GVSU football ends season with win, but misses playoffs for first time since 2019
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ALLENDALE – Brett Weaver might be the most imposing wide receiver in Grand Valley State football history.
Standing at 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, the offensive lineman lined up as a wideout late in the third quarter. He caught a pass for 5 yards, dove toward the end zone and fell a yard short of a touchdown.
“It was great,” Weaver said laughing. “I didn’t quite get in the end zone. I got a lot of (flack) from the guys for that one. But I caught the ball. So I can’t be that upset about it. Not a lot of offensive linemen get their hands on the ball.”
The Grand Valley football team was having a good time after crushing Roosevelt University 69-13 on Saturday, Nov. 14, on an unseasonably warm 60-degree day.
The Lakers scored 10 touchdowns by eight different players. They got two TDs each from Kellen Reed and Zak Olejniczak and one each from Jamari Buddin, Griffin Shinrock, Jordan Johnson, Syone Usma-Harper, Derrick Woods and Alex McLean.
But the season is over for the Lakers (5-2, 7-3), who will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
“It’s gonna haunt me for a long time not being able to get this senior class in the playoffs,” GVSU coach Scott Wooster said. “The standard, the expectation here at Grand Valley State is to get those guys (in the playoffs).”
Reed, a junior receiver from Holt., had a career-high eight catches for 169 yards.
“To end off like that, it means everything,” Reed said. “You always want to end off on a good note. This was the best note for me. So, I was happy to end that way.”
Freshman quarterback Andrew Schuster had a career day also. The native of Macomb was 29-of-36 passing for 401 yards and four touchdowns.
“I’m not really worried about the stat categories,” Schuster said. “I think our coaches did a great job this week with a great game play for us. Having guys like Kellen and LJ, where it’s my job to get them the ball. The O-Line did a great job up front.”
GVSU had a stunning 642 yards of total offense, including 236 yards on the ground and 414 through the air.
Schuster finished the season with 2,561 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. Reed led the team with 612 receiving yards on 36 catches and eight touchdowns. Lynn Wyche-El was second on the team with 38 catches for 581 yards and five touchdowns. GVSU didn’t run the ball much, but Derrick Woods led the team with 51 carries for 320 yards and two touchdowns.
Big game for freshman QB
Zak Olejniczak scored the first touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run just 2:13 into the first quarter. It was the first touchdown for the redshirt freshman from Lapeer, Mich. He missed the first three games of the season with an injury and was third on the depth chart behind Schuster and Brady Drogosh. But Drogosh didn’t suit up on Saturday, giving Olejniczak a lot of playing time.
“It was awesome,” Schuster said. “We know what kind of player that Zak is. So it was really cool to seem him go out there and do his thing.”
Olejniczak had two rushing touchdowns and threw for another. He finished 1-of-2 passing for six yards and ran the ball three times for 14 yards.
Ethan Plumb, a true freshman from St. Charles, Ill., got into his first career game. He was 1-for-1 passing when he connected with Alex McLean for a touchdown with 3:38 left in the game.
Solid year for Gravenhof
Ryder Gravenhof capped off a solid first college season.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound redshirt freshman from Holland Christian, played in all 10 games as a defensive lineman.
He finished with 16 total tackles and one quarterback sack against Northern Michigan.
Weaver’s career ends
Weaver’s catch – which was ruled a run since the pass was thrown backward to him by Olejniczak, said he wasn’t surprised when his number was called on offense.
“We prepared for it all week,” he said. “So I was ready to go. I knew I was gonna get something out of it. Not quite the result we wanted, but I’m still happy with it.”
Weaver, a senior, who graduated from Traverse City Central High School, played all four years with the Lakers. But he never touched the ball on offense – in college or high school.
“No, I never did,” Weaver said. “I blocked. I was a tight end. I never caught the ball ever. I caught an on-sides kick my freshman year, but never got a receiving yard in my career.”
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU football beats Roosevelt but will miss playoffs
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