Grand Valley State University’s football team took a trip to Colorado to compete against the Colorado State University Pueblo Thunderwolves on Saturday, Sept. 14. The game, which was their first away matchup of the season, ultimately ended in a 24-21 win for GVSU.
Coming off a largely successful home opener win against Central State University 58-0, the Lakers returned their vintage blue uniforms for their white jerseys, hoping to build off their start-of-season momentum against the Thunderwolves.
Both teams were undefeated coming into the matchup, with the Lakers having won against Central and the Thunderwolves having won two games against the South Dakota Mines 35-6 and the University of Texas Permian Basin 40-23. The winning streak of both teams was at stake during the game.
The last time the Lakers competed against the Thunderwolves was September 2023 during a home game. The game was competitive, lasting over three and a half hours, and going into double overtime. The matchup concluded in a 57-49 win for the Lakers. Since GVSU had played CSU Pueblo in their last season, the Lakers were aware of the Thunderwolves’ aggressive, passing playing style, and were able to prepare for the game accordingly.
The Lakers dominated the entire first half of Saturday’s game. The team locked down CSU Pueblo and was able to capitalize on any mistakes their opponent made.
Immediately after CSU Pueblo’s first possession, GVSU went on a 78-yard drive, which ended in the first touchdown of the game. 47 of these yards were headed by sophomore running back Khalil Eichelberger.
The Lakers followed this up with another impressive drive that ended in a 24-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Kellen Reed.
After closing out both touchdowns with successful point-after attempts by freshman redshirt kicker Matthew Bacik, the Lakers ended the first quarter with a 14-0 lead.
In the beginning of the second quarter, Bacik continued his success with a 41-yard field goal, giving the Lakers a total of 17 points on the scoreboard. The first half ended in a 17-0 lead for GVSU.
Khalil Eichelberger shared that offensive’s strategy for the game’s first half was to dominate in specific aspects of the matchup.
“(The strategy was to) be the more physical team,” Eichelberger said. “Dominate up front, in the back field and in the pass game, since they played a lot of man-to-man coverage.”
The GVSU offense wasn’t the only success story on the field. The defensive line was also able to shut down any rushing yards from CSU Pueblo. At the end of the game, the Thunderwolves were only able to get 68 rushing yards, compared to the Lakers’ whopping 239 rushing yards.
This accomplishment on the defensive line was what allowed GVSU’s offense to earn a 17-point lead in the first half.
Eichelberger noted that the defensive line’s contributions allow the rest of the team to have confidence in their ability to win.
“The defensive line did amazing per usual,” Eichelberger said. “It’s one of those things where we can sit back and relax because we know they (the defensive line) will win.”
Despite the Lakers’ tremendous success in the first half, CSU Pueblo was able to close in on the 17-point lead in the second half. In the third quarter, the Thunderwolves completed one successful touchdown, closing the gap 17-7.
However, the Lakers were able to follow this up with their own touchdown, bringing the score to 24-7 by the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunderwolves were able to take control of the field, scoring another two touchdowns and ending the fourth quarter with 14 points added, resulting in a 24-21 score. Despite their attempts in the final quarter of the game, the Thunderwolves’ offensive strategy was no match for the strong lead that the Lakers were able to establish in the first quarter. The game ended in a second straight win for GVSU, and first away-game win of the season 24-21, ending the Thunderwolves winning streak.
Despite the win, Eichelberger observed that the team wasn’t up to its usual standard. Looking to use the experience as a boost forward, he emphasized his excitement for the season’s coming games.
“I thought we played a solid game, nowhere near our best brand of Grand Valley football,” said Eichelberger. “We have so much left in store and (we’re) just looking forward to keep building on that and preparing for the next game.”
The Lakers will be looking to continue their winning streak in their second home game of the season at Lubbers Stadium. The matchup will be on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
