Leading up to the second game of the season, Brandan Green knew the wide receivers needed to become a bigger factor for the Grand Valley State University offense.

What he probably didn’t know was that he was about to record the third most receiving yards in a
game in GVSU history.

After being held without a catch in the first game of the season against Azusa Pacific University
while he battled a sinus infection, Green made his presence known, as the senior wide receiver
recorded six catches for 223 yards and a touchdown in GVSU’s 31-15 win over Truman State
University.

“Tonight is the Brandan Green that we had seen as a team throughout the course of camp,” head
coach Matt Mitchell said. “I wouldn’t think it would shock anyone that he had 223 yards receiving.
He was very productive throughout the course of camp, so hopefully we can keep this trend going.”

Five of Green’s completions were over 20 yards, including catches of 39, 51, 28, 33, and the 61-yard touchdown that gave GVSU a 16-point cushion near the end of the third quarter. The score was the second play from scrimmage following the Truman touchdown that cut the Laker lead to
24-15.

“I remember looking up for the ball, and then having to put my head back down and just sprint as
fast as I possibly could to catch the dang thing,” Green said. “It’s a blessing to have a quarterback
who can put it so far out there, but put it perfectly just for you to run under it.”

After dealing with soreness in his shoulder following last week’s game, junior quarterback Heath
Parling sat out all week at practice and did not throw. Therefore, junior Isiah Grimes had his
number called and received the start.

Grimes did not disappoint in his first appearance of 2013. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 339
yards, two touchdowns. The only blemish on his stat line was the one interception, which would be
hard to blame Grimes for. Sophomore running back Kirk Spencer mishandled the intended pass,
and Truman was there to catch the tipped ball.

“I felt great throwing the ball,” Grimes said. “I felt like I could put it anywhere tonight. It was one of
those good nights, so I was just happy. Everybody was crisp, and they came out in the looks we
prepared for in practice, and we executed well.”

Grimes and Green may have been able to do more damage if it weren’t for Truman controlling the
ball for much of the first half. After the first quarter, Truman dominated the time of possession,
holding the ball for 12 minutes and 49 seconds.

“(I’m) proud of our defense from the standpoint that we didn’t give up any touchdowns in the first
half,” Mitchell said. “Wish we could have gotten our offense more opportunities in the first half. We
didn’t do a good job on defense at getting off the field, and they used a lot of clock in the first half.
When our offense did have those opportunities, we obviously took advantage of some of those.”

The game was closer on the scoreboard than it was on the stat sheet. GVSU (2-0) outgained
Truman (1-1) 565 yards to 219, including a 373 to 68 advantage in yards in the second half alone.

While the Lakers exploited the Truman defense through the air, they also found success on the
ground. Junior running back Chris Robinson tallied 130 yards on 16 carries.

“We know what we have at the running back position,” Mitchell said. “We got to try to stress the ball
and push the ball down the field vertically. We’re attempting to try to become a more balanced
offense, and tonight presented a good opportunity for us to do that.”

With two wins over relatively unknown opponents, the 10th-ranked Lakers will now set their sights
on familiar foes, as they open up GLIAC play next week when they host Tiffin University.

“We’re two 2-0 in non-conference play against two opponents that we really hadn’t played before,”
Mitchell said. “Now we head into GLIAC play and obviously strive to get better as we start to
approach Tiffin.”

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