Holland Reporter

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) began its 2024 football campaign with a decisive 58-0 victory over Central State on Thursday evening at Lubbers Stadium. The game, witnessed by a crowd of 13,678, marked GVSU's 20th win in its last 23 season openers. The shutout is the third largest margin of victory in the program's history. GVSU will next face Colorado State-Pueblo on September 14.

The Lakers quickly took control of the game, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions. Sophomore Khalil Eichelberger capped an eight-play, 54-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, followed by redshirt freshman Mathew Bacik's first of seven extra points. Redshirt freshman Kenneth Jones finished a six-play, 60-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. Senior quarterback Avery Moore connected with junior wide receiver Jordan Johnson for a 13-yard touchdown pass after sophomore running back Derrick Woods blocked a Central State punt. Junior running back David Holloman completed a four-play, 58-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to extend GVSU's lead to 27-0. Bacik added his first career field goal from 46 yards out to give the Lakers a 30-0 halftime lead.

Senior safety Ian Kennelly intercepted a Central State pass on their first possession of the second half, leading to Eichelberger’s two-yard touchdown run after a seven-play, 40-yard drive. Woods later scored on runs of 64 and 44 yards respectively. Redshirt freshman Paschal Jolman closed out the scoring with his first career touchdown run from 25 yards.

GVSU amassed a total of 667 yards, including an impressive 546 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 56 carries. The rushing yardage ranks second all-time in GVSU football history (549 vs. Findlay,1974). Three players surpassed the century mark in rushing: Eichelberger (18 carries for120 yards and two touchdowns), Jones (11 carries for116 yards and one touchdown), and Woods (four carries for108 yards and two touchdowns). Jolman contributed84 yards and one touchdown on four carries while Moore added54 yards on nine carries and completed eight-of-12 passes for109 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, GVSU limited Central State to95 total offensive yards—60 rushing and35 passing—while recording12 tackles for loss (-43) and two quarterback sacks (-17). Junior linebacker Anthony Cardamone registered three tackles, including2.5 tackles for loss (-11) and one sack (-8). Nine different Lakers recorded tackles for loss; redshirt freshmen Torian Wyatt and Elijah Baker led the defense with four stops each.Wyatt also had one tackle for loss (-6), while Baker contributed1.5 tackles for loss (-6) and forced one fumble.