WHITEWATER, Wis. – Lakeland University saw its football season end but was far from content to let it happen quietly before eventually succumbing to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 45-27 in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Michael Whitley (Jr.-Vidalia, La.) passed for over 300 yards, Kezlow Smith (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) and Jody Harrison (Jr.-Pontiac, Mich.) both had big days receiving and the defense made several big plays as the Muskies showed well against top-ranked team in Division III. In its fourth playoff appearance in school history, Lakeland put forth its best postseason performance in a playoff game in school history before seeing its season end with a 7-4 overall record.

The Muskies battled back from an early 28-0 deficit to make the game competitive against the perennial power, which has won six of the last nine Division III national championships. Lakeland outscored UW-Whitewater 20-14
in the second half and made some noise with several big plays throughout the game.

Whitley and Smith got the Muskies on the board late in the first half in explosive fashion, connecting on a 93-yard touchdown pass that along with the extra point by Conrad Foss (So.-Muskegon, Mich.) made the score 28-7. The play is believed to be the second-longest pass play in school history, behind only Brad Wilk's 98-yard pass to Isiah  Calhoun in 2006.

The Warhawks (11-0 overall) led 38-7 in the third quarter and had crossed midfield again when Lakeland got another big play. Shawn Byrd (So.-Detroit, Mich.) made his first interception of the season a big one, snaring a pass by Chris Nelson and returning it 62 yards for a touchdown. Whitley then ran in the two-point conversion to make it 38-15 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

UW-Whitewater responded with another touchdown and led 45-15 after three quarters, but the Muskies added two more scores on substantial drives in the fourth to make it interesting. Whitley hit Michael Wynn (Sr.-Detroit, Mich.) for a 13-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 58-yard march, and he then found Harrison on a seven-yard pass to finish an eight-play, 65-yard drive that made it 45-27 with just over six minutes left.

That was the way the game ended, as Lakeland never saw the ball again. The Warhawks recovered an onside kick attempt at midfield and then held the ball the final 6:02, converting a pair of third downs before running out the clock to preserve the win.

After he and the rest of the team struggled last year in a loss to Wheaton (Ill.) College in a blizzard, Whitley played well this year against the annually tough UW-Whitewater defense. The junior quarterback completed 18 of 33 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 39 yards, having an hand in all but a couple of the team's 366 yards of total offense.

If there is one part of their performance that will leave the Muskies wondering what might have been, it will be two crucial turnovers in the first quarter and another missed opportunity in the third.

Trailing 7-0, Lakeland drove to the Whitewater 20 on its second drive of the game on the strength of runs of 15 and 14 yards by Whitley, but the drive ended with an interception under pressure. The Muskies then got their first big pass play of the game on the next possession as Whitley hit Harrison for 57 yards, but with the end zone in sight the Warhawks' Vince Mason chased down the Lakeland receiver and poked the ball away at the 12-yard line, with UWW's Colin Buck recovering the fumble at the six.

Lakeland also had a second-half drive end deep in Whitewater territory. A 44-yard pass by Whitley to Smith set up the Muskies with 1st-and-goal from the three-yard line, but two incomplete passes were surrounded by two runs as the drive stalled.

Smith concluded his spectacular Lakeland career with six catches for 187 yards. He finished his career with 203 receptions, 3,569 receiving yards and 42 touchdown catches, all school career records, and his career receiving yardage number also set a new Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference record. Harrison also had his first career 100-yard receiving day with five receptions for 101 yards.

Byrd led the Muskies' defense with 10 tackles (seven solo), including two tackles for loss. Mario Rafe (So.-Bourbonnais, Ill.) added eight tackles, Diante Moses (So.-Houston, Texas) and Dajuan Darling (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.) both added two tackles for loss, and both Moses and Chris Dickson (Sr.-Griffin, Ga.) recovered fumbles in the third quarter.

Lakeland is now 0-4 all-time in the Division III playoffs, but the 18-point margin of defeat was its closest in those four trips, the previous best being a 27-point margin in a 49-22 loss to Augustana (Ill.) in its first-ever appearance in 2005. The Muskies also dramatically improved on their last playoff loss to UW-Whitewater, a 70-7 defeat in 2009.

Whitewater advanced to a second-round playoff matchup with Wittenberg (Ohio) University. The Warhawks entered the playoffs ranked No. 1 in the country in the latest AFCA Division III top 25 coaches poll.