Lakeland and Benedictine again 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 are on a streak in the series, having won four straight including a 31-6 win at home last year. Lakeland was held to 149 yards of total offense and the Benedictine defense racked up eight sacks. The Eagles also won the last meeting at Taylor Field, taking a 23-14 victory in 2022. Benedictine's four straight wins was preceded by Lakeland winning four in a row, including most recently 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: Lost to Wisconsin Lutheran 33-31 last week
The Muskies scored on a long touchdown in the final minute for the second straight week, but this time didn't have enough to complete the comeback and fell to the Warriors. Jatron Bevly caught a short pass from Robby Michael and took it 54 yards for a touchdown with 55 seconds left in the game, but a two-point conversion attempt to tie failed and WLC also recovered an onside kick to close it out. The near-miss in the final score capped a night of near-misses, as the Muskies left plays on the table on offense, defense and special teams. Michael completed 11 of 34 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed 20 times for 147 yards and a score, but Lakeland missed a number of opportunities on long pass plays and was 0-for-5 on fourth down tries. The defense also gave up eight third down conversions plus a big 4th-and-10 conversion for the Warriors that eventually led to a touchdown, and the Muskies also missed two extra point kicks and two two-point conversion attempts.

Benedictine last time out: Lost to Concordia Wisconsin 23-18 last week
The Eagles joined Lakeland and Rockford as Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference teams to lose at home last week on the second weekend of conference play, falling to the Falcons on Homecoming. Benedictine rallied from a 17-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter to take the lead, but Concordia went 75 yards in 12 plays and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:26 left. A final Eagles attempt in the last minute ended on downs at the CUW 16-yard line. A defensive battle saw Concordia outgain Benedictine 271-234, including holding the Eagles to 120 yards passing. Cooper Simmons-Little completed 22 of 37 passes for 120 yards and Dino Stephens rushed for 80 yards for Benedictine.

About the Eagles: Benedictine's loss to Concordia was its first this season after a 3-0 start. The Eagles won non-conference games on the road at Buena Vista and Loras and opened their NACC schedule with a win over Rockford. Benedictine is leading the conference in a number of defensive categories coming into this week, including scoring defense (14.8 points per game) and total defense (209.5 yards per game).

Benedictine is coached by Jim Schroeder, who is in his sixth year at Benedictine and has posted winning record each of his first five seasons, including a 5-4 overall mark last year that included a 5-3 record in the NACC. The Eagles' coaching staff also includes one of the Muskies' all-time greats, as Michael Whitley serves as offensive coordinator. 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.

Muskies on Homecoming: Homecoming has far more often than not in the past been a very good day for Lakeland football. The Muskies have a superb 61-22-3 all-time record in Homecoming games, though last year they dropped a narrow 17-14 decision to St. Norbert, just Lakeland's second loss in its last 16 Homecoming games. This year is the fourth time the Muskies have hosted Benedictine for Homecoming, and the Fish are 3-0 in those games with wins in 1956 (20-6 score), 1970 (8-7) and most recently in 2017 (57-21).

Muskies teams honored: A trio of championship Lakeland football teams will be recognized during the game as part of Saturday's Homecoming festivities. The 2009 Muskies team will be recognized between the first and third quarters, the 2014 squad will be honored between the third and fourth quarters, and the 1967 Lakeland team will be recognized at halftime of the game. The 2009 and 2014 teams both were coached by Kevin Doherty and both won NACC championships, and the 2009 group was just the second in school history to make the  NCAA Division III playoffs. The 1967 Muskies posted an 8-1 record and won the Gateway Conference crown, and were one of the most dominant teams in program history, outscoring opponents 347-108.

Rivers reaches end zone: Lakeland running back Hassan Rivers scored his first collegiate touchdown last week against Wisconsin Lutheran, scoring on a 10-yard run in the third quarter. The points were not the sophomore's first; he also scored on a two-point conversion and a special teams safety tackling the punter in the end zone after a botched snap, Rivers is the brother of Larry Rivers, the Muskies' all-time leading rusher, and he had his best game rushing for Lakeland with 22 yards on four carries. Hassan Rivers also has been the team's primary kick returner the last two years, and last week he also had a career-long 44-yard return.