HOLLAND, Mich. – Lakeland University's late rally from 14 points down came up just short as Hope (Mich.) College stopped a two-point conversion play with 39 seconds left and defeated the Muskies 37-35 Saturday afternoon at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.

A non-conference matchup of the preseason favorites in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association delivered an entertaining game that went down to the wire. In the end, though, Lakeland lost for the first time this season, while Hope improved to 2-1.

The Muskies battled valiantly and almost fought back to force a tie in the final seconds after trailing 37-23 midway through the fourth quarter. Michael Whitley (Sr.-Vidalia, La.) led a 67-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard plunge by Dezmon Eddie (So.-Alexandria, La.) with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game, though the extra point kick was blocked.

Lakeland's defense then held and forced a short punt that left the offense at midfield with 2:25 left. The Muskies survived a 4th-and-15 when Whitley hit Dezmen Morse (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) for 19 yards, and the two connected again two plays later for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 37-35. Whitley's pass attempt on the two-point conversion, though, was batted away, and Hope also recovered an onside kick, ending Lakeland's final chance.

The Muskies came up short in a game they dominated statistically in a number of ways. Lakeland posted enormous advantages of 35-12 in first downs and 101-43 in offensive plays run, holding the ball for almost a full three quarters of the game (42:11 to Hope's 17:49) and staging seven drives of at least 10 plays or more.

One game after using big plays to stagger Carroll University in its season opener two weeks ago, though, the Muskies were done in by the opponent's this week. Mainly, Lakeland was gashed for 319 yards rushing, with much of that yardage coming on three plays.

Brandan Campbell broke through for a 68-yard touchdown to get the Flying Dutchmen on the board in the first quarter after Lakeland took an early 9-0 lead, and he also added an 82-yard run from his team's own 3-yard line in the fourth, coming immediately after the Muskies had been held without points after having 1st-and-goal from the Hope 1-yard line. The hosts scored three plays after that, pushing the lead to 37-23.

Chris Leigh also added a 58-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and in all the three runs made up nearly two-thirds of Hope's rushing total and more than half of its offensive output of 397 yards for the game. Along with a touchdown in the first quarter on a 35-yard blocked punt return, the big chunks were enough to sustain the Flying Dutchmen, so much so that the hosts only attempted 10 passes the entire day.

Meanwhile, Lakeland moved the ball all afternoon in much more methodical fashion. Whitley completed more than 80% of his passes, an incredible 48 of 58 for 377 yards, and receivers Allante Gardner (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.), Jody Harrison (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) and Morse caught 13, 11 and 10 passes, respectively. The 48 completions is a new school single-game record, breaking Mark Novara's old record of 42 set against Concordia Wisconsin Oct. 15, 1994.

The Flying Dutchmen succeeded, though, in keeping the Muskies from big plays of their own. One game after Lakeland had touchdown passes of 99 and 87 yards and four other passes of at least 24 yards, Hope allowed just two completions longer than 19 yards and none more than 23.

Eldrada Meeks (Jr.-Southfield, Mich.) also rushed for a career-high 128 yards, while Morse (106) and Gardner (104) both had 100-yard receiving days. Harrison also added 77 yards receiving and Whitley rushed for 64 yards. The Muskies finished with 564 yards of total offense and only punted one time all day.

Donte Rowell (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) led the defense with nine tackles (seven solo), and Diante Moses (Jr.-Houston, Texas) added 1.5 sacks.

The Muskies now get ready to face nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville next Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff in Platteville.

Muskies by the numbers:
6- Number of different Lakeland receivers with at least one 100-yard receiving game after Allante Gardner caught 13 passes for 104 yards Saturday
7 - Drives of at least 10 plays by the Muskies
34 - Combined receptions by 
35 - First downs by Lakeland
42:11 - Time of possession for Lakeland
78 - Passing yards all game for Hope, which threw the ball just 10 times
82.8 - Completion percentage on 58 pass attempts for Michael Whitley, who completed 48 of 58 passes
101 - Offensive plays run by the Muskies, 58 more than Hope
128 - New career high rushing yards in a game for Eldrada Meeks
605.5 - Average yards of total offense for Lakeland over its first two games