BLOG 36: Victorious No. 2 Lakers complimentary of No. 24 Ferris

By Sandy Gholston

ALLENDALE – No. 24 Ferris State University came to Lubbers Stadium ready to play and clearly earned the respect of the Grand Valley coaching staff following Saturday night’s 31-13 win by the No. 2 Lakers in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.

“Ferris had a good (game) plan on both sides of the ball and I think their kids executed at a much higher level than we executed,” GVSU head coach Chuck Martin was quoted by the Grand Rapids Press for a story on the Web. “But they would probably agree we have a few more horses in the barn than they do. I told (Ferris) coach (Jeff) Pierce you out-coached us, out-played us, out-executed us, but we have a few more good players and we won the game."

Grand Valley has recruited phenomenally, over the years, with a number of strong high-school recruits joining the program. Additionally, kids who have left Division I schools have found a home and flourished in Laker colors. But Ferris showed a competitive edge and proved to be a well-coached and well-prepared football team before a record crowd of 14,612 in Lubbers Stadium.

The Lakers might have a few more high-end Division II players, but Ferris certainly showed it can put up quite a fight – even against a Grand Valley team that has not lost a GLIAC contest since 2004.

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