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Cardinals manage only one scoring drive as Grand Valley hands SVSU 38-7 loss in BoV
September 14, 2009 —
Having already opened up the season with an upset win on the road against No. 8 ranked California, Pa., the Cardinals headed to Grand Valley with their sights set on another upset against the top ranked Lakers.
GVSU put any hopes of a Cardinal win to rest early, scoring two touchdowns in less than two minutes in the first quarter, en route to a 38-7 thrashing of SVSU.
While the Cardinals tried to use a balanced offensive attack, the Lakers shredded the Cardinals secondary for 365 passing yards to go along with 99 rushing yards.
The Cards managed to win the time of possession battle, controlling the clock for nearly 32 minutes; the only problem was they were never able to put together more than one scoring drive.
Junior quarterback Charles Dowdell had his most inconsistent game as a Cardinal, finishing 18-36 for 200 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Going into the game, Dowdell had just two interceptions on the season. The Lakers turned Dowdell’s first interception into a touchdown drive.
Although the Cardinals were 2-0 heading into the game, offensively, they had not shown that they could put points on the board consistently, evident by their average of 14 points a game, ahead of only Tiffin University in the GLIAC.
The Cardinals managed to rush for 170 yards, well below their 211-yard average, which places them third in the GLIAC.
In the first two wins of the season, the Cardinals kept each game close with key defensive stops and just enough offense to squeeze out a close win. Against Grand Valley, the Lakers never allowed the Cardinals to slow them offensively, getting off to such a quick start that the Cardinals were never able to get into any offensive rhythm themselves. The 17 points the Cardinals allowed in the first quarter matched the most points they had given up for an entire game this season.
The Lakers opened the game with a nine play, 53-yard drive that resulted in a field goal.
Grand Valley senior quarterback Brad Iciek was able to pass against the Cardinals defense at will. Besides the lone Grand Valley field goal, Iciek was involved in the rest of the scoring for the Lakers, throwing five touchdown passes. The 470 yards of offense the Cardinals surrendered were 100 yards more than their previous season high, showing just how potent the Laker offense can be when clicking on all cylinders.
Leading the Cardinals rushing attack was Dowdell who rushed 14 times for 48 yards. It was the Cardinals’ first game this season without a rushing touchdown.
Senior tight end Galen Stone caught his second touchdown pass of the season from Dowdell to cap off the Cardinals scoring.
Leading the defense was senior linebacker John Jacobs who turned in nine tackles.
With the loss, the Cardinals drop to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC. After opening with their first three games on the road, they return for their home opener Saturday against Northwood University in the Axe Bowl. Kickoff is slated for noon.
