Richard Micheaux (Sr.-Taylor, Mich.) caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Michael Whitley (Jr.-Vidalia, La.) with seven seconds left in the game and Lakeland University completed an improbable final drive to stun Albion (Mich.) College 40-38 Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.

The Muskies drove 86 yards in just six plays and 24 seconds to come from behind and win a matchup between two NCAA Division III playoff teams a year ago. The teams also were meeting as part of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Challenge, and Lakeland won the battle of defending league champions to improve to 2-0 this year.

The Muskies came out with the win in a game that was an offensive buffet, with 188 plays and a combined 1,149 yards of total offense. The visiting Britons totaled 528 yards on a whopping 97 plays, while the hosts gained 621 yards, including a career-high 478 yards passing, and much of it came in significant chunks.

Lakeland's final drive was appropriate for the frenetic pace of the game, as long plays through the air were its preferred method of travel on the day. Starting at their own 14 with 31 seconds left, the Muskies gained 73 yards in just two plays, with Whitley hitting Kezlow Smith (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) over the top for 47 and then 26, with a spike to stop the clock in between.

After another spike and then an incompletion when Whitley couldn't connect with Micheaux on a slant, the Muskies quarterback went back to him again into the left corner of the end zone. Micheaux went up and took the ball away from the Albion cornerback and then got his feet down just inside the side boundary for the winning score.

Lakeland put up huge offensive numbers even on a day when Whitley was not at his most efficient. The Muskies' signal caller completed less than 50 percent of his passes-19 of 42-but those completions went for 478 yards, an average of over 25 yards per completion.

The hosts completed eight pass plays for at least 30 yards, and Smith, Micheaux and Dezmen Morse (Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) all had big days. Smith caught five passes for 189 yards and touchdowns of 45 and 66 yards in the first half, Morse snagged four passes for 104 yards, and Micheaux made three catches for 78 yards.

Morse and Micheaux also played big roles in the final minutes, as the Muskies never led in the second half until the final seconds and trailed 38-28 with six minutes to play. Morse caught passes of 51 and 14 yards from Whitley and Micheaux had a 33-yard reception as Lakeland went 96 yards in just eight plays, with Whitley hitting Eldrada Meeks (So.-Southfield, Mich.) for a nine-yard score to make it 38-34 with 3:58 left.

Albion nearly was able to run the clock out from there, getting two first downs and driving to midfield while forcing the Muskies to use their timeouts. The Lakeland defense stiffened, though, and the Britons punted and left the Muskies with a final chance that they capitalized on.

Whitley's 478 yards passing are the third-most passing in a game in Lakeland history, while Smith's 189 yards receiving are the sixth-most by a Muskie all-time. Smith also moved past Brandon Lawson (1994-97) into fourth on the school's all-time list for receptions and now has 170 catches in his career. He is just 10 catches from tying the all-time career record of 180 held by Jeff Taff (2000-03).

Meeks, Whitley and Dezmon Eddie (Fr.-Alexandria, La.) led the Lakeland rushing attack, which kept Albion honest with 143 yards in 49 attempts. Eddie rushed 15 times for 53 yards, Meeks gained 51 yards on 17 carries, and Whitley added 27 yards and a touchdown.

Lakeland's defense also came up with key plays to keep the game close at times when Albion's offense was in high gear. Airiss Hargrow (Sr.-Flint, Mich.) was a star in particular, making 16 tackles (12 solo, four assisted) including four tackles for loss, and it all came in just his second game at linebacker after playing as a running back the past three years.

Mason Ross (Jr.-Pulaski, Wis.), Donte Rowell (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Dickson (Sr.-Griffin, Ga.) also all had interceptions, Ross added a forced fumble and Diante Moses (So.-Houston, Texas) had six tackles, a sack and three passes broken up. Rowell and Mario Rafe (So.-Bourbonnais, Ill.) also had fumble recoveries as the defense forced five Albion turnovers.

Chad Hamilton completed 26 of 46 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns for Albion, built an early 10-0 lead and went back ahead 24-20 at halftime after the Muskies rallied for 20 second quarter points.

Lakeland is home again next week when it welcomes the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Taylor Field.

Muskies by the numbers:
0 - Points scored by Lakeland in the first and third quarters. All 40 Muskies points came in the second and fourth quarters.
3 - Number of catches by Richard Micheaux on Saturday, which also equals the number of catches he made last year in two games before missing the rest of the season due to injury.
5 - Turnovers recovered by the Lakeland defense
16 - Tackles by Airiss Hargrow in just his second collegiate game as a linebacker
25.2 - Average yards per completion by the Muskies on Saturday
168 - Combined all-purpose yards by Lakeland running backs Dezmon Eddie and Eldrada Meeks
188 - Combined offensive plays in the game between the two teams
189 - Receiving yards for Kezlow Smith
505 - Yards of total offense for Michael Whitley, just 15 short of the school single-game record he set last year
621 - Yards of offense for Lakeland
1,149 - Combined yards of total offense between Lakeland and Albion on Saturday