PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Lakeland University came out of the gates fast but Carthage College asserted its strength in the second half and defeated the Muskies 51-40 in both teams' 2025 season opener Saturday night at John Taylor Memorial Field.

A promising start for Lakeland faded as the Firebirds behind a powerful ground game scored 21 straight points in the third quarter. The Muskies attempted to rally in the final quarter but came up short as Carthage won the first meeting between the schools in 10 years and kept alive its mastery in the series with its 13th straight win over Lakeland.

The Muskies led 26-23 after a back-and-forth first half, but the Firebirds scored on three straight drives in the third period, including a 68-yard run by Bryce Frank, who carried 20 times for 224 yards and three scores in the game. Carthage added two more touchdowns, both coming on short fields after taking over deep in Lakeland territory, and all three scores came in a stretch of less than five minutes to give the Firebirds a 44-26 lead. Carthage would finish the game rolling up 324 yards rushing of its 433 yards of total offense.

The Muskies scored on their first drive of the season on the way to building a 20-7 lead just over 10 minutes into the game. Robby Michael (Sr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) scored on a 1-yard run to cap a six-play, 59-yard drive to open the game, and on the first play of Lakeland's third drive he hit Deshawn Hampton (Jr.-Hazel Crest, Ill.) behind the defense for a 73-yard touchdown down the left sideline to give the Muskies a 13-7 lead.

Lakeland scored again one minute later and one play after the first of three forced turnovers by the defense when Parker Giese (Sr.-West Bend, Wis.) came off the edge, sacked Carthage quarterback Easton Heafner and forced a fumble that was picked up by freshman Norrye Evans (Chicago, Ill.) and returned 12 yards to the Firebirds' 3-yard line. Jatron Bevly (Sr.-Springfield, Ill.) ran in untouched on the next play, and the two-point conversion throw from Michael to Caden Kleparski (So.-Unity, Wis.) gave the Muskies a 20-7 lead with 4:41 left in the first quarter.

Lakeland had a chance to increase the lead, as Markese Collins (Sr.-Phenix City, Ala.) intercepted a pass in the end zone to half a Carthage drive and the Muskies drove down the field again as far as the Firebirds 19. A 13-play, 60-yard drive ended, though, when Michael threw to Kleparski in the end zone on fourth down and heavy contact on the contested ball was not called, giving Carthage the ball back on downs.

The Firebirds then leaned on their ground game, running on all seven plays in going 80 yards for a score with Frank running it in from 13 yards out. Carthage added a safety after a bad snap on a fourth down attempt was recovered by Michael in the end zone, and the Firebirds took the lead with 1:32 to play in the half when Dylan Salisbury shook off a defender and caught a 4-yard touchdown from Heafner to wrap up a nine-play, 80-yard drive.

The Muskies answered with a big drive to finish the first half, going 68 yards in 11 plays and scoring on the final play of the half. Michael connected with Jeremy Kobe (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) three times on the drive, including a 19-yard pass down to the Carthage 2, and Michael kept on an option play as the clock ran out to give Lakeland a 26-23 halftime lead.

The Muskies scored twice in the fourth quarter, including Michael running it in from 10 yards out and hitting Kleparski for another two-point conversion to make it 44-34 with 13:21 left in the game. Carthage answered, though, with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that included a big 20-yard pass from Heafner to Gavin Betts on 3rd-and-14, and Heafner found Betts for an 8-yard score to up the lead to 51-34.

Lakeland scored one more time late with a quick 5-play, 84-yard drive that included Michael connecting with Kleparski twice for 25 yards and then hitting Hampton again for a long play, a 47-yard touchdown over the middle for the final score of the game.

Michael completed 27 of 43 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed 26 times for 93 yards and three scores. He moved past Kimani Chambers (2,733 yards from 1995-98) into third on Lakeland's all-time career rushing list, now with 2,774 career yards, and also rose up to sixth in school history with 5,582 passing yards, surpassing Charl'Tez Nunnery's 5,516 yards from 2017-21.

Hampton had his first 100-yard receiving game as a Muskie with two catches for 120 yards, Kobe caught eight passes for 98 yards and Kleparski added six catches for 68 yards. Hassan Rivers (Jr.-Dearborn Heights, Mich.) added nine carries for 49 yards and also caught five passes for 36 yards.

The Muskies outgained Carthage 499-433 and won the turnover battle 3-0, with De'Amonte Arroyo (So.-Chicago, Ill.) also recovering a fumble early in the third quarter. Collins led the defense with eight tackles and an interception and Trayvonne Roberts (Jr.-Lynwood, Ill.) added seven tackles.

Heafner completed 9 of 11 passes for 86 yards and three touchdowns for Carthage. Briton Stanton led the Firebirds' defense with 10 tackles (six solo, four assisted).

Lakeland is home again next week when it welcomes Greenville (Ill.) University for a 1 p.m. start at Taylor Field. The Muskies will also celebrate Senior Day before the game, choosing to honor the seniors early in the season instead of for the season finale as has been cutom in the past.