The Grand Valley State University defense picked a great time to play perhaps its best football of the season.

Facing the most prolific passing offense the Lakers had seen all season, GVSU dominated the Colorado School of Mines’ offensive line in a 35-13 first-round playoff victory Saturday at Lubbers Stadium.

No. 6 GVSU (11-1) tallied 10 sacks as a team, tying an all-time single game record. The Lakers last recorded 10 sacks in a game in 2005.

“We’ve got some gritty, tough kids that keep grinding,” said GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell. “I just had guys the kept playing hard. We just kept playing hard, I think, on both sides of the ball and eventually kind of wore down and got to them.”

GVSU advances to play Augustana College (S.D.) on the road in the second round of the playoffs next weekend.

No. 16 Mines (9-3) mustered only 197 yards of offense on 74 plays – a paltry 2.7 yards per play – while Harlon Hill hopeful quarterback Clay Garcia struggled to fight through waves of GVSU defenders. Garcia completed 34-of-55 passes for 253 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown, but the Orediggers had minus-56 yards rushing thanks to the 10 sacks. Mines did not score against GVSU’s starting defense.

Senior safety Matt Bakker and senior linebacker Justin Victor each tallied 10 tackles to lead the defense. Redshirt freshman linebacker Luther Ware had 3.5 sacks, Victor totaled three sacks, sophomore defensive end Ryan Pettis had two sacks and senior defensive end Nick Lawrence notched 1.5 sacks.

“The guys on the backend did a real good job locking down their wide receivers, which allowed us to make plays up front,” said Victor. “I also give credit to the defensive line. They were creating a lot of opportunities for me and Luther to make plays.”

GVSU jumped out to a 28-0 lead through three quarters behind the play of quarterback Kyle McMahon. The senior completed 13-of-22 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for two scores.

Senior wide receiver Ryan Bass caught five passes for 89 yards, while junior wide receiver Jovonne Augustus hauled in three catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back Justin Sherrod had 94 yards on 12 carries.

“We just kept hammering the ball away, which finally opened up the passing game,” said McMahon. “We knew that if we could run the ball a little bit on them that would open some things up.”

GVSU’s shutout of Mines during the first half was the first time the Orediggers had been held scoreless in the first two quarters since 2007.

“They did a nice job with their scheme and their blitz package in the first half,” said Mines head coach Bob Stitt. “Their coaching staff did a great job preparing them for that and got a lot of pressure on us. Physically, I think they surprised us a little bit.”

Following two Mines punts to open the game, McMahon ran 10 yards around the left end for the first score of the game. The Lakers converted a fourth-and-1 situation earlier in the drive on a 14-yard fake punt run by Ware.

McMahon also ran 19 yards for a touchdown with 9:58 to play in the first half. Two plays prior, McMahon kept the drive alive by finding Bass for an 18-yard completion to convert on fourth-and-7.

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SCORING SUMMARY

Grand Valley State University 35, Colorado School of Mines 13

GVSU 7 7 14 7 – 35
CSM 0 0 0 13 – 13

First Quarter
5:45 GVSU – Kyle McMahon 10 yd run (Luke Briggs kick)
Second Quarter
9:58 GVSU – McMahon 19 yd run (Briggs kick)
Third Quarter
10:26 GVSU – Jovonne Augustus 25 yd pass from McMahon (Briggs kick)
3:27 GVSU – Justin Sherrod 13 yd pass from McMahon (Briggs kick)
Fourth Quarter
13:17 CSM – Kaleb Anderson 0 yd fumble recovery (Colin Baker kick failed)
11:53 GVSU – Augustus 31 yd pass from McMahon (Briggs kick)
5:53 CSM – Tom Kastens 22 yd pass from Clay Garcia (Colin Baker kick)