Holland Reporter

Grand Valley State University’s football team will host Black Hills State on Saturday, September 6, at 7 p.m. The matchup marks the first meeting between the Lakers and the Yellowjackets. The game will be televised locally on Flo College/WXSP TV channel 15, with Bryan Fongers providing play-by-play and Bob Mitchell as color commentator. Radio coverage will be available on several local stations including 97 LAV FM and WLCS-FM 98.3, with Steve Lloyd-Jones and Tim Nott calling the action.

Grand Valley State enters the game after a decisive 45-9 win over Lincoln (Pa.) in their season opener. The Lakers scored on their opening drive and held Lincoln scoreless in the second half, outscoring them 24-0 after halftime. Freshman quarterback Andrew Schuster set a single-game freshman record by completing 80.9 percent of his passes (17-of-21) for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back Syone Usma-Harper ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, while junior Derrick Woods added six carries for 47 yards. Sophomore quarterback Brady Drogosh contributed another rushing touchdown.

Among receivers, junior Kellen Reed led with four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown; Donovan Johnson had four receptions for 56 yards; Lynn Wyche-El made four catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, junior linebacker Jimmy Downs recorded eight tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and two quarterback hurries. Defensive end Jamari Buddin contributed four tackles with two tackles for loss and two hurries. Senior linebacker Anthony Cardamone added four tackles including one tackle for loss. Three members of the secondary—Josh Anderson (free safety), Matthew Nickens (strong safety), and Trey Sharp (cornerback)—each intercepted a pass.

Black Hills State lost its opener to Sioux Falls (S.D.), falling at home by a score of 27-21 after trailing early but narrowing the deficit to six points by halftime. Quarterback Luke Duby completed 24-of-36 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns; wide receiver TJ Chukwurah caught ten passes for 109 yards and all three scores. On defense, linebacker Rune Tepolt led with nine tackles; Terrence Curtis and Beto Ledezma each made eight stops; defensive end Isaiah Morales finished with four tackles including two sacks.

Grand Valley State holds the highest winning percentage among Division II football programs that have played more than five hundred games, compiling a record of 455 wins, 153 losses, and three ties (.746). The program has also been ranked in the top ten of national preseason polls twenty-one times since 2002—including eighteen top-five rankings—and has won ten or more games in twenty seasons throughout its fifty-three-year history.

The Lakers led NCAA Division II in total attendance last year with over eighty thousand fans across eight home games—an average of more than ten thousand per game—and have topped national attendance figures for thirteen consecutive years.

Grand Valley State has claimed four national championships (2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006) along with six NCAA championship appearances overall.

The team is coached by Scott Wooster in his third year at the helm; under his leadership Grand Valley State has posted a record of twenty-three wins against four losses over two seasons—with two NCAA Division II playoff appearances and one GLIAC title during that span.

During last week’s win over Lincoln (Pa.), Grand Valley’s defense forced five three-and-outs while limiting opponents to only seventeen rushing yards on twenty-four attempts; offensively they generated seven scoring drives out of ten possessions that ended with kicks.

Freshman quarterback Andrew Schuster distributed completions to seven different players—including three completions exceeding thirty yards—while sophomore kicker Mathew Bacik averaged over sixty-four yards per kickoff with three touchbacks.

Grand Valley State continues its tradition as both an athletic powerhouse—with the best winning percentage among all FBS, FCS, or Division II programs nationwide—and as an attendance leader among peer institutions.