NewPapaBear
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Grand Valley State closed the season with a 21-3 victory over GLIAC rival Saginaw Valley State Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 5,460 at Harvey Randall Wickes Stadium. GVSU closed the season 6-5 overall and 6-4 in GLIAC action. The Lakers ended the year with six wins in the final eight games. Grand Valley State leads the all-time series with Saginaw Valley State by a 33-11 margin and are 15-3 versus the Cardinals since 2000.
2014 was Matt Mitchell's fifth year as the head coach of the Grand Valley State University football program. Mitchell heded into this season with a 39-11 as the head coach of the Lakers with two NCAA DII Playoff appearances, a GLIAC Championship and two GLIAC North Division titles. In addition, Mitchell is 4-2 in NCAA DII Playoff action as a head coach and guided GVSU to its eighth NCAA DII Semifinal appearance since 2001. In 10 years as a part of the Laker football program (four as head coach and six as an assistant) Mitchell has coached in two NCAA DII Championship games, four NCAA semifinal contests and eight NCAA quarterfinal games.
Mitchell guided the Lakers to a 12-3 overall mark and a 9-2 regular season mark in 2013. The Lakers also notched a 4-2 mark against teams that finished the year ranked in final AFCA Coaches’ poll. GVSU closed the 2013 regular season with a 49-34 victory over 15th-ranked Saginaw Valley State. The Lakers and Cardinals were paired up against one another in an NCAA Super Region 4 first-round playoff matchup just one week later and GVSU again came out on top, this time by a 40-7 score. Grand Valley State captured a 34-30 victory at No. 3 Colorado State-Pueblo and won its eighth NCAA DII regional crown with a 35-28 comeback win over 11th-ranked West Texas A&M. The Lakers dropped a 27-13 decision at eventual National Champion Northwest Missouri State in the semifinals.
The Lakers averaged 35.0 points and 431.3 yards per games in 2013. A stable of running backs averaged 186.5 yards per game rushing, while the passing game produced 244.7 yards per games. Due to injuries, the Lakers used two starting QBs and the RB trio patched together a rotation that rushed for 2,798 yards and 32 TDs. The defense forced 31 turnovers really meshed together the second-half of the regular season and the playoff run. Senior offensive center Matt Armstrong was a consensus first-team all-american and was the recipient of the 2013 Rimington Award as the top center in Division II football. In addition, sophomore tight end Jamie Potts earned all-america honors after catching 54 passes for 899 yards and 11 TDs...
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VIDEO: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv9BjN-na4g[/youtube]
