Grand Valley proves to be No. 1

With upsets happening all over the football world, including losses by the Patriots and USC, two elite number one teams, the Huskies had hope as they faced No. 1 Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich. Unfortunately for the Huskies, it seemed as though no luck, no effort and no talent in the world could stop the juggernaut that was the GVSU offense, as the Huskies fell 52-6. “They’re a very good football team,” summed up Head Coach Tom Kearly. “The things that I was most disappointed with [are] that we didn’t play hard and we didn’t fight through adversity.” There was certainly plenty of adversity early on in the game, as Grand Valley took just 2:10 to get in the end zone, making the score 7-0. The Huskies couldn’t get anything going as they punted on their first drive, and the Lakers scored their second touchdown of the game just 6:03 into the first quarter. Tech fumbled on their next drive and punted on the following drive, and Grand Valley converted on both opportunities, taking a 28-0 lead after one quarter of play. The Huskies tried everything to stop the Lakers, but to no avail as GVSU tacked on two more touchdowns and a field goal in the second quarter to take an overwhelming 45-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Possession time was exactly equal in the first half, but the quality of possessions was about as far from equal as possible. Michigan Tech’s punter Jon Mills had more punts in the first half than QB Steve Short had completions. The good news for the Huskies, if there was any, was that the third quarter had been their strongest all season, outscoring opponents 56-16. That trend continued for the Huskies as they held GVSU scoreless the entire quarter. The 45-0 lead was far too much to come back from, but the Huskies got on the scoreboard 5:36 into the third quarter with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Steve Short to Keith White. The play capped an 11-play, 60-yard drive for the Huskies. A late touchdown by Grand Valley with 5:29 remaining in the game concluded the scoring, as Grand Valley completed their 52-6 win. The statistics were about as lopsided as the score itself, but perhaps the stats and the score should not be a surprise, as Grand Valley has won 36 consecutive regular season games and 34 straight GLIAC games. GVSU’s senior class is now a remarkable 44-1. GVSU is clearly the class of the GLIAC and of D2 football, but the Huskies can still stake claim to being the only other team besides Grand Valley to be in the top five in the GLIAC the last five years. The Huskies will take on Ferris State in its Homecoming game this weekend at Sherman Field. Check out our preview article for complete coverage.