#3 Ferris State Dominates Lake Erie In Decisive 70-19 GLIAC Halloween Triumph

Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally third-ranked Ferris State University football team put the fright into the Lake Erie Storm on Saturday (Oct. 31) as the Bulldogs rolled to a decisive 70-19 Halloween road triumph in Painesville, Ohio.

The unbeaten Bulldogs won their 23rd-straight regular-season contest by jumping out to a 49-6 halftime lead while improving to 8-0 overall and in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action this campaign.

FSU opened the game by driving 75 yards in seven plays before sophomore tailback Jahaan Brown scored the first points of the afternoon on a six-yard TD run only three minutes into the game.

Following a defensive stop, the Bulldogs marched 81 yards in eight plays with senior quarterback Jason Vander Laan hooking up with junior Shakur Sanders on a three-yard scoring play to give FSU an early 14-0 lead.

Lake Erie scored its lone points of the opening half on a 12-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 12-yard TD run from quarterback John Banyasz with 1:16 left in the opening frame.

However, Ferris State outscored LEC 35-0 in the second quarter to take commanding control of the game. The Bulldogs started the second frame with a 24-yard scoring toss from Vander Laan to senior Jake Lampman and the duo hooked up again soon after for a 29-yard scoring play.

Sanders found the endzone again with 10:31 to go in the first half when he hauled in a 10-yard scoring toss from Vander Laan to finish a short 36-yard drive. Later, tailback Robert Thomas plunged in from the one-yard line to give FSU a 42-6 edge.

The Bulldogs' final first half score came with 4:17 to play when backup quarterback Trevor Bermingham scrambled in from 22-yards away to make it 49-6 at the break.

Lake Erie scored its second touchdown of the day early in the third period as Banyasz hooked up with Tyler Lindgren on a 28-yard score to cut the margin to 49-12.

But, the Bulldogs scored again when Bermingham dove into the endzone on a nine-yard carry to push the lead to 56-12 with 7:37 left in the third.

Lake Erie's Anthony Bilal scored his only points of the day with 4:32 remaining in the third period to accout for the Storm's final score. Again, though, FSU responded as Bermingham found JaJuan Pollock for a 58-yard scoring play in the air.

The final Bulldog touchdown came with only 3:50 left in the game when quarterback Landon Grove scored his first career TD on a 13-yard carry.

The Bulldogs rolled up 681 yards of total offense with a balanced effort that included 300 rushing yards and 381 in the air. LEC finished with 100 yards rushing, 250 passing and 350 total yards.

Vander Laan led the offensive unit with 105 rushing yards on six carries and he completed 12-of-18 passes for 200 yards and four TD's despite not playing after the midway point of the second frame.

Bermingham ranfor 57 yards and two scores while adding 10-of-12 pass completions for 181 yards and a TD.

The Bulldog wideouts were led by senior Antonio Agurs, who made six grabs for 112 yards as FSU improved to 6-0 all-time against Lake Erie. Pollock caught four balls for 74 yard and Malik Taylor had three catches for 62 yards.

Ferris State will complete its two-game road swing with a visit to Northern Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Superior Dome in Marquette. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET).