-34 victory over Ferris State Saturday afternoon at Top Taggart Field in a game that will go down as one of the biggest road wins in Grand Valley State football history. You can take your pick on the angle for the game, but the only angle the 2015 Laker football team was looking at was being one of eight teams still playing the first week of December.
The win improved Grand Valley State to 9-0 all-time in the NCAA versus GLIAC opponents and it avenged a week three loss to the Bulldogs. The Lakers are also 5-0 all-time in the NCAA playoffs when facing a team it lost to earlier in the season and now have a 33-11 all-time NCAA playoff record, including a 33-6 mark since 2001. GVSU will play at either Midwestern State or Colorado State-Pueblo next Saturday (Dec. 5) at a time to be determined.
The Lakers came in knowing they had to be hitting on all cylinders in every facet of the game. The offense got it rolling early, taking the opening kickoff and driving 82 yards in 10 plays for a TD. Sophomore QB Bart Williams hit sophomore WR Urston Smith with a 43 yard completion and then hit senior RB Kirk Spencer with a swing pass that Spencer took in from 9 yards out. Junior PK Joel Schipper hit the PAT for a 7-0 Laker lead. The Laker defense was playing well, forcing a punt and a fumble on the Bulldogs' first two possessions, but when B. Williams was picked off for a second time in the first quarter the FSU offense started to roll. Ferris State drove 75 yards, in 6 plays for a TD as Jason Vanderlaan hit for a 35 yard TD pass to WR Antonio Agurs.
GVSU answered on the first play of the second quarter when B. Williams hit junior WR Matt Williams with a 66 yard TD pass and after the Schipper PAT GVSU held a 14-7 lead. FSU tied the game with an 11-play, 74-yard scoring drive, but the Lakers answered again with a scoring drive of its own, covering 47 yards in 9 plays as Schipper hit a 45 yard field goal to give GVSU a 17-14 lead.
Ferris continued the scoring with a 35 yard TD pass to complete a 6-play, 78-yard scoring drive, but the PAT was wide left and the Bulldogs held a 20-17 lead.
The Laker offense answered again, driving 66 yards in four plays as Williams hit Smith with a 30 yard TD pass and the PAT off the foot of Schipper gave GVSU a 24-20 halftime lead.
The GVSU defense came up with two key stops, one to end the first half and one to start the second half that built the confidence of the Laker defenders.
The GVSU offense was unable to get anything going on its opening possession of the second half and Ferris State returned a punt 30 yards to the Laker 23 yard line. Vanderlaan hit Agurs with a 23 yard TD pass and the PAT gave the Bulldogs a 27-24 lead.
B. Williams drove the Lakers 80 yards in eight plays and freshman RB Marty Carter finished the drive with an 11 yard run. The drive consisted of four completed passes and four runs as the offense continued to keep the Bulldog defense confused.
The Ferris State offense answered just as it had every time GVSU took a lead throughout the day. FSU drove 83 yards in 13 plays for a 10 yard scoring pass from Vanderlaan to Jamel Lockett and the PAT give the Bulldogs a 34-31 lead.
However, on this day the Lakers would not be denied. GVSU drove 78 yards in eight plays as B. Williams hit M. Williams with a one yard TD pass and the all important PAT from Schipper split the uprights. B. Williams hit M. Williams with a key 17 yard completion on a third-and-two play and Carter hit B. Williams with a running back throw back to B. Williams that covered 23 yards to the FSU four yard line prior to the TD pass to M. Williams.
Leading 38-34 the Laker defense then rose to the occasion. Junior LB David Talley picked off a Vanderlaan pass with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter and sophomore CB Tre Walton batted away a Vanderlaan pass on fourth-and-eight with just under a minute left to secure the win.
B. Williams completed 20-of-34 passes for 335 yards and four TDs, while M. Williams broke the 100-yard receiving mark for the sixth time in 2015, hauling in five catches for 126 yards and two TDs. Smith caught four passes for a career-high 108 yards receiving. Freshman Nick Dodsoncaught four passes for 40 yards. Senior RB Kirk Spencer rushed for 77 yards on eight carries and caught five passes for 35 yards and a TD. Spencer recorded 194 all-purpose yards on the afternoon.
Talley led the defense with 15 tackles, a tackle for loss (-1) and an interception, while the Gene Upshaw Award finalist, Matt Judon, tallied 12 tackles and two TFL (-6). Sophomore LB Colling Schlosser chipped in 10 stops, junior Marquez Gollman nine and sophomore FS Garrett Pougnetnine stops and an interception.
Spencer is second in all-time, all-purpose yards with 5,386 yards and sixth in all-time rushing with 2,922...Bart Williams' 41 TD passes is tied for third for a single-season and his 3,690 passing yards is second, just two yards behind Curt Anes...Matt Williams is sixth for a single-season in receiving yards (1,089) and fifth in TDs (15).
