RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Lakeland College sacked Concordia University Chicago quarterbacks 11 times in another stifling defensive performance that keyed a 35-7 win over the Cougars Saturday afternoon in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play.
The Muskies won their second straight game with a near-replica of their overpowering 47-7 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College last week. Lakeland was dominant on offense and defense in improving to 2-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
The Muskies held the Cougars (0-4 overall, 0-2 NACC) to 92 yards of total offense and five first downs for the game. Lakeland also gained 452 yards of offense, including 208 yards on the ground, and dominated time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 38 minutes.
The defense set up residence in the Concordia backfield, holding the Cougars to minus-19 yards rushing. Romain Johnson (Jr.-Pontiac, Mich.) and Matt Hill (Sr.-Iron River, Mich.) finished with 2.5 sacks each, Josh Schneider (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis.) added two sacks and seven players total finished with at least one-half sack.
Lakeland also intercepted Concordia starting quarterback Ryan Fischbach three times, with Levi Barske (Jr.-Antigo, Wis.),Patrick Johnson (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) and Dajuan Darling (Fr.-Detroit, Mich.), all picking off passes. The Muskies completed their defensive domination by holding the hosts to two conversions in 14 third-down attempts.
Lakeland owned the first half, holding the Cougars to just 26 yards of offense. The Muskies only led 6-0, though, until scoring twice late in the second quarter.
Richard Micheaux (Jr.-Taylor, Mich.) caught a 6-yard touchdown toss from A.J. Veloz (Fr.-Whiting, Ind.), but the Muskies didn't score again until Kendrick Burks (Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) scored on a two-yard plunge with 5:08 left in the first half to cap a 13-play, 72-yard drive. Rhen Riehl (Fr.-Appleton, Wis.) added a 23-yard field goal just before halftime for a 16-0 lead going into the break.
Concordia scored its lone touchdown on the first play of the second half, as Fischbach hit Nelyja Floyd for a 49-yard touchdown pass to make it 16-7. The Cougars would not score again, though, and the Muskies slowly pulled away down the stretch.
Burks continued another excellent day, rushing for a 4-yard score for his second touchdown to make it 22-7 in the third quarter. Veloz later hit Michael Wynn (So.-Detroit, Mich.) for a 14-yard score with 4:45 left in the game, and Lakeland added another score when Kezlow Smith (Jr.-Pontiac, Mich.) scooped up a fumble by teammate Airiss Hargrow (So.-Flint, Mich.) and carried it in for the final score of the game.
Smith was a frequent target of Veloz all day, catching nine passes for 148 yards. Veloz finished completing 17 of 32 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Burks also had his second straight big day rushing, carrying the ball 20 times for 129 yards.
Johnson led the Lakeland defense with eight tackles, while Hill and Fred Fielding (Jr.-Black Creek, Wis.) added six tackles each. Fielding's tackle total included 3.5 tackles for loss, Johnson and Schneider added three tackles for loss each, and the Muskies finished with a whopping 19 tackles for loss, in all forcing the Cougars into no yards or loss of yardage on 37 of their 49 offensive plays.
Lakeland is on the road again next week when it travels to face Rockford (Ill.) University in another NACC matchup at 1 p.m. in Rockford, Ill.
Muskies go on sack attack to roll past Cougars
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141011_86zw.xml
2014
Lakeland
35
Concordia-Chicago
7
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland (2-3) | 6 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 35 |
| Concordia-Chicago (0-4) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Oct 11, 2014