MONTGOMERY, Ill. – Michael Whitley (Sr.-Vidalia, La.) hit Dezmon Eddie (So.-Alexandria, La.) for a five-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left in the game, capping an incredible last-ditch drive as Lakeland University held off Aurora University 47-38 Saturday afternoon.
Whitley directed a 75-yard drive in just 52 seconds for the go-ahead score, and the Muskies earned a clutch road win to take control of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference race. Lakeland now needs to win just one of its final two games to clinch its fourth straight NACC regular season title and third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
The Muskies (6-2 overall, 4-0 NACC) outlasted the Spartans (4-4 overall, 3-1 NACC) in a matchup of the only two unbeaten teams in conference play. They also prevailed in a game that turned into a shootout, and especially down the stretch with four lead changes in the final 6:57.
Lakeland appeared to be in big trouble when Aurora drove 70 yards in 10 plays and went ahead with just 54 seconds left on Gavin Zimbelman's 27-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Hunter, and in even more trouble when Whitley was sacked on the first play of its final drive, then threw incomplete on the second.
The Muskies converted on 3rd-and-13, though, with Whitley hitting Eddie for 18 yards. He then found Dezmen Morse (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) for 15 yards, getting to the Aurora 45 with 19 seconds left.
Whitley then hit Jody Harrison (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) for 18 yards, then connected with Eddie again for 22 to get to the Spartans' 5 with six seconds left. After a timeout, he found Eddie in the middle of the end zone running to the post for the winning touchdown, though it wound up not being the final score of the game. Lakeland added another touchdown as time expired, as Aurora attempted multiple laterals after the kickoff and fumbled in the end zone, with the Muskies recovering the loose ball for the final points.
A game that matched Lakeland's top-ranked offense in Division III against the Spartans' No. 1 defense in the NACC ended up being dominated by offense, with both teams moving the ball seemingly at will.
The Muskies piled up 666 yards of total offense, with Whitley and Eddie having a hand in all but six of them. Whitley accounted for a total of 536 yards, completing 30 of 54 passes for 452 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed 14 times for 84 yards. Eddie rushed for 21 times for 124 yards and two scores, and also added nine catches for 108 yards and two more touchdowns, following up his huge game a week ago when he rushed for 235 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.
Lakeland needed every bit of it, as the Spartans' offense repeatedly had answers. Aurora gashed the Muskies for 325 yards rushing and gained 472 yards total, more yardage than Lakeland had allowed in its last two games combined.
Connor Olson rushed for 159 yards, Tyran Bailey added 114 yards rushing, and the Spartans had Lakeland on its heels all day. The Muskies came into the game among the national leaders in tackles for loss but had just one tackle in the backfield and no sacks.
The Spartans also scored on a number of big plays. The Muskies had built a 14-0 lead after one quarter as Eddie caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Whitley and later scored on a 10-yard run, but Olson busted a run up the middle for 90 yards for a touchdown to get Aurora on the board. The Spartans also added a 34-yard touchdown run by Bailey at the start of the third quarter to tie the game at 21-21, and Zimbelman hit Sean Mullen for a 26-yard score late in the third quarter to tie the game again at 28-28.
Lakeland was able to stay a step ahead of Aurora until the fourth quarter, including when Whitley found Morse for a 3-yard score in the second quarter for a 21-7 lead and later when he hooked up with Allante Gardner (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.) for a 47-yard score to give the Muskies a 28-21 lead in the third.
The Spartans finally took their first lead of the game when Zac Mirabelli hit a 24-yard field goal to make it 31-28 with 6:57 left. That set the stage for the wild finish, with Lakeland going ahead 35-31 with 4:48 left on Eddie's 21-yard touchdown run, only to see Aurora drive to retake the lead in the final minute.
Gardner gave the Muskies two 100-yard receivers on the day with eight catches for 128 yards. Harrison also caught six balls for 86 yards and Jamal Hawkins-Sconiers (Jr.-St. James, Mo.) added three catches for 61 yards. Whitley also added another record to his collection, as his second touchdown pass of the game broke the NACC record for career touchdown passes of 85 previously held by Austin Damaschke of Concordia Wisconsin. He now has 88 career touchdown passes.
Donte Rowell (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) and Jerry Stokes (So.-Missouri City, Texas) paced the defense with eight tackles each. The Lakeland D did help its cause by recovering three fumbles, which led directly to 13 points.
Lakeland is back home for its final two regular season games and next will host Concordia University Chicago next Saturday at noon at Taylor Field. By defeating Aurora and Benedictine University, the only two teams left in the conference with just one loss, the Muskies hold all tiebreakers over both and will lock up the conference's automatic berth to the Division III playoffs with just one more win.