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 have won the last three matchups, including a 23-14 victory last year on the Muskies' Homecoming, when Benedictine pulled out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter before Lakeland rallied and had chances to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter but finished the game scoring just twice in seven trips to the red zone. The Eagles also won the last meeting down in Lisle, Ill., a 54-40 win Oct. 9, 2021. Before that, the Muskies had won the previous four in the series including their last win, a 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. 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.

Lakeland last time out: Defeated Concordia Chicago 17-9 last week
The Muskies relied on defense and special teams to get by the Cougars and get back in the win column with their first win at home this season. Jayson Wilder picked up a fumble and returned it five yards for a touchdown and Lakeland also scored on a pair of safeties in the second half following fumbled punt snaps by Concordia. Robby Michael scored the lone offensive touchdown in the first half, but the Muskies offense gained just 234 yards, including 58 yards in the second half. Lakeland forced four CUC turnovers, though, and also posted 11 tackles for loss led by Shamond Oliver, who made eight tackles, including three tackles for loss, and added an interception and a forced fumble.

Benedictine last time out: Won at Rockford 19-7 last week
The Eagles also won a low-scoring game their last time out, getting by the Regents in the rain. Benedictine scored all 19 of its points in the second quarter to wipe out an early 7-0 deficit, with quarterback Evan Wydajewski rushing 18 yards for a score and throwing a four-yard pass to Hundley Stallings for another score. Blake Shoddie also added a 34-yard touchdown run and the Eagles did their work almost exclusively on the ground, rushing for 291 yards while passing for just nine yards in the game. The Eagles defense also held the Regents to 233 yards of offense, including 73 yards rushing, and forced three turnovers.

About the Eagles: Benedictine has run hot and cold this season, especially offensively. The Eagles scored a combined 90 points against Loras (Iowa) and Concordia Chicago, but just 26 points in their other three games against Aurora, Concordia Wisconsin and Rockford. Benedictine is coached by Jim Schroeder, who is in his fifth year at Benedictine and has posted winning record each of his first four seasons, including a 7-3 overall mark last year that included a 5-3 record in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Eagles' coaching staff also includes one of the Muskies' all-time greats, as Michael Whitley serves as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Whitley is a 2018 Lakeland graduate and was a three-time NACC Offensive Player of the Year from 2015-17 and an NCAA Division III All-American as a senior.

Award winners: Last Saturday's game brought a pair of individual honors for Muskies. Punter Ben Garcia was named the NACC Special Teams Player of the Week after a game in which he punted five times for an average of 35.4 yards per kick including a season-best punt of 58 yards. Three of his five punts were downed inside the Concordia Chicago 15-yard line, including two inside the five. Shamond Oliver did not cop NACC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his game against the Cougars, but he was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week, the only NACC player to be honored on that website's weekly all-star list honoring the top players nationally in Division III at each position from the previous week. Both players received the respective honors for the first time in their careers, and Oliver was the first Muskie named to the D3football.com team in exactly a year, since Auggy Diaz received the honor.