PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Robby Michael (Fr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) and Devon Harris (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) both had huge days and Homecoming proved to be the perfect time for the Lakeland University football team to break out with a 43-23 win over Concordia University Chicago Saturday at Taylor Field.

The Muskies piled up 682 yards of offense, held the Cougars to 250 yards and finally reversed a string of near-misses this season to win for the first time in six games. Lakeland also earned its first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory of the season and won for the 14th time in its last 15 Homecoming games, improving to 61-21-3 all-time on Homecoming.

The Muskies (1-5 overall, 1-3 NACC) pulled away in the second half with a relentless offense combined with stingy defense wearing down Concordia (2-5 overall, 1-4 NACC).

Lakeland gained 468 of its yards on the ground, with Michael rushing 22 times for 232 yards and three touchdowns and Harris adding 23 carries for 173 yards and a touchdown. Michael also passed for 214 yards and two scores, in all accounting for 446 yards of offense.

Harris gained 164 of his yards in the first half, and his longest run of the game late in the first half led to the Muskies starting to separate from the Cougars in a game that was close early.

Taking over at its own 20 with 1 minute, 45 seconds left in the first half, Harris broke free and got all the way down to the CUC 5, running 75 yards before he was finally caught. Lakeland still had a challenge getting in the end zone, though, and the drive came down to a 4th-and-goal play from the Cougars 1 with five seconds left in the half when Michael was able to quarterback sneak into the end zone with a big push from his offensive line. The extra point by Payton LoBianco (Fr.-Berlin, Wis.) gave the Muskies 14 unanswered points and a 23-13 lead going into halftime.

Concordia still came back to get within a touchdown with a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Auer making it 23-16 with 9:26 left in the third quarter, but it was Michael's turn for a big run soon after. The freshman kept on a quarterback run and was off to the races, outrunning the Cougar defense for a 74-yard touchdown and a 30-16 lead.

The Muskies pulled away early in the fourth quarter with two more touchdowns. Michael hit Chris Crawford (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) for a 16-yard touchdown just 48 seconds into the period, the second TD hookup between the two in the game after they also had connected on a six-yard score in the latter stages of the second quarter that put Lakeland ahead for good. Lakeland also added another touchdown in the fourth when Kolby Cohen (So.-Missouri City, Texas) caught a 16-yard pass on 4th-and-11 to keep a drive going, and Harris slashed for an eight-yard touchdown on the next play for the Muskies' final points.

Crawford caught five passes for 63 yards and Cohen caught four passes for a team-leading 71 yards. Devin Martin (So.-Conyers, Ga.) also added five catches for 63 yards.

Almost as impressive as Lakeland's offense was its defense, which held Concordia below 200 yards of offense until a drive for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. The Muskies finished with 12 tackles for loss including two sacks, intercepted one pass and forced seven punts, six coming on drives when the Cougars went three-and-out.

Agustin Diaz (Sr.-Chilton, Wis.) had a career day with eight tackles, with five tackles for loss for a total of 15 yards including one sack. He also registered a safety late in the first quarter to put the Muskies ahead 9-6, taking down CUC quarterback Troy Pratley in the end zone shortly after a 16-play, 84-yard Lakeland drive had ended on downs just shy of the goal line.

Jake Leclaire (Jr.-Stuart, Fla.) also posted five tackles with two tackles for loss including one sack. Karlis Ozols (Jr.-Fond du Lac, Wis.) added four tackles, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries and Jayson Wilder (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) added an interception and 26-yard return in the fourth quarter leading to Lakeland's final touchdown.

Michael finished with his fourth 100-yard rushing game in six games, and he is well on his way to becoming the first Lakeland player to perform the 1,000/1,000 double passing and rushing. Michael has 896 yards passing on the season and also has 751 yards rushing, putting him just 249 yards from a 1,000-yard rushing season.

The Muskies now get ready to face Concordia University Wisconsin next Saturday in the annual Cheese Bowl game. The 31st annual contest for the Cheese Bowl trophy will be played at CUW's Tomasini Stadium in Mequon beginning at 1 p.m.