Offense, defense, or special teams, it didn’t matter.

The Grand Valley State University football team made big plays in every phase of the game in a 42-17 victory over Tiffin University.

“We got off to a good start,” said head coach Matt Mitchell. “(We) really played well the first quarter and most of the second.”

GVSU (3-0, 1-0 GLIAC) got the scoring started on their second possession of the game when junior quarterback Isiah Grimes threw it up to sophomore Jamie Potts who leaped and caught the pass over a Tiffin defender for the 32-yard score.

Tiffin (0-3, 0-1 GLIAC) responded by driving the ball down to the GVSU 18, but the drive stalled and Tiffin was forced to attempt a field goal. They would never get the kick off, as senior Reggie Williams came around the edge to block the kick.

“We saw some stuff on tape and we were able to get some penetration and Reggie off the edge,” Mitchell said. “That was good to keep that zero on the board obviously at that point of the ball game and not let them get any momentum.”

On the next drive, it was more of the same that we saw last week, as Grimes found senior wide receiver Brandan Green deep for 50 yards. The big play would set up the first of three touchdowns for junior running back Michael Ratay.

Tiffin managed to put together another solid drive, moving the ball all the way down to the Laker 15, but senior linebacker Charles Hill forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman De’Ondre Hogan.

From there, the rout was on. GVSU would score the next 21 points of the game, giving them a 35-0 advantage with 7:52 left in the second quarter and went into halftime leading 35-6.

Tiffin was able to have more success in the second half—albeit against the GVSU second-string defense—as they managed to score 11 points in the half.

The Laker offense wasn’t as prolific in the second half as they were in the first, but they didn’t need to be. Ratay’s final touchdown of the night—a two-yard run—would be all the scoring GVSU would need to secure their first win of GLIAC play.

“Not the third quarter that I was hoping for at halftime,” Mitchell said.

Grimes led the Laker attack, going 11 of 23 for 266 yards and two touchdowns. 248 of those yards came in the first half. His favorite target was Green, who followed up last week’s big game with another solid performance, catching three passes for 114 yards.

Ratay led GVSU on the ground, carrying the ball 14 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Potts chipped in with two touchdown catches of his own.

On defense, the Lakers tallied seven sacks, including two by junior defensive end Matt Mosley. Mosley’s pressure on another play forced an interception that was caught by junior Deonte’ Hurst.

Redshirt freshman David Talley led the team in tackles, recording nine on the night.

GVSU will now go on the road to face their toughest challenge so far this year, as they take on 3-0 Ohio Domincan University.