By Bill Rohn
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org
Grand Valley State University scored three first-half touchdowns, then held Davenport scoreless in the third and fourth quarters en route to a 37-14 victory Saturday in Allendale.
The win was the eighth in a row by the Lakers over their crosstown rival, who has never beaten GVSU.
“We had tremendous balance today and now we know who we can be,” said Grand Valley Coach Scott Wooster following the game, which was played in temperatures reaching 85 degrees. Grand Valley, ranked 10th nationally in the American Football Coaches Division II poll at kickoff time, improved its record to 3-1 overall, 1-0 in the Great Lakes Athletic Conference. The visiting Panthers fell to 2-2, 1-1 in the conference.
Quarterback Brady Drogosh led his team with 74 yards on the ground, including three touchdowns.
Wooster gave credit to Davenport for “dialing up“ solid offensive plays that rattled the Laker defense early on.
The Panthers started strong, receiving the opening kickoff and launching a 10-play, 75-yard opening series that ended when running back Kayden Collins ran around the Laker left end for a 10-yard touchdown. Davenport never faced a third down during the six-minute drive.
Grand Valley answered quickly with a three-play drive that ended when redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Shuster found receiver Sean Byrd with a 28-yard TD pass.
Second quarter action saw the Lakers stifle Davenport’s offense, while taking a 21-7 lead on a 29-yard run by Kellen Reed and a 17-yard sideline sprint by quarterback Brady Drogosh, who alternated at QB with Shuster and freshman Zak Olejniczak throughout the game for GVSU.
“We’ve essentially got three all-conference guys at quarterback,” Wooster said.
Davenport closed to within 21-14 at halftime, when quarterback D’wan Mathis found Earnest Sanders with a 75-yard touchdown pass.
Drogosh lights up running game in second half
Following halftime, a sellout crowd of 15,188 was treated to more heroics by Drogosh. The 6-4, 220-pound sophomore sandwiched a third quarter six-yard TD run and a fourth-quarter TD carry of 12 yards around a safety that occurred when Davenport centered a punt snap out of its own end zone. Those 16 points accounted for all of the second-half scoring and the Lakers’ 37-14 final margin.
Grand Valley’s defense was dominant in the second half, holding Davenport quarterbacks Mathis and Mac VandenHout to final passing statistics of 4-for-19 for a total of 109 yards. The Lakers were 12-for-25 through the air for 127 yards. The Panthers picked up 193 yards on 45 rushes. Grand Valley, paced by Drogosh’s three rushing TDs, picked up a season-high 254 yards on 38 carries.
Anthony Cardamone led the Lakers with 10 tackles, while D’Angelo Bellamy had nine stops for the
Panthers.
Grand Valley travels to winless Northern Michigan for a Saturday night contest. Davenport hosts Michigan Tech, winners of four of five games, in a Saturday afternoon Homecoming game.
