A Noble Effort

Cardinals lose 21-10 to unbeaten Lakers in Battle of the Valleys

by Andy Hoag
Vanguard Sports Editor

November 5, 2007 —

The Cardinals played their rivals tougher than any other team had all year, but at this point in the season, moral victories don't matter.

SVSU played like it, containing the top-scoring offense in the GLIAC in a 21-10 loss Saturday.

"What we were doing was playing hard," sophomore linebacker John Jacobs said. "We were doing what we were supposed to be doing, and when you do that, you have some success."

The No. 1 Lakers came into the game averaging 44.2 points per game, tops in the league, and almost 490 yards of offense, but the Cards held them 23 points and 100 yards below their average in a game they sorely needed to stay in contention for the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

"We fell short on the scoreboard, but we didn't fall short on the effort," SVSU coach Randy Awrey said.

The Cards held strong against the Lakers despite being without three of their starting offensive linemen and No. 1 receiver Ric Cottengim for all of the first half and some of the second, and losing starting senior quarterback Chris Dougherty to injury late in the first half.

Down 8-3 late in the half, Dougherty dropped back to pass and let it go amidst pressure, and hobbled off the field after the play. He returned from the locker room in the second half on crutches with an injury to his left Achilles tendon.

Highly touted redshirt freshman Danny Stiefel stepped in and performed well under the constant pressure the Lakers were bringing.

"He's a talented young quarterback, but we had a lot of things coming at him," GVSU coach Chuck Martin said. "But he played well."

Stiefel went 11-23 for 131 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough to prevent the undefeated Lakers from wrapping up at least a share of their third consecutive GLIAC title.

"The reality is that we went toe-to-toe with them," Awrey said. "We went the full 15 rounds. We took some shots, but we gave some out, too."

The teams traded field goals in the first half, with SVSU's Jeremy Burr connecting on a 25-yarder to give the Cards a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter. The Lakers came back on their next possession to tie the game, as Todd Carter hit a 22-yarder at the beginning of the second quarter.

The game remained tied until late in the first half, when Carter hit a 27-yard field goal with 2:24 left to put the Lakers up three. On the second play of the Cards' next possession, center Josh Gibbs snapped the ball to Dougherty when the quarterback wasn't looking, and the ball rolled all the way back to the SVSU goal line, where Dougherty was tackled, giving the Lakers a safety and a 8-3 lead.

Gibbs snapped the ball on first sound on both first and second downs that drive, but was only supposed to do it the first time, Awrey said.

"He didn't hear that the second snap was supposed to go on cadence. Those things happen," he said.

Dougherty was injured on the next drive but Stiefel got the Cards within field-goal range. Burr, who came into the game perfect on field goals and extra points for the season, missed his second attempt of the game, this one a 37-yarder with six seconds on the clock that would have brought the Cards to within two. The junior had a 45-yard attempt blocked early in the second.

The Cards, who had just 50 yards of offense in the first half, didn't let Dougherty's injury deter them. On the first possession of the second half, they used an eight-play, 27-yard drive to get back within field-goal range, but Burr missed again, this time from 49.

The teams exchanged punts for most of the third before Lakers quarterback Brad Iciek found tight end Scott Blasko down the middle for a 42-yard gain down to the SVSU 2. Iciek rushed into the end zone two plays later for a touchdown with 2:03 left in the third.

"That was one of our combination routes," Martin said. "It was a time we actually executed."

Up to that point, Iciek, who had entered the game as the nation's top rated passer, was 8-of-21 for 120 yards and an interception. The first-year starter was obviously flustered by the Cards' pass rushing and secondary.

"We were a little rattled on offense," Martin said.

Before Saturday's game, Iciek had been able to throw the ball to his receivers with relatively easy success, but the Cards' defensive attack frustrated the sophomore.

"They mix it up a lot. That's why they're always good on defense," Martin said. "They'll drop eight, then rush six, then rush five."

Still, the touchdown put the Lakers up 14-3 after Carter's point-after try failed. Grand Valley took it to the ground from there, rushing 11 times on a 16-play, 91-yard drive that consumed nearly six and a half minutes.

Iciek found receiver Antoine Trent in the back of the end zone on a play-action pass after the Lakers had ran five consecutive times to get the ball to the six-yard line.

Down 21-3, Stiefel tried to rally the team, leading the Cards on a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Cottengim, who had sat out the first half after a last-minute ejection against Indianapolis the week before.

The Cards forced the Lakers into a three-and-out on their next possession, but Stiefel was unable to capitalize. Faced with a fourth-and-21 from their own 29 less than five minutes left, the Cards punted and hoped to stop the Lakers and keep a comeback alive.

The Lakers' Blake Smolen prevented that, rushing six times and gaining three first downs to run out the clock.

SVSU would need a miracle to make it back to the postseason, but a win at Hillsdale next week would guarantee the Cards a third-place finish in the conference at 7-3. Still, the future seems bright with Stiefel at the helm.

"We lose our quarterback and Danny comes in and plays like a seasoned veteran," Awrey said.

Stiefel said despite the pressure of the rivalry game, he wasn't nervous.

"I went in calm," he said. "I didn't want to worry about anything."

His demeanor showed, especially when several of his balls were perfectly placed but were either batted away at the last second or dropped by his receivers.

"You can't get frustrated," he said. "Nobody's perfect. You have to live to play another down."

Kickoff at Hillsdale is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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