Outside of a 37-yard scoop-and-score from University of West Florida defensive lineman Byron Puryear, it was virtually all Grand Valley State University as the Lakers dominated in a 31-7 win on Saturday at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Michigan.
UWF put up just 121 yards of total offense, gaining 12 yards on the ground total, as the Argos’ offense was non-existent for a majority of the game. Outside of a few long pass plays and some moderate run gains from Marcus Stokes, Grand Valley State’s defense was just too much.
It went from bad to worse, as the Argos’ opening drive resulted in negative-3 yards, between three incompletions – one of which was negated by a face-mask penalty from the Lakers – a couple run plays that failed, and a sack for a short loss.
While UWF was able to capitalize late in the second quarter after Kam Canterbury tackled running back Derrick Woods, who fumbled the ball behind the line of scrimmage, and Puryear picked up the ball for the touchdown fumble recovery, UWF had no response after that.
The Lakers wound up scoring 24 unanswered points after leading by just a touchdown at halftime.
Stokes had a tough time offensively, as the offensive line provided limited protection throughout the game. He was sacked eight times for a total loss of 43 yards. On top of that, Stokes was hurried an additional eight times.
And the offensive line couldn’t do much to stop Grand Valley’s front seven when it came to the run game, either. All three running backs did finish the night with positive yards, but Jamontez Woods led the room with 15 yards total. Jay Sharp had 7 yards while TJ Lane earned 3 yards.
Stokes, who called his own number a couple times late in the game, finished the night with just negative-6 yards despite all the sacks, rushing for 40 yards when he was able to find room.
Grand Valley State proved to have a dominant run game, putting up 312 yards on the ground. Khalil Eichelberger (129 yards) scored twice, including a 50-yard touchdown, and quarterback Avery Moore (84 yards) found the endzone twice on the ground when the Lakers got into the redzone. Moore threw for just 106 yards, escaping pressure a lot of times, with Kyle Nott leading the team with 75 yards on three receptions.
UWF (1-2) has now lost back-to-back games for the first time since the 2018 season when the Argos finished 6-5.
It’s also the first time, at any point in a season, where UWF has had a losing record since the end of the 2016 campaign, the Argos’ first-ever full season, after they lost three consecutive games to end the year against West Alabama, North Alabama and West Georgia – the latter two are now Division I programs.
The Argos return home next Saturday at PenAir Field to resume their Gulf South Conference schedule. Mississippi College comes to town for a 4 p.m. game in Pensacola.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF football loses to Grand Valley State after Lakers roll over Argos
