Indianapolis downs GVSU 34-33 on last second score
Sep 17, 2011
For the second week in a row, the Grand Valley State University football team fell victim to a last-second scoring drive as Indianapolis University managed to put the Lakers away 34-33.
Down 33-28, sophomore quarterback Chris Mills led a four-play 63-yard drive, capped off by a 22-yard strike to senior wideout Ryan Forney, to take the one-point lead with 11 seconds left in the game to give his team its second victory over the Lakers in program history.
There wasn’t a whole lot that could have gone better for Indianapolis in the first half. After each team opened the game with stalled drives, the Greyhounds struck first on a 27-yard scamper by Mills.
After stalling the Lakers on the next possession, Indianapolis took a two-touchdown lead when Mills hooked up with junior wideout Mar’Quone Edmond on a 28-yard jump ball early in the second quarter.
The Lakers answered two possessions later when sophomore quarterback Heath Parling hit a wide open Brandan Green in the back-right corner of the end zone on a five-yard score, but Indianapolis scored in the final seconds of the half when Mills again hooked up with Edmond on a four-yard strike.
The Greyhounds went into the half with a 21-7 lead largely because of its dominance in time of possession. Indianapolis controlled the ball for 18 minutes and 52 seconds to GVSU’s 11:08. The Lakers had trouble moving the ball through the air in the first half as Parling had only 34 passing yards.
GVSU opened the second half strong with a pair of scores – one a 14-yard strike to junior receiver Charles Johnson and the other a one-yard punch-in by junior running back Hersey Jackson – but sophomore kicker Ryan Stokes missed the extra point on the first score.
After a pair of exchanged touchdowns early in the fourth quarter (with GVSU failing to convert for two), GVSU blocked an attempted field goal and had the ball facing a 28-26 deficit midway through the quarter. The Greyhounds stalled GVSU on the first two plays, and Parling threw an interception over the middle of the field on third down.
The Lakers stalled Indianapolis after an attempted fake field goal came up short, an GVSU got the ball back with 3:17 left in the game and no timeouts.
GVSU took full advantage.
After converting on two third down attempts, Parling found senior tight end Andrew Lorman on a post route across the middle for a 31-yard strike.