Fast start carries SL over Grant

Sat, Oct 3, 2009    to del.icio.us

Spring Lake raced out to a 21-0 lead and cruised to a 27-7 victory over Grant on Friday, helping the Lakers inch closer to wrapping up the Lakes Eight Conference football championship.

Spring Lake's Alec Howe scored on a 32-yard run late in the first quarter, then added a 45-yard scoring run in the second.

Brendan Zervas also scored on a 19-yard run for the Lakers, whose three touchdowns all came in a 4-minute span late in the first quarter and early in the second.

Matt Mackey added a 1-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for Spring Lake, which is now 5-1 overall and 5-0 in Lakes Eight Conference play.

Despite the lopsided score, Grant managed to keep things interesting, racking up 304 total yards to 306 for Spring Lake. The Tigers' two top running backs, Kevin Atwood and Jake Becker, had a combined 17 carries for 131 yards, an average of nearly 8 yards a carry. Quarterback Mike Nicolas completed less than a third of his 23 passes, but his seven completions went for 101 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown to Justin Merriman that made it 21-7 at halftime.

Spring Lake gained 297 yards on the ground, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, but the Lakers were awful on third down, converting just 1-of-10 third-down conversions. They were 1-of-4 on fourth-down plays.

Howe finished with 125 yards on 17 carries while Mackey added 79 yards on 10 rushes. Zervas added 49 yards, and quarterback Drew Brackett, who was just 1-of-8 passing for 9 yards, rushed for 33 on 10 attempts.

Brackett led the Lakers' defense with 14 tackles, while Kyle Martin and Richard Orling each had 10 stops, including two tackles for loss each.

Linebacker Cam Weigand had six tackles, including two sacks, while Ibrahim Hamati added eight tackles, including two for a loss.

Kyle Vanderschaaf had an interception for Spring Lake, while Martin and Brad Melefsky each recovered a fumble.

The Lakers will look to remain unbeaten in league play next Friday as they host Newaygo for their Homecoming celebration.

Freshmen: Spring Lake tied Grand Rapids West Catholic, 7-7. Carter Bench ran in the Lakers' lone touchdown and also kicked the point-after. Cody Berkobien led the team in rushing while Shane Skorupski and Cole Conway led the Lakers in tackles.