Saturday's state football: Ferris State, Grand Valley set for rematch in DII quarterfinal
Grand Valley State and Ferris State both survived and advanced in the NCAA Division II playoffs on Saturday.
Next up: A rivalry rematch in the quarterfinals.
The Lakers (12-0) and Bulldogs (11-1) will square off next weekend in Allendale with a spot in the national semifinals on the line.
Getting to that point, though, was no walk in the park for either GLIAC team. Top-seeded Grand Valley State was trailing late in the fourth quarter against Northwest Missouri State until Tariq Reid scored on a 7-yard run with 1:55 remaining, lifting the Lakers to a 13-8 victory in Allendale.
Meanwhile, Ferris State, the defending Division II national champion, squandered a 14-point lead and needed a 20-yard, fourth-quarter field goal from Eddie Jewett to pull out a 17-14 win over Pittsburgh State in Big Rapids.
Reid finished with 98 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries for Grand Valley State, which put together a stifling defensive effort. The Lakers held Northwest Missouri State to 302 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers, including three interceptions by Nyzier Fourqurean.
Not to be outdone, Ferris State’s defense tallied nine sacks and held Pittsburgh State to 217 total yards, helping the Bulldogs overcome five turnovers by the offense (three lost fumbles and two interceptions).
Ferris State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Carson Gulker and a 69-yard touchdown pass from Mylik Mitchell to Brady Rose before Pittsburgh State rallied and eventually pulled even in the third quarter. Pittsburgh State had a chance to tie it late and force overtime but its last-second field goal attempt from 44 yards out missed.
The Bulldogs will be out for revenge in next week’s quarterfinal matchup. In the first meeting between the teams this season, Grand Valley rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat Ferris State, 22-21, on Oct. 15 and snap the Bulldogs’ 43-game regular-season win streak.
Division III
Aurora 48, (at) Alma 26: Aurora scored 34 unanswered points over the second and third quarters to pull away in the second-round matchup and put Alma (11-1) in a hole it could never recover from. Carter St. John threw touchdown passes of 65 and 34 yards to Devon Frenchko and scored on a 4-yard run for Alma, while Eddie Williams rushed for 113 yards on 25 carries. Josh Swanson threw for four touchdowns and ran for another for Aurora (11-1), with four of those scores helping turn a 7-6 lead in the first quarter into a 41-6 cushion late in the third quarter.