GVSU football dominates, prepares for showdown with Ferris State next
FREEFIELD, Mass. - Grand Valley State coach Matt Mitchell challenged his players to be explosive on a long road trip.
They responded as the No. 2 Grand Valley State football team dominated on both sides of the ball in a 45-3 win over American International on Saturday.
"Our goal was explosive plays," GVSU offensive tackle Jordan Davis said. "We were prepared and focused."
GVSU improved to 6-0 heading into next week's showdown against rival Ferris State, the defending NCAA champion.
The Lakers piled up a stunning 665 yards of total offense.
Junior running back Tariq Reid scored on runs of 59, 13 and 2 yards and Jack Provencher added a 78-yard touchdown run. Reid finished with 126 yards. Provencher had 94 yards rushing.
"We pride ourselves in getting 7 yards a carry. That is our goal every game," Davis said.
Balancing the ground game, Cade Peterson threw 40- and 45-yard touchdown strikes to wide receiver Cody Tierney. Peterson was 11-for-15 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran five times for 91 yards. Tierney had three catches for 103 yards.
Subscribe:Get full coverage of local sports with this special offer
Josh Gorball also kicked a 20-yard field goal.
"We were really explosive offensively. A lot of big chunk runs and big passes. A lot of guys touched the ball. We ran outside really well today," Mitchell said.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, the Lakers nearly had a shutout, allowing just one field goal.
"From a defensive standpoint, it is really hard in college football to keep a team out of the end zone, and we did that," Mitchell said. "We did a good job keeping the ball in front of us."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU football dominates, prepares for showdown with Ferris State next
