BLOG 35: Veteran defense expects big things for Ferris

By Sandy Gholston

ALLENDALE – With a veteran linebacker group that features seniors Kevin Noe, Jordan Moore and Jeff Hollandsworth, and a line that has seniors Kyle Walker and Jake Visser, No. 24 Ferris had high expectations – even playing in Lubbers Stadium against No. 2 Grand Valley State.

Duane Wilson, Ferris’ long-time defensive coordinator, says his guys have a familiarity with playing the Lakers in Lubbers Stadium. Through a quirk in the scheduling, the Bulldogs have made consecutive trips to play Grand Valley in Allendale in the Anchor-Bone Classic. But, Wilson’s defense has used that scheduling quirk to become tougher as a unit.

“For a lot of these guys this is their third trip coming down here to play in this stadium so there is an experience factor that has helped them not feel intimidated by the crowd or the atmosphere,” Wilson said after the Bulldogs dropped a 31-13 decision to GVSU in front of a Lubbers Stadium record crowd of 14,612. “We knew, coming into this game, we could play well down here and we did, for the most part.”

The defense was tough the majority of the game against the run, but did wear down a bit in the end as the Lakers started their attempt to run out the clock. Ferris knew All-American tackle Jake Visser would be double-teamed and triple-teamed – he was – and others step up at times to fill in. But, through the first three quarters, Ferris made Grand Valley work at times and have to give the ball up several times – via the punt. Wilson liked the effort of the defense, but lamented the fact the defense gave up a couple of big passing plays through several uncharacteristic breakdowns.

“Give Grand Valley credit … they have a great offense and they have the capability to make some big-time plays like they did,” said Wilson, whose unit did ultimately surrender a 108-yard rushing effort to James Berezik, who got it going late in the game. “I think one of the toughest things for us was we did give up a couple of really big plays that came back to hurt us. We would have liked to have had those back because those made a big difference.”

Noe led the defense with 11 total tackles while Moore added nine and with six apiece were senior cornerback Terrell Heggins and Hollandsworth.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com