Lakeland University Muskies (2-0 overall, 2-0 NACC North)
at Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors (1-1 overall, 1-1 NACC North)
Saturday, April 3, 2021Â Â 1 p.m.
Raabe Stadium
Milwaukee, Wis.
Lakeland/Wis. Lutheran Game Notes  PDF
The Lakeland University football team will look to clinch the best record in the NACC North Division this spring when it takes on Wisconsin Lutheran College Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin Lutheran fan attendance policy:Â Student-athletes and coaches from each competing team will be allowed two guests. Guests of student-athletes and coaches must pre-register before attending. For more information on WLC's attendance policies please visitÂ
https://wlcsports.com/general/2020-21/releases/20210315n9o289.
Broadcast Information:Â Wisconsin Lutheran College will provide live video and live stats at the following links:
Series history: 14th meeting, Lakeland leads 10-3
The series between Lakeland and Wisconsin Lutheran began in 2001 and became a regular on the schedule when the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference started football in 2008. The Muskies have won the last three meetings, including a 39-6 victory at home last season on Oct. 26, 2019, in a game where
Larry Rivers rushed for 211 yards,
Rayshion Brumfield returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown and Lakeland held WLC to 107 yards of offense. The Muskies also won the last game at WLC with a 38-12 win on the road in Milwaukee in 2018 behind a trio of 100-yard rushing performances by
Charl'Tez Nunnery (129 yards), Rivers (118) and Dezmon Eddie (105). Wisconsin Lutheran's last win over the Muskies came with a 50-34 victory Oct. 22, 2016 at Sheboygan North High School's Urban Field.
Lakeland last time out: Won at Rockford 35-7
The Muskies moved to 2-0 by dominating the second half for the second straight week, outscoring the Regents 21-0 over the final 30 minutes.
Charl'Tez Nunnery had his second straight big game, passing for 179 yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for a team-high 98 yards and a score.
Larry Rivers also rushed for 76 yards and a score and set the Lakeland all-time career rushing mark, breaking the former mark of 2,915 yards set by Dez Eddie last year.
Brice Kensey also caught nine passes for 86 yards and a touchdown and
Max Ramminger and
Jayson Wilder both intercepted passes to lead the defense, which forced three Rockford turnovers. The win puts Lakeland one win away from clinching the NACC North Division title and the top seed in the division in the conference playoffs which start next week.
Wisconsin Lutheran last time out: Lost at Concordia Wisconsin 39-38
The Warriors lost a wild game in the annual Lutheran Bowl, as Concordia scored a touchdown plus the go-ahead two-point conversion with 57 seconds left for the deciding score. The teams combined for 1,072 yards of offense and 56 first downs but WLC was unable to hold onto a 31-17 third quarter lead. Nick Yockey threw for a school-record 474 yards and four touchdowns for the Warriors, but his last-ditch throw to the end zone as time was expired was intercepted, giving the Falcons the win at home.
About the Warriors: Wisconsin Lutheran enters with a 1-1 record and is led by a new face and a familiar one to the Muskies. Eric Treske took over for longtime coach Dr. Dennis Miller after spending seven years at Lakeland, the last five as offensive coordinator under coach
Colin Bruton. His work with the WLC offense has quickly paid dividends, as a team that averaged 270.3 yards of offense in 2019 (210th of 245 NCAA Division III schools) has averaged 502.5 yards through its first two games of the abbreviated 2020-21 season.
Larry's next milestone: Now with the new Lakeland school record for career rushing yards,
Larry Rivers next will aim to become the first Muskie ever to top 3,000 yards rushing for a career. With 2,948 yards and need 52 to reach 3,000 entering Saturday's game, he can become the fourth player in NACC history to reach 1,000 yards and the first since Lance Moise of Concordia Chicago, who holds the conference's career rushing mark with 4,629 yards from 2016-19.
Kensey looking for career high-in three games: Lakeland's
Brice Kensey has had two big games to start the season, with a total of 20 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown. Kensey is already just two off his high for receptions in a season, which came in 2019 with 22 catches for 399 yards. Kensey also is nearing 1,000 receiving yards for his career as he enters Saturday with 970 yards on 75 receptions as a Muskie.
Combs off to a good start too: Senior
Ezekiel Combs has been one of the leaders on the Lakeland defense the first two weeks and is another veteran off to a good start. Combs set a new career high with 11 tackles against Rockford (eight solo) and through two games has 20 tackles, second-best on the team behind
Shazon Crutcher (24 tackles). He's also part of a secondary that has made some big plays the first two games, including three interceptions and 12 passes broken up so far.
