The unbeaten Lakeland University football team gets back into play following a week off and takes on Benedictine University Saturday in a battle between two teams without an Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference loss early in the conference season.
Live statistics:
https://benueagles.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Series: 53rd meeting, Lakeland leads 31-21
Lakeland and Benedictine renew the most-played series in Muskies' history and one that dates back to when Lakeland was known as Mission House College and Benedictine was named St. Procopius College. The Eagles won the most recent matchup between the teams with a 34-26 victory in Lisle, Ill., on Nov. 9, 2019. The Muskies had won the previous four against Benedictine, including a high-scoring 52-42 victory in 2018 at Taylor Field when
Larry Rivers (162 yards),
Charl'Tez Nunnery (145) and Michael Moreau (106) all rushed for over 100 yards and Lakeland rolled up 495 yards on the ground. The series goes back to 1950, when Mission House posted a 7-0 victory on the road at St. Procopius to open what would be the Muskies' first-ever undefeated season (6-0) and one of two in school history. The teams also were set to play this spring in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference playoff semifinal before the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Lakeland last time out: Defeated St. Norbert 40-8 Sept. 25
The Muskies were idle last week but the week before made St. Norbert's first game in the NACC a long night, forcing eight turnovers and building a 33-0 lead in the second quarter on the way to winning in a rout. Four different players intercepted passes and Lakeland also recovered four fumbles, two by
Otis Watts including one he returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
Charl'Tez Nunnery also passed for 309 yards and four touchdowns, including a 91-yard connection with
Mason Prunick to open the game's scoring.
Brice Kensey added 12 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns and
Larry Rivers ran for 143 yards and a score as the Muskies outgained the Green Knights 484-254.
Benedictine last time out: Won at St. Norbert 41-34 last week
The Eagles also are coming in off a win over the Green Knights, jumping to an early 14-0 lead on the road in De Pere and outlasting St. Norbert the rest of the way. Tyler Jarnagin passed for 402 yards, including 11 connections with Deandre Holliday for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Jarnagin also joined Greg Hoard, Nathan Rillo and Eli Webster in rushing for a score in the game which Benedictine never trailed in, though St. Norbert tied the score at 14-14 and was within 21-20 late in the third quarter before the Eagles scored 13 unanswered points.
About the Eagles: Benedictine is off to a 4-1 start including NACC wins over Concordia Wisconsin, Eureka and St. Norbert that puts it with Aurora and Lakeland as the NACC's three unbeaten teams in leauge play to date. The Eagles' lone loss came to Carroll at home in September, and they came into the fall season with momentum after going 2-1 in the abbreviated spring season including nearly toppling defending conference champion Aurora in April, leading 30-21 with less than five minutes left before the Spartans scored two touchdowns late, including the go-ahead score after recovering an onside kick.
Jim Schroeder is in his third year back at Benedictine, this time as head coach after ten years as defensive coordinator from 2005-14 before spending four years as head coach at Rockford. His teams have regularly been known for strong defense, but this year the Eagles have an offense among the national leaders in NCAA Division III, coming in sixth nationally in first downs, 14th in passing offense and 20th in total offense.
Wrecking crew: The Lakeland defense was already forcing its share of turnovers and creating big plays before taking it to another level against St. Norbert, and the unit now ranks as or among the best in Division III in a number of categories. For one, the Muskies lead the 240 D-III football teams in sacks per game (5.5 per contest) and sacks on the season (22), even as a number of D-III schools have now played one more game. Lakeland also is tied for second nationally in turnovers gained (16), tied for fourth in tackles for loss per game (9.8), tied for fifth in turnover margin (+2.0/game) and tied for fifth in interceptions (10). Individually,
Otis Watts is tied for fourth nationally in total sacks (six) and sacks/game (1.5) and tied for sixth in fumble recoveries (two).
Rayshion Brumfield also is tied for fourth in passes defensed (interceptions + passes broken up) per game (2.0).
Strength vs. strength, times two: Saturday's game will feature a number of fascinating matchups between team units. One will be the Benedictine pass offense against Lakeland's pass defense. The Eagles come in averaging 329.6 yards per game through the air, second-best in the NACC and 14th best nationally. The Muskies, though, have the top-ranked pass defense in the conference, allowing just 161.8 yards per game, and the Lakeland D also leads the NACC and is tied for fifth nationally with 10 interceptions.
Just as intriguing, though, will be the Lakeland rushing attack squaring off against Benedictine's run defense. The Muskies lead the NACC and rank 10th in Division III averaging 264.2 yards per game rushing, but the Eagles are stout against the run, allowing 76.2 yards a contest, a mark that also leads the conference and ranks 27th nationally in D-III.
Lakeland's 4-0 start: The Muskies are off to a 4-0 start for just the seventh time in the program's 84 seasons and just the second time since 1969. The last time Lakeland won its first four games was in 1997, and that team went on to win a school-record 10 games in an undefeated season. The other five 4-0 starts all came between 1947 and 1968, including the 1950 team that finished 6-0, the only other undefeated season in program history.
Muskies face one of their greats: Benedictine's coaching staff features a recent Lakeland star and one of the great players in program history. Michael Whitley is in his second year as an assistant with the Eagles and will face the Muskies for the first time as a coach. The Louisiana native played for Lakeland from 2014-17 and as a quarterback was a three-time NACC Offensive Player of the Year. He holds school records for most yards of total offense overall and per game in a season, and he ranks second in school history in completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offense.
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