April 14, 2007

Allendale, Mich. - The Grand Valley State offense defeated the defense, 79-26, Saturday afternoon in the Outback Steakhouse Spring Classic at Lubbers Stadium. Scoring for the game is done with a non-traditional format in which both the offense and the defense are awarded points on plays. Saturday's spring game draws a conclusion to spring practice for the two-time defending DII national champions.

"It was a typical spring game I thought," said head coach Chuck Martin. "I saw some good things on both sides of the ball, but most importantly we didn't suffer any injuries that will keep players out for the season," added Martin.

Martin and his coaching staff held out 21 potential starters (11 offense/10 defense) from the game.

Sophomore quarterback Brad Iciek (Grandville, Mich.) completed 14-of-16 passes for 251 yards and two TDs. Iciek was intercepted once. Sophomore Chad Somerville (Mason, Mich.) hit on 12-of-14 passes for 179 yards and a TD.

"I liked the play of our quarterbacks and I thought we did a good job of protecting our quarterbacks with a number of players seeing their first game-like action on the offensive line," said Martin. "Both quarterbacks proved that they could make the throws that we want to make within the framework of our offense," added Martin.

Freshman D.D. Hardy (New Haven, Mich.) led the receiving corps with eight catches for 110 yards and two TDs. Fellow freshman Carlos Clark (Belleville, Mich.) added five catches for 135 yards and a TD. Clark hauled in 66 yard TD catch from Iciek. Sophomore Mike Koster (Lowell, Mich.) caught four passes for 80 yards, while sophomore Ryan Bass (Portage, Mich.) pulled in two catches for 41 yards. Brandon Horn added two catches for 36 yards. Somerville hit Bass with a 29-yard TD reception, while Iciek also hit Hardy with a 12 yard TD catch.

"We are extremely young and inexperienced at the receiver position, but we continued to improve throughtout the spring," said Martin.

Freshman Steve Nargrant (Farmington Hills, Mich./W.L. Western) carried the ball for 38 yards and one TD, while Sophomore Maurice Gore (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) chipped in 18 yards on eight carries in limited action.

Defensively, senior safety Derek Stansbery (Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek) led the way with six tackles, while redshirt freshman Ben Bryant (Evart, Mich.) chipped in six stops. Redshirt freshmen Mike Mukuna (Haslett, Mich.) and Eric Ewing (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) each notched five tackles. Sophomore Robert Carlisle (Detroit, Mich./Lutheran East), and freshmen Tony Thompson (Traverse City, Mich./West) and Shawn Windey (Commerce, Mich./O.L. St. Mary's) eached recorded an interception.

"Overall it was a very productive spring," said Martin. "We were able to get a lot of meaningful repetitions for our younger players and we put them in some tough situations. We have a great deal of work to do, but I like the attitude and work ethic of our team," added Martin.

Grand Valley State will enter the 2007 season with the nations longest active winning streak at 28 games. The Lakers open the season on Thursday, August 30 with a home tilt versus St. Joseph's College.