Lakeland University held Illinois College to 192 yards of offense but growing pains were evident for the Muskies in a season-opening 38-20 loss Thursday night on the gridiron at Taylor Field.

Turnovers made the difference in the final result, and specifically interception returns for touchdowns as the visiting Blueboys scored their first three touchdowns on picks returned for scores. The defensive TDs allowed the Blueboys to take control of a ragged opener for both teams and defeat the Muskies for the first time in the schools' three all-time meetings.

Lakeland outgained the visitors 343-192, scored the game's first touchdown to take the lead late in the opening quarter, and generally controlled the first 15 minutes, holding Illinois College to a net of nine yards on its first four possessions. The game began taking a strange path late in the first quarter, though, when Charlie Patterson intercepted a pass by Lane Sobieski (Sr.-Berlin, Wis.) and weaved his way through traffic to take it back all the way 42 yards for a touchdown and a 7-6 Blueboys lead.

The guests would strike again on defense early in the second quarter. A penalty put the Muskies in a long yardage position, and on 3rd-and-24 Sobieski was intercepted again, this time by Collin Brunstein. The two-way player who also started at receiver in the game made the interception at the Illinois College 48 and took it back untouched 52 yards for a score and a 14-6 lead.

Lakeland's offense sputtered the rest of the second quarter and the Blueboys added on a field goal to take a 17-6 lead into halftime. The Muskies came out strong on their first drive of the second half, moving the ball to the IC 31-yard line after two first downs. Another penalty slowed the drive, though, and on 4th-and-15 Sobieski was picked off again, this time by Kyle McCalla who returned the ball 73 yards for a third touchdown and a 24-6 lead.

The Blueboys had gained just 64 yards of offense on nine drives in the game at that point, but another big play propelled them to their first offensive score on their next drive. Facing 3rd-and-18 from IC's own 19, quarterback Jack Hanauer found tight end Chase Blanquart slipping behind the defense, and he rumbled 56 yards deep into Lakeland territory. The Blueboys scored three plays later from the Lakeland 13 when Hanauer hit K.J. Corley on the left side and he beat the defense to the sideline and the end zone for a 31-6 lead.

The Muskies answered with their own big play late in the third quarter, when freshman Donyaeh Core (Smiths, Ala.) smothered an IC punt attempt in its own territory. Justin McMahon (So.-Kyle, Texas) picked the ball up and returned it down to the Blueboys' 20, and Lakeland would cash in five plays later early in the fourth quarter when freshman Jatron Bevly (Springfield, Ill.) scored his first collegiate touchdown from four yards out.

The Muskies defense forced another punt early in the fourth, but hopes for a comeback were dimmed shortly after. Lakeland gained just two yards in four plays and turned the ball over on downs, and Illinois College scored two plays later as tailback Trevor Smalls, bottled up most of the night, finally broke free for a 38-yard touchdown and a 38-12 lead.

Freshman quarterback and Sheboygan native Robby Michael came on in the second half and provided some excitement, including an electrifying play just a minute later. The state of Wisconsin's all-time high school career passing touchdowns leader, Michael made a play with his legs, bursting up the middle and then running away from the pack for a 70-yard touchdown. Michael then hit fellow frosh Caleb Besaw (Conroe, Texas) for the two-point conversion to make it 38-20, but the Muskies would get no closer.

Michael finished rushing 11 times for 112 yards and also completed 11 of 19 passes for 48 yards. Sobieski added 17 rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown and finished 10-for-30 passing for 88 yards. He also executed a pair of successful quick-kick punts for an average of 50 yards each and both pinning the Blueboys inside their 15-yard line.

Devin Martin (So.-Conyers, Ga.) caught nine passes for 46 yards and freshman Corinthians Jones (Victorville, Calif.) added four catches for 32 yards. Among the game's many statistical oddities, Lakeland finished with a nearly five-minute time of possession advantage and controlled the ball for nearly 30 of the game's first 45 minutes. The Muskies also converted just 6 of 25 third down tries, but went 5 of 10 on fourth down tries.

Karlis Ozols (Jr.-Fond du Lac, Wis.) finished with nine tackles and two batted passes for the Lakeland defense. Charles Kobe (Jr.-Glendale, Wis.) added eight tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and D'Jimon Stuckey (Jr.-Cypress, Texas), Jake Leclaire (Jr.-Stuart, Fla.) and Leondre Townsend (Jr.-Menomonee Falls, Wis.) all added one sack each.

Illinois College also struggled in the passing game, with Hanauer completing 9 of 30 passes for 99 yards. Smalls finished rushing 17 times for 68 yards, and the Blueboys gained 93 yards on the ground on 38 rush attempts. The guests were mostly error-free, though, committing just one turnover on a last-ditch throw to the end zone at the end of the first half that was intercepted by Jayden Tarver (So.-Phenix City, Ala.). The guests did get six sacks from their defense, including two from Derrick Jones.

Lakeland is home again for its next game Saturday, Sept. 10 when it hosts Buena Vista (Iowa) University. Game time at Taylor Field is 1 p.m.