Findlay, Ohio – The Grand Valley State University football team passed its first road test of the season with flying colors Saturday afternoon by easily handling the University of Findlay 35-7.

The Lakers opened up a 28-0 halftime lead en route to the victory in the team’s most dominating performance of the season.

“It felt good to get to 28-0 going into the locker room at halftime,” said GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell after his team improved its unbeaten record to 4-0 (3-0 GLIAC). “I give us credit for the way we came out. I thought the whole trip, from getting on the bus to how we handled things, our kids had a great approach, and I think that showed up in the first half.”

GVSU controlled the entire contest and led 35-0 before Findlay scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Both the offensive and defensive backups were in the game midway through the third quarter.

Strong play by the Lakers’ defense kept Findlay’s offense at bay. GVSU sacked Oilers quarterback Zach Tate five times and intercepted him twice. Running back Monterae Williams, last season’s GLIAC Freshman of the Year, rushed for 126 yards on 21 carries, but most of those yards came against GVSU’s second-string defense.

“We knew they had a very good run game, and we focused all week on making sure we stopped the run,” said senior defensive end Nick Lawrence. “Everything else, the pass rush, would come after and take care of itself if we stopped the run. We didn’t miss any assignments and I guess that’s what happen when you are able to do that.”

Redshirt freshman linebacker Luther Ware and senior cornerback Chris Huley each tallied six tackles to lead the Lakers.

The defense was helped out by the strong play of the special teams, which pinned the Oilers deep in their own territory several times. Sophomore kicking specialist Jay Jandasek recorded four punts inside the 20-yard line, and the punt return team blocked a Findlay punt and returned the loose ball for a touchdown.

“Special teams was big today. Our kickoff team got way better kicks, way better coverage,” Mitchell said. “The punt team came up huge for our defense. I mean the field position that our defense had was huge.”

GVSU’s offense continued to have little trouble scoring points, despite committing 12 penalties. The Lakers were caught for holding six times and had five false start infractions.

“Probably the only negative of the day, I would say, was offensively the volume of penalties,” Mitchell said. “I don’t feel like Findlay ever stopped us more than we stopped ourselves sometimes. When you get into first-and-20s, it’s tough to get out of those holes.”

Senior quarterback Kyle McMahon completed 12-of-17 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He hooked up with junior tight end Tony Carreri and junior wide receiver Greg Gay across the middle in the second quarter for 24- and 16-yard scores, respectively.

Gay recorded four catches for 77 yards and the touchdown to pace GVSU’s receivers. Ryan Bass had 35 yards receiving on two receptions.

Senior running back Justin Sherrod kicked off GVSU’s scoring with his 12-yard run less than four minutes into the game. He finished with 45 yards rushing on six carries. Reserve Hersey Jackson, a redshirt freshman from Allendale, totaled 57 yards rushing on 11 carries in his first significant playing time as a Laker.

GVSU has now won 11 straight games against Findlay. Dating back to the 1971 campaign, the Lakers are 11-2 in the all-time series.

Grand Valley State University 35, University of Findlay 7

GVSU 7 21 7 0 – 35
UF 0 0 0 7 – 7

First Quarter
11:50 GVSU – Justin Sherrod 12 yd run (Jay Jandasek kick)
Second Quarter
4:17 GVSU – Tony Carreri 24 yd pass from Kyle McMahon (Jandasek kick)
3:18 GVSU – Greg Gay 16 yd pass from McMahon (Jandasek kick)
0:23 GVSU – Jarrod Cox 6 yd blocked punt return (Jandasek kick)
Third Quarter
6:26 GVSU – Marquel Neasman 7 yd run (Jandasek kick)
Fourth Quarter
14:21 UF – Dustin Zielaskiewicz 11 yd pass from Zach Tate (Cameron Stevens kick)