Grand Valley football faces rival Ferris State in NCAA playoffs

The No. 1 Grand Valley football team meets its biggest rival, No. 5 Ferris State, in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals at 1 p.m. on December 3 at Lubbers Stadium. A trip to the NCAA semifinals awaits the winner.

The Lakers snapped a six-game losing streak to the Bulldogs when they beat Ferris State in a thrilling 22-21 win on October 15. Seven weeks later, the teams meet again with higher stakes involved. 

Ferris State is the defending national champion while Grand Valley looks to win its first national title since 2006. 

“Ferris State has played unbelievable defense, especially down the stretch,” head coach Matt Mitchell said. “Our players have to execute those fundamentals that have carried us to this point, and I’m sure Ferris is saying the same thing.”

Grand Valley advanced to the national quarterfinals by beating No. 8 Southwest Missouri State, 13-7, in the second round of the NCAA playoffs on November 26. 

Defensive back Nyzier Fourqurean had a sensational game with three interceptions, setting a team playoff record. His third pick of the game came on the Bearcats’ final drive, sealing the win for the Lakers. 

“I’m really proud of our players and coaches,” Mitchell said. “We knew it was going to be tough. Our Super Region is loaded. Give our kids credit. We didn’t play our best, but we found a way when it mattered most.”

Saturday's game will be live streamed via FloSports, and is available online or via iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. Lakers fans can register for a subscription at the GLIAC’s home page on FloSports.

The game will also be broadcast locally on WXSP-TV (Channel 15 over-the-air broadcast in the Grand Rapids area). 

Tune in to 96.9 WLAV-FM for the radio broadcast of the game. Pre-game coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. 

Tickets and parking passes are available on the Lakers tickets website. 

For full coverage of GVSU football, including broadcast info, news, features, highlights, press conferences and more, follow @GVSUFootball on social media or visit gvsulakers.com.

Cross country teams among favorites to win national titles

Grand Valley’s men’s and women’s cross country teams head to University Place, Washington, for the NCAA Division II National Championships on December 2. 

The teams won their respective Midwest Regional Championships on November 19 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

The women swept the top-5 finishes to earn their 21st regional championship while Tanner Chada and Caleb Futter finished second and third, respectively, to lead the men to their 20th regional title. 

Both squads enter their national meets ranked at No. 2 in the nation. The Grand Valley women finished as national runners-up a year ago and will face a strong challenge from No. 1 Adams State. 

The Grand Valley men are looking to defend their 2021 national championship, though No. 1 Colorado School of Mines enters the meet as the Lakers’ top contender. 

“I feel like this is one of our best teams, if not our best women’s team in our program’s history,” head coach Jerry Baltus said. “We’ve had some great ones over the years, and this one stacks up really strong with them. 

“On both sides, we’re just going to have to compete with the right mindset over the entirety of the race. Hopefully, we can close it out strong over the last 1,000, 2,000 meters.”

Watch both events on the NCAA homepage with the men’s race beginning at 1 p.m., and the women’s meet at 2:15 p.m.