Box Score
Box score

ALLENDALE, Mich.-  Top-ranked Grand Valley escaped with a 38-31 win over the University of Indianapolis in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday night at Lubbers Stadium.  The host Lakers scored in the final minute to secure the win.

UIndy (2-1, 1-1 GLIAC) had the attention of the NCAA Division II's No 1 team from the get-go.  The Hounds never trailed by more than seven points the entire night, meanwhile keeping the potent Laker offense primarily in check. 

The Hounds made a habit of forcing GV into some big mistakes, the biggest being a fumble deep inside Greyhound territory that Nate Jackson scooped up and ran back 90 yards for a score and the Hounds' only lead at 17-16.

After GV took the lead on the ensuing drive, the Lakers had to fend off rallies by the road team as the Hounds matched each score until Jovone Augustus' touchdown reception with 30 seconds left put the Lakers up for good, 38-31.

GVSU took the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards over 13 plays and six minutes as the home Lakers grabbed a 7-0 lead.  Joumeel McLaurine ran-off an 18-yard run to the endzone to finish off the ensuing Greyhound possession, knotting the score at 7-apiece.

After GV kicked a field goal, Tyler Peterman recovered a fumble on a punt return deep in Laker territory.  Aaron PuntarellI cashed it in with a 41-yard field goal for a 10-10 score.  GV again had the answer, scoring on a 22-yard pass to Ryan Bass, but the extra point failed and it was a six-point Laker advantage midway through the second quarter.

A long, sustained drive followed for Indianapolis with a pair of fourth-down conversions, one due to penalty and the other on a Paul Corsaro run to keep it alive.  The drive stalled, however, as Rob Doyle was picked-up in the closing seconds of the opening half and GV owned a 16-10 lead at the break.

Jackson's fumble recovery gave UIndy a 17-16 lead in the third but Grand Valley counter-punched each momentum swing by UIndy with a score of their own.  Kyle McMahon ran 15 yards up-the-middle for a score and converted the two-point try to make it 24-17 in favor of the home team.

Unfazed, the Hounds strung together a drive that stretched into the fourth quarter.  It was aided by a running into the kicker penalty early and UIndy took advantage as Mar'Quone Edmonds polished off the 13-play possession witha 10-yard touchdown reception.

With the visitor stands brimming with excitement, Chris Crawford took the winds out of the sails by taking the kickoff back 73 yards all the way to the Greyhound 3-yardline.  McMahon punched it in two plays later.

The Greyhound defense came away with a fourth-down stop to give the ball back to the offense.  The teams would trade punts, though, and UIndy would get good field position after a short 24-yard Laker punt. 

On a 4th-and-6, Ryan Forney used all 5-foot-8 of his frame as he lept to get a hand on a ball, deflecting it to Brenden Williams, who snared it for a 24-yard reception and a first down.  Corsaro charged in from the 6-yardline and it was deadlocked at 31-31 with 3:05 left.

McMahon, a transfer from Eastern Michigan University, went 4-of-5 for 52 yards in the winning drive, throwing a jump ball to his big receiver, Augustus, in the endzone with just 30 ticks left.  The Lakers denied one final furious rally, holding on fourth down to secure the win.

The Hounds won the time of possession battle, keeping control for over 35 minutes in the contest.  Doyle finished the night 15-of-30 for 146 yards, a touchdown and two INTs.  Forney led the Hounds' receivers with five catches for 43 yards.

The defense was led by John Dury, who amassed 11 total tackles, including one for a loss.  Craig Ray chipped-in 10 stops while Jackson and Max Davis each had seven for Indianapolis.
 
The Greyhounds return home next Saturday to host Michigan Tech.  Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.

Notes:  UIndy's 31 points were the most scored by a Greyhound team in the all-time series between the two schools (21 games) ... Puntarelli's 41-yard field goal was a career long ... McLaurine's rushing TD was his fourth of the year, more than any UIndy back had all of last season ... Doyle's interception in the second quarter broke a string of 80 straight pass attempts without a pick, dating back to last season ... Coach Bob Bartolomeo suffered his first setback as UIndy's head coach.