GVSU offense working on all cylinders, crushes Lincoln 66-7
ALLENDALE - Cade Peterson may have found his new favorite target.
The Grand Valley State quarterback has a connection with receiver Jahdae Walker that could scare the rest of the GLIAC.
Peterson threw two touchdown passes to Walker and the Lakers went on to rout Lincoln University 66-7 on Saturday night in front of 16,624 fans, the sixth most in school history. Lincoln is an independent school out of Oakland, Calif., in its second year with a football program.
“Jahdae and I feel like we’re building a lot of chemistry,” Peterson said. “He’s a talented player and has a unique skill set. When you have a guy like that, it makes my job easy. He’s doing really well and a lot of the other (receivers) are, too.”
Six different players scored touchdowns. Walker had two, Kordell Hoover two, Peterson rushed for two scores and one each for Tariq Reid and Jack Provencher. Kollin Kralapp also kicked a 40-yard field goal, a career long.
“I was a good win,” Lakers coach Matt Mitchell said. “I thought we played well, especially in the third quarter. We got a lot of opportunities for guys to play. So that’s key for our football program. The short term, in case some injuries for depth, but in the long term in development for their futures. It was key to get them out there.”
The Lakers (3-0) struck first when Peterson hit Walker for a 7-yard touchdown.
“I was just trying to get off to a fast start,” said Walker, a sophomore from Cleveland, Illinois. “When I saw it was a back-shoulder (pass), I was like ‘I’ve got this one in the bag.’ And I caught it.”
But Lincoln would tie the game at 7-7 after William Anglen scored on a 98-yard kickoff return.
“I think we got a little bit over aggressive not trying to break down and do what we’re supposed to do,” Mitchell said. “It was disappointing because (special teams) has been good for us through two games. My mind set was ‘that’s not good. Hey offense, let’s go. Let’s get this thing back to 14-7.’”
Peterson then scored on a 2-yard run to make it 14-7 and the rout was on. The 66 points are the most scored by the Lakers since beating Northwood 70-9 last season.
Peterson didn’t play much in the second half, but was 14-of-19 passing for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Backup QB Cal Endicott was 5-of-6 passing for 128 yards, including the two TD passes to Hoover.
Walker had three catches for 42 yards. He didn’t play in the second half. He leads the team with 271 receiving yards through three games. But his first career touchdowns came on Saturday.
“I don’t really want to focus on having too many touchdowns,” Walker said. “I just want to be the best person I can be. If the touchdowns come, they come. If they don’t, they don’t.”
Syone Usma-Harper led the team with 56 yards on four carries. Provencer had eight carries for 48 yards.
Grand Valley travels to Wayne State next week for a 6 p.m. game to kick off the GLIAC season.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU offense working on all cylinders, crushes Lincoln 66-7
