The 2026 football season got off on the right foot for the 8th-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers on Thursday night as they made the trip out to Charleston, West Virginia for the first all-time meeting between GVSU and the Charleston Golden Eagles.
After a tightly contested first half that saw the Lakers take a 14-10 lead into the halftime locker room, GVSU would go on to impose their will in the second half outscoring the Gold Eagles by a 24-0 margin resulting in a convincing 38-10 road victory to begin the season 1-0.
Aaand that is a Laker WIN‼️ #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/SQvEWlItds
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Schuuuuuuuu🔥
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Andrew Schuster with the @TrinityHealthMI Performance of the Game!#AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/RLdhY8NG9y
well…duhhhh@Reed2Kellen _ secures the @novacare Player of the Game!#AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/7vJOjqMEgD
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Drogosh rushes 27-yards for a first down‼️ @BDrogosh #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/0SoDmGLsgV
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Bacik brings the Lakers up to 31⚓️ #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/NRSEbTWsQx
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Cook with the touchdown from Schuster‼️‼️ @SchusterAndrew6 @AmonteCook5
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Lakers: 21
Charleston: 10 #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/qzfHKsOXej
SACK BY VANBEEK‼️ @LandonVanbeek #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/TG2dC1kJMS
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 28, 2026
Schuster throws a 24-yard pass to find Kellen for a first down ⚓️ @SchusterAndrew6 @Reed2Kellen #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/9VImXvopAF
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 27, 2026
45-yard pass by Schuster to Kellen for a LAKER TOUCHDOWN‼️
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) August 27, 2026
Lakers: 7
Charleston: 0@SchusterAndrew6 @Reed2Kellen #AnchorUp | #ForTheValley | #WAWG pic.twitter.com/otm2GP9OI4
The full recap of the game can be found by clicking right here.
This coming Thursday night, the Lakers will embark on the 2026 Home Opener inside Lubbers Stadium as they get set to take on the 0-1 West Texas A&M Buffaloes at 7 pm.
You can tune in to coverage from Allendale beginning at 6 pm on Classic Rock 97 LAV (96.9 FM and wlav.com), The Ticket West Michigan (106.1 FM, 1340 AM, and theticketmi.com), and Classic Hits 98.3 WLCS (98.3 FM and 983wlcs.com).
