MEQUON – Eldrada Meeks (Jr.-Southfield, Mich.) rushed for a career-high 220 yards, giving Lakeland University its first 200-yard rushing game in nearly 20 years, and the Muskies retained possession of the Cheese Bowl with a decisive 60-14 win over Concordia University Wisconsin Saturday afternoon at Tomasini Stadium.

Lakeland opened its run at a fourth consecutive Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title with a dominant performance on offense and defense in defeating the Falcons for the fourth consecutive year. The Muskies also earned their first win since their season opener against Carroll and improved to 2-2 overall.

Meeks was among many who contributed to a steamroller that gained 704 total yards of total offense, including 402 yards rushing. Lakeland gained 9.6 yards per rush attempt, completed nearly 80 percent of its passes, and between the run and pass piled up 37 first downs while scoring nine touchdowns in its first 12 offensive possessions.

Meeks rushed 21 times for 220 yards and a touchdown, averaging 10.5 yards per carry and becoming Lakeland's first 200-yard rusher since Kimani Chambers gained 207 yards against Benedictine University Oct. 31, 1998. The junior also blew past the 1,000-yard mark for his career and now has 1,118 rushing yards as a Muskie.

Quarterback Michael Whitley (Sr.-Vidalia, La.) also had another efficient and prolific game, completing 36 of 47 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for another score, a five-yard touchdown to get the Muskies on the board 5 minutes, 40 seconds into the game, opening the floodgates as Lakeland built a 32-0 halftime lead.

Donte Rowell (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) also intercepted two passes in the first quarter, and the first one he brought back 50 yards for a touchdown to give the Muskies a 12-0 lead. He keyed an opportunistic defense that forced four Concordia turnovers, including three in the first half.

The Lakeland D also limited Falcon quarterbacks nine completions in 27 pass attempts, and CUW (1-3 overall, 0-1 NACC) also was just 3-for-13 on third down. The hosts didn't get on the board until Lakeland had built a 46-0 lead midway through the third quarter, after Whitley connected with Allante Gardner (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.) for an 11-yard score, their second touchdown of the game.

Along with Meeks and Whitley piling up big numbers, freshman Larry Rivers (Dearborn Heights, Mich.) also added 79 yards rushing on six rush attempts in the fourth quarter, and Charl'Tez Nunnery (Fr.-Liberty, Miss.) added 53 yards rushing in the fourth quarter in relief of Whitley.

Jody Harrison (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) caught 10 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, Gardner hauled in eight for 53 yards, and Dezmon Eddie (So.-Alexandria, La.) caught six passes for 73 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for a touchdown.

Diante Moses (Jr.-Houston, Texas) finished with 10 tackles on defense, while McNemon Vincent (Fr.-Vernon Hills, Ill.) added seven tackles, including two sacks. Jerry Stokes (So.-Missouri City, Texas) also finished with seven tackles.

Lakeland is back home next week for the first time in more than a month when it welcomes Adrian (Mich.) College for a non-conference game at 1 p.m. at Taylor Field.

Muskies by the numbers:
4 - Turnovers forced by the Lakeland defense, including two interceptions and two fumble recoveries
9 -Conversions on 15 third down attempts by the Muskies, a 60% conversion rate
12 - Career interceptions by Donte Rowell after he picked off two passes Saturday
33.3 - Completion percentage by CUW quarterbacks against the Lakeland defense
37 - First downs by the Muskies offense
46 - Consecutive points scored by Lakeland before Concordia got on the board late in the third quarter
188 - Number of games since Lakeland has had a 200-yard rushing performance before Eldrada Meeks rushed for 220 yards Saturday.
195 - Pass attempts by Michael Whitley since his last interception before throwing one today, a streak that dated back to last season.
567.2 - Average yards of offense per game through four games for the Muskies
704 - Yards of total offense for Lakeland, its second time hitting the 700-yard mark in its last seven games. The Muskies racked up 731 yards last season in a Nov. 5, 2016 win over Aurora.