GVSU quarterback Avery Moore returns from injury to lead No. 2 Lakers past West Florida

ALLENDALE - Niles King loves to put a hit on a quarterback.

But the 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive lineman from Grand Valley State can’t do it in practice. So he gets pumped up for the weekend.

“It’s a great feeling,” said King, a junior from West Bloomfield. “You only get to do it on Saturday’s, so It’s a great feeling.”

King had one of Grand Valley’s eight quarterback sacks as the No. 2 Lakers stuffed No. 20 West Florida 31-7 on Saturday afternoon.

The lone score that West Florida had was on a fumble recovery in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

“Was a little bit tenuous right after that turnover and we gave them that seven points,” GVSU coach Scott Wooster said. “We came right back and responded to that in the second half.”

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GVSU led 14-7 at halftime.

King, who had 10 sacks last season, has 5.5 this year. He said he takes pride in not allowing the other team to score.

“We all believe in each other,” he said. “That’s what it comes down to. You have to believe that the guy next to you is going to do his job so that you can do your job. We started smelling blood in the water in that second quarter (and the) third quarter.”

The Lakers (4-0) got all their touchdowns on the ground. Two touchdowns from running back Khalil Eichelberger and two from quarterback Avery Moore. They also got a 53-yard field goal from Mathew Bacik. It was a career long for the redshirt freshman from Battle Creek Lakeview.

Starting quarterback returns

Avery Moore, a senior from New Lothrop, Mich., returned to play after missing last week against Wisconsin La Crosse. He strained his hip flexor in Week 2.

“He started to feel better early this week,” Wooster said. “You could tell at Tuesday’s practice when he opened up on a (quarterback) keep. And I’m like ‘alright, he looks like he’s good to go.’”

Moore was 6-of-13 passing for 106 yards. But his game is using his wheels. He finished with 15 carries for 93 yards, most of them in the second half.

The GVSU coaching staff decided that Moore needed to use his legs more after the offense stalled after the first drive of the game.

With 52 seconds left in the first half, Moore ran the ball into the end zone on a 2-yard run to make it 14-7 at halftime.

Then in the second half, he scored on a 7-yard run with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

“They’ve got a great rush defense,” Wooster said of West Florida. “Their No. 9 (Camren Canterbury) was an issue for us. So the quarterback read or the designed plays for the quarterback evens those numbers out.”

Wooster said he loves having Moore run the ball.

“The first guy never brings him down,” he said. “The rest of the football team feeds off of him, too. He’s one of the best players on the field.”

Running back has a big game

Khalil Eichelberger wasn’t sure what his role was going to be coming into this season.

The sophomore running back from Solon, Ohio, played in all 13 games last season. He carried the ball 38 times for 258 yards and two touchdowns.

“I couldn’t be more proud of a guy,” Wooster said. “He worked his way up last year. Syone Usma-Harper was the projected guy coming into 2024; gets hurt. (Eichelberger’s) leadership and the way he’s handled it (has been impressive). He’s taking care of business (with the way) he ran the football this afternoon.”

On Saturday, the 5-foot-10, 225-pound running back had a career-best 129 yards on 15 carries. He scored on the first drive of the game on a 7-yard touchdown. In the third quarter with 1:26 left, he broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run.

How important is it to score early?

“It means a lot,” Eichelberger said. “Because the first drive sets the tone. You’ve gotta make them feel you.”

He gave credit to his offensive line for opening up lanes for him to run.

“I do my job. Attack the role,” he said. “When the ball comes to me, I gotta lean on the O-Line. Because nothing happens without them.”

This season, he leads the team with 383 yards on the ground with five touchdowns.

Defense was impressive

Grand Valley’s defense was so good on Saturday that they held West Florida to just 19 yards rushing on 27 carries.

King, Jimmy Downs and Jack Gilchrist each had six tackles.

“When Niles and Gilly and Chuck and all those guys are requiring so much attention, it does open up bigger and bigger spaces,” Wooster said.

Of the eight quarterback sacks, Downs had two, Gilchrist 1.5, Josh Schell 1.5, King one, Damonte McCurdy one and a half each for Thomas Jolly and Anthony Cardamone.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU quarterback Avery Moore returns from injury to lead No. 2 Lakers past West Florida