The Muskies returned to their traditional winning ways in front of the alumni, winning on Homecoming for the 15th time in 17 games and improving to 62-22-3 all-time on Homecoming. Lakeland also stopped a four-game losing skid against its most-played rival, defeating the Eagles for the first time since 1018 and moving to a 32-24 lead in the all-time series.
In front of a large crowd that included members of the 1967, 2009 and 2014 football teams that all won conference championships, the Muskies handled a warm but very windy fall day superbly in improving to 2-2 overall on the season and 2-1 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Lakeland made hay in the second and third quarters with a consistent 20-30 mph wind at its back, outscoring Benedictine (3-2 overall, 1-2 NACC) 28-7, including 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 28-14 halftime lead.
Michael bounced back from a tough day throwing the ball a week ago in a narrow loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College with one of the sharpest performances of his career. Seven days after completing just 11 of 34 passes, Michael connected on 23 of 28 passes for a collegiate career-best 82.1% completion percentage, 240 yards and three touchdowns.
The junior also rushed 33 times for 170 yards and a touchdown, and had control of the offense as Lakeland put up 461 yards and 26 first downs and held the ball for more than 34 minutes. The Muskies never punted in the game, scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives, and had a fifth 14-play, 72-yard drive end at the Benedictine 8 midway through the fourth quarter.
By that point Lakeland held a comfortable three-touchdown lead, one it accumulated also with a number of big plays on defense. The Muskies scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in the first half and forced three turnovers in all, and and aside from a pair of long pass plays largely held the Eagles in check throughout.
Lakeland opened the scoring midway through the first quarter, making Benedictine pay for a short passing game to the receivers similar to one the Muskies saw the previous week against Wisconsin Lutheran. On 2nd-and-7 from the Eagles own 29, Justin McMahon (Sr.-Kyle, Texas) anticipated and stepped right in front of the quick throw for a wide receiver screen, intercepting it and running it in for a 22-yard touchdown that along with the Noah Foster (Fr.-Greenville, Mich.) extra point made it 7-0.
Benedictine came back less than a minute later with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Simmons-Little to Alex Siebkens, and then took the lead when a Muskies punt snap went way over the head of the punter, and Bryce Thurman recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. That gave the Eagles their first lead of the game at 14-7, but Lakeland answered on its next possession, with Besaw snagging Michael's 24-yard pass to the back of the end zone and getting toes down just inside the back line of the end zone to make it 14-14 early in the second quarter.
Lakeland then got another massive defensive play on Benedictine's next possession. Simmons-Little dropped back and held the ball for a long time, and Markese Collins (Jr.-Phenix City, Ala.) came from behind and jarred the ball loose with a big hit. The ball hit the ground and bounced right up to Charles Kobe (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.), who caught it and raced 46 yards for the touchdown for his first collegiate score and a 21-14 Muskies lead.
Michael and Besaw paired up again just before halftime for their second touchdown. With a free blitzer coming off the edge, Michael threw quickly to Besaw over the middle for an 18-yard score with just 17 seconds left in the half, giving Lakeland a 28-14 lead at the break.
The Eagles scored quickly out of halftime, as Simmons-Little hit Thurman over the top for a 54-yard touchdown to close within 28-21, but the Muskies answered again. An 11-play, 64-yard drive was capped by Besaw taking a short pass, making a quick cutback to shake his defender and getting to the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown as Lakeland went back ahead 35-21 midway through the third quarter.
The Muskies added one more score with an authoritative 12-play, 68-yard drive that finished with a 4th-and-goal conversion. Michael rolled out to the right and took off for the end zone, diving and catching the pylon for a two-yard touchdown with 13:37 left in the game.
Benedictine had three drives in the fourth quarter, but the first went three downs and out and the second was stopped by an interception by freshman Michael Dye (Fort Wayne, Ind.) near midfield for his second pick of the season. A final drive ended with Vyron Rosquist-Wallace (Sr.-Henderson, Nev.) stopping Eagles running back Dino Stephens on 4th-and-1, and Lakeland ran out the final 3:11 to close it out.
Besaw caught six passes for 105 yards and Xaviar Thomas (Sr.-Chicago Heights, Ill.) added seven receptions for 68 yards, all in the second half. Jatron Bevly (Jr.-Springfield, Ill.) added 38 yards rushing on 11 carries and the Muskies finished with 221 yards rushing to go with 240 yards passing.
Karlis Ozols (Sr.-Fond du Lac, Wis.) paced the defense with eight tackles (six solo, two assisted), with two tackles for loss including a sack. Rosquist-Wallace added six tackles and Deamonte Arroyo (Fr.-Chicago, Ill.) added a forced fumble on a fourth down to stop a Benedictine drive in the third quarter.
Simmons-Little passed for 169 yards but completed just 7 of 19 passes for the Eagles. Joshua Brown rushed 16 times for 83 yards for Benedictine, and Jake Diamantos finished with a game-high 15 tackles (12 solo, three assisted).
Lakeland is on the road for its next game, a Friday night tilt at Eureka College this coming week, Oct. 11. Game time is 6 p.m.
Muskies handle Eagles, wind to write latest Homecoming success story with 42-21 win
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241005_9gt8.xml
2024
Benedictine
21
Lakeland
42
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benedictine (3-2) | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Lakeland (2-2) | 7 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Oct 05, 2024