WAUWATOSA, Wis. – Lakeland University scored 25 unanswered points in the game's final 16 minutes capped by a touchdown on fourth down with under two minutes left, and the Muskies roared back late to defeat Wisconsin Lutheran College 32-31 Saturday afternoon at Raabe Stadium.
Lakeland survived a missed field goal from short range in the final minute and finished off a huge comeback win in both teams' Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener. The Muskies reversed four straight years of frustrating losses to the Warriors, many in close fashion, and improved to 2-1 overall while dealing WLC its first loss in three games.
Lakeland scored touchdowns on four straight possessions to come back from a 31-7 deficit, capped by a fourth down touchdown pass from
Carson Glosny (
Jr.-Green Bay, Wis.) to
Caleb Besaw (
Sr.-Conroe, Texas). Facing 4th-and-1 from the WLC 15, Glosny went to the end zone to Besaw, who made a heavily contested catch for the touchdown.
The third scoring connection between the two in the game gave the Muskies a 32-31 lead, their first lead since going ahead 7-0 in the first quarter when Glosny hooked up with
Lamarious Liggins (
So.-Memphis, Tenn.) for a 20-yard touchdown just over 5 1/2 minutes into the game. Wisconsin Lutheran was not finished, though, and after taking over near midfield for its final drive Warriors quarterback Roman Morales hit Elian Ojeda on a 33-yard completion own to the Lakeland 12-yard line with just over a minute left in the game.
The Warriors then moved to the Lakeland 9 after a pair of runs, and an incomplete pass set up Devin Loehr for a 26-yard field goal attempt with 37 seconds left. Loehr had made a 29-yarder earlier in the game, but this time his kick hooked well to the left, preserving an improbable win for the Muskies.
Lakeland came back to win after nearly three quarters of frustration offensively, as its first 10 drives netted one touchdown, five punts, three drives ending on downs plus one turnover. The Muskies netted just 41 yards over six drives from late in the first quarter to the third, and a penetration down to the WLC 22 was quickly snuffed out with an interception with 5:28 left in the third period.
Lakeland trailed 31-7 when it took over at its own 24 with 3:30 left in the third but drove 76 yards in eight plays to get back on the board. A 54-yard bomb from Glosny to
Brayton Reece (
So.-Conroe, Texas) keyed the drive, and Besaw's 10-yard touchdown reception closed the Muskies to within 31-13.
The Muskies defense then got a stop on Wisconsin Lutheran's next drive, but a 39-yard punt by Morales was downed at the Lakeland 1. Undeterred, the Lakeland offense went the full length of the field, 99 yards in just 3:21, and
Octavis Cherry (
Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) scored on a 13-yard run, and the extra point by
McKynzee Schepp (
Sr.-Marshall, Wis.) made it 31-20 with still 9:06 left in the game.
The Muskies would get the ball back just 15 seconds later, as on the first play of Lutheran's next possession
Zelmarious Banks (
So.-Fort Wayne, Ind.) intercepted a Morales pass and returned it 32 yards down to the WLC 12. Two plays later Glosny and Besaw teamed up again for a 10-yard touchdown pass, and the Warriors' lead was down to 31-26 with 8:17 to play.
Lutheran drove down to the Lakeland 24 on its ensuing drive, but on 4th-and-1 committed a false start.
Giovanni Merriweather (
Jr.-Machesney Park, Ill.) then ended the Warriors drive with a sack of Morales on fourth down. The Muskies then drove 59 yards in eight plays for the go-ahead score, with Cherry igniting the drive with a 21-yard run and Reece adding a 13-yard scamper.
Glosny finished completing 26 of 52 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns.
Deshawn Hampton (
Sr.-Hazel Crest, Ill.) caught eight passes for 91 yards, Besaw made eight grabs for 61 yards and the three scores and Reece added three catches for 94 yards. Cherry paced the running attack with 73 yards on 10 carries.
Trayvonne Roberts (
Sr.-Lynwood, Ill.) paced the defense with eight tackles,
Ayden Winston (
Sr.-East Chicago, Ind.) also made a career-high eight tackles and Merriweather posted seven tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss.
Lakeland finished outgaining Wisconsin Lutheran 433-411 for the game. Morales completed 17 of 30 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, while Liam Heiges rushed 22 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns as the Warriors gained 178 yards on the ground.
The Muskies defeated WLC for the first time since 2021 and after four straight losses to the Warriors. Three of those losses came by a combined nine points, including a 34-31 loss at home last year and a 33-31 defeat two years ago.
The Muskies now get ready for their long-awaited first home game of the season next Saturday against Concordia University Wisconsin at 3 p.m. at John Taylor Memorial Field. Lakeland will mark its Homecoming as well as the playing of the Cheese Bowl game, the final scheduled meeting between the Muskies and Falcons with Concordia moving to the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin next year.
