Dezmon Eddie (Sr.-Alexandria, La.) topped the 1,000-yard mark for the season but Lakeland University football season ended with a 70-14 loss to Aurora University Saturday night at Taylor Field.

Eddie's 27-yard run in the fourth quarter gave Lakeland two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season in school history, as he joined teammate Larry Rivers (Jr.-Dearborn Heights, Mich.) in reaching the milestone this season. Eddie would finish the game with 97 yards rushing and completed his career with a school-record 2,915 yards.

Eddie and Rivers provided two of the few Senior Night highlights for the Muskies, who finished the season 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Both rushed for touchdowns, but both scores came well after Aurora had established firm control on a chilly November night under the lights.

The Spartans built a 21-0 lead after one quarter and led 35-0 before Eddie's 26-yard scamper for a touchdown got Lakeland on the board. Aurora answered right back with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Zimbelman to Jacolby Maxwell, though, and scored again before the half in taking a 49-7 halftime lead.

Rivers scored on an 18-yard run late in the third quarter to get Lakeland within 56-14, but Aurora added two more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter in moving to 9-1 overall and completing a perfect 7-0 record in the NACC.

The Spartans gained 562 yards of offense and piled up 30 first downs, converting 11 of 18 third downs. Zimbelman passed for 237 yards and five touchdowns, connecting with Maxwell for four touchdowns.

Lakeland gained 307 yards but committed six turnovers, including three interceptions and three fumbles lost. Two of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns, and the Spartans scored 28 points off Muskies' miscues.

Eddie rushed 12 times for 97 yards and became the sixth 1,000-yard rusher in school history. He finished with 1,037 yards this season, the fifth-most ever by a Muskie in a single season.

Charl'Tez Nunnery (Jr.-Liberty, Miss.) also ran 14 times for 60 yards and Rivers added 10 carries for 49 yards. Rivers finished his record-breaking season with a Lakeland single-season record 1,375 yards, and he moved into second on the Muskies' all-time rushing list with 2,757 career yards, passing Kimani Chambers (1995-98) and his 2,733 yards.

Trevion Smith (Jr.-Griffin, Ga.) made a career-high 16 tackles (12 solo, four assisted) from the secondary. Jerry Stokes (Sr.-Missouri City, Texas) added five tackles and Lakeland's lone sack.

The game was the final one for 12 Lakeland seniors, including Eddie, Stokes, Sam Anderson (Plainfield, Ill.), Sam Bartlett (Racine, Wis.), Chris Bustamante (El Paso, Texas), Jonah Carlson (Kingsford, Mich.), Kyle Ericsson (Folsom, Calif.), Logan O'Neill (Spokane Valley, Wash.), Nick Raasch (Marion, Wis.), Steve Ragin (Hobart, Ind.), Jake Reichow (Brighton, Colo.) and Washington Vivanco (Houston, Texas).