How GVSU football advanced to NCAA quarterfinals with incredible interception

ALLENDALE - Things were looking bleak for the Grand Valley State University football team after they were forced to settle for a field goal to pull within four points with 5:02 remaining in its second-round Division II playoff game against Pittsburg State (Kan.).

But Grand Valley State junior free safety Ian Kennelly made an acrobatic interception three plays later, setting up a 10-play, 78-yard drive that took just 2 minutes and 46 seconds, culminating in backup quarterback Avery Moore's 5-yard touchdown run with only 35 seconds left to play as the Lakers escaped with a 24-21 win over the Gorillas.

No. 2-seed Grand Valley (11-1) now advances to the Division II quarterfinals next week at 12-0 Harding (Ark.), the No. 1 seed in Region 3. Pittsburg State closes its season at 11-2.

"There is something about this football team that I have never been around during my 37 years in the sport and 24 years of coaching," said Grand Valley coach Scott Wooster. "All the credit in the world to Pittsburg State because their staff and players had an awesome plan that they executed the heck out of. That was as good of a football game as I can ever remember. This is as special of a group that I've ever experienced and we're just blessed to do it for (at least) one more week together with a group that I love the heck out of."

Here are three key takeaways from Grand Valley's improbable last-minute win.

More: Grand Valley State holds off rival Ferris State to move on in NCAA playoffs

Defense stood tall when it counted most

Pittsburg State's offense outgained Grand Valley 360-259, but the Lakers took advantage of some timely turnovers to stay in the game. With Pittsburg State leading 7-0 late in the first quarter, GVSU defensive lineman Christian McCarroll tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage that was intercepted by Laker linebacker Anthony Cardamone. That turnover led to Tariq Reid's 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.

Senior linebacker Abe Swanson, who led Grand Valley with 10 tackles and a sack, picked off another pass early in the second quarter to set up another 1-yard TD run by Reid to make it 14-7 GVSU.

Pittsburg State was driving again a few minutes into the third quarter when Swanson poked the ball loose from Gorilla backup quarterback Ty Pennington, with cornerback Terez Reid scooping up the loose ball to keep the game tied at 14-14.

The fourth and final turnover was Kennelly's pick with 3:17 left to play in the game, setting up the dramatic game-winning drive for the Lakers. It was a bit of redemption for Kennelly, as he dove in front of Pittsburg State tight end Devon Garrison to make the play (Garrison had beaten Kennelly earlier in the second half for a 30-yard touchdown grab to put the Gorillas ahead 21-14).

"Those three picks were worth 21 points for us," said Wooster. "I come up here and say it every week about the synergy this team plays with. The defense gets the ball back (for our offense) and Cade (Peterson) takes them down to score. Ian Kennelly gets beat for a touchdown and they try to throw it to the same dude the other way, but he comes back and takes the football. Winners win, man."

Swanson agreed with his coach's assessment.

"All game we were just thinking, 'One more stop,'" he said. "We put our minds to it and our guys just stepped up big in the moment. We got a little shaky when they got a first down (run) on the first play, but you stick to what you know. We got off the field though when Ian made a big play and we just trusted in our offense (to go win the game)."

Three minutes and change to save your season?  No problem

Kennelly's interception left Grand Valley at its own 22-yard line with just 3:17 remaining in the game and the Lakers trailing 21-17. GVSU only had 181 yards of total offense in the first 57 minutes of the game.

So what did they do? Reid went 16 yards on the first play, then Peterson found Darrell Johnson for a 22-yard strike over the middle to move the ball down to the Pittsburg State 40-yard line. Reid ran for 6 more yards, then an incomplete pass and a short 3-yard out to Kyle Nott had GVSU facing a 4th-and-1 from the Gorilla 31 with 1:27 left. But Reid bulled his way forward for two yards, then another five before Peterson escaped a seemingly certain sack for a 14-yard scramble down to the Pittsburg State 10.

"Playing quarterback, you can't think about the things that happened prior (to that point)," Peterson, who had been sacked six times up to that point, said. "You've got to have a golfer's mindset and it's just on to the next shot. Sure, did they get home on some pressures and some rushes today? Yeah. But I did not lose any confidence in our offensive line and when it came down to it, it's you versus another guy and you've gotta come out on top to win those matchups. We came up big when it mattered."

The drive concluded with a 5-yard pass to Nott and then the 5-yard Moore touchdown run.When asked what he said to his team before the game-winning drive, Wooster repeated the mantras: "'Go be us' and 'Do what we do.'" We kind of got in a rhythm (at the beginning of the drive). We've trained for this against the best defense in spring ball and fall camp. It's an absolute fistfight, grind-it-out thing every time we do 11 on 11 football. It's so special when there's just total trust and total belief in a group of 17 to 23-year-olds.

"We're built for this."

Peterson finished the game 9-of-14 for 115 yards and one interception through the air for GVSU. Nott caught four passes for 49 yards and Jordan Johnson had three receptions for 31 yards. Luke McLean and Colton Hyble added seven tackles on defense for the Lakers, with Hyble sacking Pittsburg State quarterback Chad Dodson, Jr. on the final play of the game to preserve the victory.

Dodson was 23-of-34 for 239 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Pittsburg State. Garrison hauled in five of those passes for 75 yards and one touchdown, while Kolbe Katsis added five catches for 69 yards for the Gorillas.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How GVSU football advanced to NCAA quarterfinals with incredible interception