Slow starts, bright spots and heart-breaking finishes have been the story of the Grand Valley State University football team’s season, and after Saturday’s 34-33 last-second loss at the University of Indianapolis, it’s a story that the team hopes to alter sooner than later.

While the Lakers (1-3, 0-2 GLIAC) rallied in the final minute to take a 33-28 lead on a Heath Parling touchdown pass to Andrew Lorman, the defense could not keep the lead.

Like last week’s contest against Hillsdale College, the Laker defense struggled against the pass, and Indianapolis’ sophomore quarterback Chris Mills made defenders pay with a game-winning, four-play 63-yard touchdown drive that took only 25 seconds and sent GVSU to its second consecutive loss.

“You could talk about the last drive they had for the touchdown to win it, but there were several other instances in the first and second halves where we did not play up to our potential,” said GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell. “… Our defense never rose to the challenge, and that’s the reason we lost.”

That offense, which looked stagnant against Hillsdale, played much better on Saturday. To go with the almost-game-winning touchdown to Lorman, Parling put together his best game at GVSU, throwing for 226 yards and four touchdowns.

The sophomore’s turnaround from week-to-week was a bright spot for the team on an otherwise dark night.

“For a sophomore quarterback to be in that situation to make all those throws and get us down there to potentially win the game, that was progress to me,” said Mitchell, who is now 4-4 on the road as head coach.

While the offense seemed to have found its flow in the loss, the defense continued to flounder.

Indianapolis attacked the defense through the air and on the ground, shown by its 171 yards rushing and 344 yards through the air. The duo of Mills and tailback Klay Fletcher gained just enough yardage to allow for Mills to connect with his receivers early and often.

The Greyhounds’ top two receivers – junior Mar’Quone Edmonds and senior Ryan Forney – combined for 22 catches, 277 yards and four touchdowns. Forney, who the GVSU defense had focused on all week in practice, scored the go-ahead touchdown with 11 seconds to go.

“Norman [Shuford] said it on Saturday: adversity makes champions, and that’s what were going through – a lot of it,” said junior safety Jared Cox. “… We’re going to go to practice, watch film and get better.”

GVSU has not dealt with on-the-field adversity in its football program in years. The Lakers haven’t lost consecutive games since 2004 when they fell to Saginaw Valley State University 31-20 and Northwood 35-14.

“I know when I go in the locker room I don’t see any heads down,” said Shuford, who ran for a career-high 170 yards. “You could easily be around a group who just quits, but we aren’t around people like that. You win some and you lose some; we’ll come out of this.”

Two final minute losses haven’t crushed GVSU’s spirit, and it will look to improve on its efforts from the last two weeks. The offense seems to have found a recipe for success, but the defense – without senior safety Zach Breen for two more weeks – will need to improve on the fly in order for GVSU to avoid what would be another catastrophic loss.

“We have no other options until Zach gets back, so it’s on us as a defensive secondary – our sense of urgency is high right now,” Cox said.

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