SHEBOYGAN – Michael Whitley (Jr.-Vidalia, La.) broke his own school record for total offense in a game and Lakeland University moved to the doorstep of its second straight NCAA Division III playoff berth with a 55-25 romp over Aurora (Ill.) University Saturday afternoon at Urban Field.

The Muskies knocked off a team previously undefeated in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, creating a three-way tie for first in the league with one regular season game remaining for each team. Lakeland, Aurora and Benedictine (Ill.) University are now all tied at 4-1 in the NACC, but the Muskies have defeated both teams and thus hold the tiebreaker over whoever wins the game between Aurora and Benedictine next week. That puts Lakeland in position to clinch the league's automatic bid to the Division III playoffs if it can defeat Rockford (Ill.) University in its regular season finale next week.

Whitley and the Lakeland offense were nearly unstoppable all day, as a team rolling up 731 yards of total offense, 36 first downs and a more than 13-minute advantage in time of possession. Whitley accounted for 576 yards of offense to easily break his former single-game record of 520 yards set last season against Benedictine.

The Muskies' quarterback played an almost flawless game, completing 31 of 39 passes for a career-best 439 yards, a total that ranks as the fourth-most in school history. Whitley also rushed for a career-high 137 yards, and he did all of it in 3 1/2 quarters of action.

Lakeland (6-3 overall) jumped out to a big early lead for the second straight week, once again using quick-strike drives early to stun an opponent. The Muskies led 22-0 after just over 10 minutes of play, with their three touchdown drives all coming in two minutes or less, including two of less than a minute.

After a successful seven-play, 75-yard drive to open the game that was capped by a one-yard plunge by Dezmon Eddie (Fr.-Alexandria, La.), Whitley sent deep to Kezlow Smith (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) on the Muskies' next drive for a 52-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead just 4:04 into the game. Whitley then hit Dezmen Morse (Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) on the right sideline near midfield, and Morse made a move and outran his defender 79 yards for a score, then also added a two-point conversion by catching a jump ball into the end zone from Donte Rowell (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.).

Aurora (5-4 overall) briefly closed within 22-10 after Geron Rogers hit Justin Gibbons for an 89-yard bomb over the middle early in the second quarter, but Lakeland scored twice more to close out the half, including a 12-yard run to the pylon by Whitley on an untimed down at the end of the half for a 34-10 halftime lead.

The Muskies then went to work on the ground in the second half, gaining 182 of their game total of 292 rushing yards in the final 30 minutes. Eddie and Eldrada Meeks (So.-Southfield, Mich.) both scored rushing TDs in the third quarter, and Whitley and Morse connected again early in the fourth quarter in the middle of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.

Lakeland's defense also more than did its job on a day when the offense was cranking, holding the Spartans to 306 yards and just 13 first downs. Take out the 89-yard scoring pass in the second quarter and the Muskies allowed just 217 yards the rest of the game, never allowing Aurora to get into the ball control game that has it among the Division III leaders in time of possession.

Rowell intercepted a pass and Dajuan Darling (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.) made a pair of exceptional plays halting end around plays for a combined loss of 16 yards to snuff out a pair of Aurora threats. Lakeland also recovered a pair of fumbles, in all forcing three turnovers.

Morse finished with eight catches for 175 yards, Richard Micheaux (Sr.-Taylor, Mich.) snared seven passes for 84 yards and Jody Harrison (Jr.-Pontiac, Mich.) caught six passes for 62 yards. Meeks rushed eight times for 62 yards and Eddie added 10 carries for 41 yards, and both rushed for a pair of touchdowns.

Saturday was Senior Day for 12 Lakeland seniors, including Micheaux, Smith, Aaron Almedina (Lakeville, Minn.), Alex Busch (Green Bay, Wis.), Chris Dickson (Griffin, Ga.), Sterling Gladney (Bolingbrook, Ill.), Airiss Hargrow (Flint, Mich.), Craig Kowalkowski (Armstrong Creek, Wis.), Logan Krueger (North Fond du Lac, Wis.), Kevyn Lewis (Inkster, Mich.) and Brandon Pribbernow (Brillion, Wis.).

Lakeland will face Rockford next Saturday on the road in Rockford for a noon kickoff.

Muskies by the numbers:
1 - Career fumble recoveries for Greg Gilliam after he jumped on top of a special teams fumble for a big turnover in the first quarter
4 - Muskies with at least 65 yards receiving Saturday, led by Dezmen Morse's 175 yards
7 - Touchdown passes of at least 44 yards this season for the Muskies
8 - Third downs converted in 14 attempts by Lakeland to keep the chains moving.
8 - Is also the number of touchdowns the Muskies scored in their first 11 drives
8 - Also is the number of touchdown drives of at least 60 yards by Lakeland, which went 75, 60, 94, 74, 62, 84, 67 and 70 yards on its scoring drives.
10:13 - Time which Aurora finished below its season average time of possession of 33:38 per game that ranked 17th nationally in NCAA Division III entering the day
70 - Points scored by the Muskies in the first quarter of their last three games
231 - Yards covered in just 13 plays on Lakeland's first three offensive possessions in building a 22-0 lead
292 - Yards rushing for the Muskies, a season high and their fourth straight game with at least 190 yards on the ground
576 - New school record for total offense in a game set by Michael Whitley, breaking his old mark of 520 yards
2,000 - Exact number of passing yards for Whitley this season at the conclusion of the game