At least for one chilly November night, the Grand Valley State University defense was back.

Plagued by inconsistency all season, the Lakers’ (8-2, 7-2 GLIAC) defense stepped up on Saturday, shutting down visiting Wayne State University (5-4, 5-4 GLIAC) in a 35-13 win.

“Being this late in the year and where we’re at with the injuries, everything is still right in front of us,” said head coach Matt Mitchell. “Luckily, we did a good job at the line of scrimmage stopping the run and we harassed Mickey Mohner enough, we harassed him enough and made him uncomfortable and were able to play some zone coverage.”

Wayne State’s offense was contained on the ground and in the air, and the duo of quarterback Mickey Mohner and tailback Toney Davis struggled. Mohner threw for only 33 yards and Davis was held to just 57 yards on the ground.

Linebacker Charles Hill, playing with his right hand in a cast, led the defense with 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Sophomore Keontre’ Miskel, usually a wide reciver, was forced to play cornerback on Saturday. With the Lakers essentially down to just two healthy corners, Miskel spent much of the first half on defense and Mitchell applauded his play.

The Lakers offense gave one of the GLIAC’s top defenses all it could handle. Redshirt freshman tailback Kirk Spencer put together the top rushing performance of his young career for GVSU, running for 228 yards and a touchdown.

The total was the fourth most yards in GVSU history.

“He’s been getting better and better every week of the season,” Mitchell said. “I think, again, that has to come with experience and him getting more comfortable within our runs and how we’re running the ball.”

Just a few weeks ago, Spencer was suffering from ball control problems and fumbles. Saturday, the only problem he had was coming up 28 yards short of the school record

“Give a lot of credit to him because it wasn’t too long ago against Northwood, we have a few fumble issues, and he went to Hillsdale — over 100 (yards) — and today over 200 and ball security was not an issue,” said Mitchell.

Spencer’s play combined with that of senior receiver Charles Johnson, kept the Lakers’ moving up and down the field throughout. Johnson finished the game with 10 catches for 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was his sixth 100-yard game of the season.

Quarterback Isiah Grimes threw for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The sophomore also turned the ball over for the first time since the loss to Ferris State University. Sophomore tailback Mike Ratay, overshadowed by the performance by Spencer, finished with 118 yards and two touchdowns.

With Ratay and Spencer’s success on the ground, the Lakers have gone two-straight week the Lakers had multiple 100-yard rushers.

With Saginaw Valley State University’s loss and GVSU’s win, the Lakers are now in sole possession of first place in the GLIAC North. The rivals will battle at Saginaw Valley State next week for the division title.

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