ALLENDALE – Grand Valley State University won a wild one on Saturday night.
The Lakers football team held off Black Hills State University 48-36 in a game with little defense at Lubbers Stadium in front of more than 13,836 fans.
Each team’s quarterback threw four touchdown passes. Grand Valley QB Andrew Schuster, a redshirt freshman, threw four touchdown passes and was 22-of-32 for a whopping 391 yards.
“The pace of every game is different,” Schuster said. “Last week, we started really strong. But this week we didn’t start very hot. I thought our response on offense was great. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win.”
GVSU (2-0) trailed 10-0 to start the game but reeled off 20-straight points to take a 20-10 lead at halftime.
“The way Coach Louis professes our defense, when we get into situations like that, it’s ‘bend, don’t break,’” GVSU defensive back Josh Anderson said of defensive coordinator Jim Louis. “I think we did a great job of bending but not breaking. Going down 10-0, we got some stops and got it up to 14-10. We’ve just got to keep that fire going and get back into that (offensive) groove.”
The third quarter got a little wild. There were six combined touchdowns, with each team trading scores.
GVSU got lucky on one play. Lakers’ senior Griffin Shinrock blocked a punt. The ball popped up in the air and was caught by teammate Derrick Woods, who ran 13 yards into the end zone for a 34-17 lead.
“When we needed it, we got it,” GVSU coach Scott Wooster said. “From Shinrock, he got the angle and the low hands (to block the punt). Then Derrick Woods … just a really good feel to catch that thing and get it in the end zone.”
The quarter ended in a wild way, too.
Black Hills kick returner Bryce Coulson took the ball 96 yards into the end zone to cut the deficit to 41-29.
GVSU got touchdown catches from Kellen Reed, Lynn Wyche-El, Sean Byrd and Donovan Johnson. And a rushing TD from Paschal Jolman, a Fruitport native.
Black Hills quarterback Luke Duby was 38-of-51 passing for 359 yards and four touchdowns. His wide receiver T.J. Chukwurah caught 12 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns.
Strong game by Holland Christian grad
Ryder Gravenhof is making the most of his first full season in college football.
The redshirt freshman defensive lineman from Holland Christian High School had a strong game on Saturday. He put on a big hit on a Black Hills punt returner in the third quarter that drew some “ooohs” from the crowd.
On Saturday, the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder had four tackles.
Gravenhof got in two games last season as a true freshman. He had two tackles in limited play, while keeping his freshman status.
The kicking game was key
With GVSU holding a slim 14-10 lead in the second quarter, Lakers’ kicker Mathew Bacik drilled back-to-back field goals for a 20-10 lead.
The sophomore from Battle Creek Lakeview booted a 39-yarder. Then he attempted a 51-yard shot, which missed badly. But Bacik was hit on the play for a 5-yard penalty and he got to redo the play. Moving up to 46 yards, he didn’t miss that one.
Bacik did have a field goal blocked in the first quarter.
Running game non-existent
Grand Valley has a stable of good running backs. But the running game wasn’t part of the offense on Saturday.
GVSU ran the ball 22 times for just 44 yards.
“We talk about establishing the line of scrimmage and I don’t think we did that tonight,” Wooster said. “We didn’t do that on the offense side of the football. We’ve got to run the ball better than that.”
Black Hills wasn’t much better. It ran the ball 24 times for just 21 yards.
Jolman led GVSU with three carries for 27 yards and a touchdown.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How GVSU football held off Black Hills State in an offensive thriller; Gravenhof strong
Reporting by Lenny Padilla / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
