Behind another show-stopping performance by Michael Whitley (So.-Vidalia, La.), opportunistic defense and outstanding special teams, the Lakeland College football team clinched the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title and an NCAA Division III playoff berth with a 46-22 win over Benedictine (Ill.) University Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.

The Muskies completed an undefeated run through the NACC and won their seventh straight game to improve to 8-2 overall (6-0 NACC). Lakeland receives the conference's automatic berth to the Division III playoffs and will receive its postseason assignment Sunday evening when the NCAA announces the playoff pairings.

The Muskies broke through for their first playoff trip since 2009 and returned the favor one year after the Eagles (7-3 overall, 5-1 NACC) claimed the NACC's automatic bid in a season-ending meeting between the two teams. Lakeland never trailed in this one and broke open a close game with big plays just before and after halftime to gain control.

Whitley was superb once again with perhaps his best performance of the year on the team's biggest stage. The sophomore quarterback completed 34 of 51 passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed 19 times for 137 yards and two more scores. The 520 yards of total offense set a new school single-game record and marked the second time this season he has topped 500 yards running and throwing.

Lakeland's receiving corps also continued to make plays in the passing game as it has all season, as five players finished with at least six receptions. Michael Wynn (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.) caught eight passes for 88 yards, Kezlow Smith (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) and Dezmen Morse (So.-Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) caught seven passes each and Peyton Petersen (So.-Farmington Hills, Mich.) and Michael Esiobu (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) both added six catches each.

A close game turned late in the first half on a turnover. With 1:29 left before halftime, Lakeland's Levi Barske (Sr.-Antigo, Wis.) punted from the Muskies' 39-yard line, but his punt was muffed by the Eagles' Omar Lopez and recovered by long snapper Hunter Van Straten (Sr.-Shiocton, Wis.) at the Benedictine 23.

Lakeland needed just three plays to make the visitors pay for their mistake. On 3rd and 3, Whitley hooked up with Esiobu for the second time in the game, this time a 16-yard touchdown to make the score 20-7 with just 33 seconds left in the first half.

The Muskies then scored again on their first drive after halftime, and creatively so. An eight-play, 86-yard drive was sparked when Whitley threw a long pass intended for Smith that was bobbled as defenders closed in, but Petersen plucked the ball out of the air for a 46-yard reception.

Two plays later, Whitley delivered a signature moment in his and the Muskies' season. On a second down scramble, he rushed left toward the sideline, then cut back to the right, eluding tacklers while running all the way across the field, finishing a 20-yard run in the end zone that gave Lakeland a 27-7 lead.

The Muskies once again displayed a defense that came up with the stops all day when it needed to. The D forced four consecutive punts in the third quarter, allowing the offense to eventually put it away with three straight scoring drives over the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter. The dagger came when Whitley scored his second rushing touchdown, this time from 19 yards out to make it 40-13 with 10:25 left in the game.

Lakeland also intercepted Benedictine quarterback Ryan Sample four times, with Donte Rowell (So.- Chicago, Ill.) picking off a pair in the first half and Kevyn Lewis (Jr.-Inkster, Mich..) and Landon Derginer (Sr.-Marinette, Wis.) both intercepting him in the fourth quarter.

Rowell led the defense with eight tackles (seven solo), while Derginer and Romain Johnson (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) both added six tackles each. Johnson also picked up a sack, and helped lead a group that limited Sample to 16 of 36 passing for 252 yards.

Muskies by the numbers:
3 - NACC titles by Lakeland since the league's first year of football in 2008
5 - Interceptions each this year by Landon Derginer and Donte Rowell, which is tied for the NACC lead 
6 - Years since Lakeland's last NCAA Division III playoffs appearance
8 - Drives of 14 yards or less by Benedictine in the first three quarters
15 - Touchdowns scored rushing this year by Whitley, as well as the new school record for TD receptions in a season set by Kezlow Smith 
16.7 - Benedictine's third down conversion percentage (2 of 12)
17.5 - Tackles for loss this season by both Romain Johnson and Josh Schneider
24 - Conference championships in Lakeland's 78-year history of football
36.4 - Average net yards per punt by Levi Barske on Saturday, 13.5 yards more than Benedictine's average in this category
186 - Yards Whitley is now short of the school record of 3,405 passing yards in a season, set by Mark Novara in 1996
520 - Yards of total offense by Whitley, a new school single-game record