The Muskies rolled up 659 yards of offense, limited the Red Devils to 242 yards, and built a 42-0 lead by late in the third quarter. Seven different players scored touchdowns in the game as Lakeland improved to 3-2 overall and is now 3-1 in the NACC at the mid-point of the season.
The Muskies piled up 345 yards passing and 314 yards rushing and drove into Eureka territory and inside the hosts' 40-yard line on 12 of their 13 drives. The Lakeland defense also held the Red Devils (0-5 overall, 0-3 NACC) to a net of minus-11 yards in the game, and only a few long pass plays prevented the Muskies from a shutout.
The Muskies held the upper hand even after leaving a number of opportunities on the table in a first half that still yielded a 14-0 halftime lead, but took full control in the third quarter. Four touchdowns came in a span of just over seven minutes, starting with Robby Michael (Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) running it in from eight yards out to push the lead to 21-0.
Lakeland then hit Eureka with an onsides kick and recovered to get the ball back again, and the Muskies were in the end zone again eight plays and 52 yards later. Jamel Britt (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) scored his first touchdown for the Muskies on a six-yard run, and Noah Foster (Fr.-Greenville, Mich.) continued a perfect night on PATs by converting the extra point to make it 35-0.
Lakeland scored again just over a minute later, as Shamond Oliver (Jr.-Phenix City, Ala.) read the pass from Eureka quarterback Kaeden Frazier perfectly, picked it off and ran 30 yards for a touchdown. The Muskies added another on their next drive, going 83 yards in six plays capped by Michael over the top to Kolby Cohen (Sr.-Missouri City, Texas) to make it 42-0 with 4:04 still left in the third quarter.
That would be the end of the night for Michael and many of the Muskies' skill position regulars, and by the fourth quarter there were full-scale substitutions on both sides of the ball. The healthy lead allowed backup quarterback Cy Lumbano-Larson (Fr.-San Tan Valley, Ariz.) to get in more than a quarter of work, and he scored his first collegiate touchdown with a 16-yard run with 10:03 left in the game to close out the scoring.
Michael finished completing 16 of 25 passes for 241 yards, three touchdowns and two first quarter interceptions, and he also rushed 15 times for a team-high 87 yards. Michael completed a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, hitting Jatron Bevly (Jr.-Springfield, Ill.) for a 31-yard score with 29 seconds left in the first quarter for the game's first points, and then finding Jeremy Kobe (Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) for a 22-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.
Lumbano-Larson also completed 8 of 14 passes for 104 yards. Hassan Rivers (So.-Dearborn Heights, Mich.) added 70 yards rushing on just nine carries and Bevly carried 10 times for 57 yards. Kobe paced the Muskies' receivers with six catches for 60 yards and Caleb Besaw (Jr.-Conroe, Texas) added four receptions for 61 yards. A total of 11 different players caught at least one pass, and seven different players ran the ball.
The Lakeland defense's dominance was nearly as complete. The Muskies forced Eureka to go three downs and out nine times, intercepted three passes, and held the Red Devils below 200 yards of offense until a drive in the game's final seconds.
Jake Leclaire (Sr.-Stuart, Fla.) finished with five tackles for loss including two sacks, and Xavier Catalan (Jr.-Las Vegas, Nev.), Tayshaun Hayes (Fr.-Portage, Ind.) and Karlis Ozols (Sr.-Fond du Lac, Wis.) all added sacks. Charles Kobe (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) paced the defense with five tackles and Lakeland held Eureka to just 2 of 13 on third down.
The Red Devils' lone touchdown came after a fumbled shotgun snap gave the hosts field position at the Lakeland 37 early in the fourth quarter, and a pair of penalties accounted for 26 of Eureka's yards on the drive, including a pass interference call in the end zone on fourth down. Brandon Tollett completed a two-yard pass to Nathanael Vroman for the Red Devils' touchdown.
Frazier completed 10 of 21 passes for 141 yards and Tollett completed 8 of 16 passes for 112 yards. Vroman caught eight passes for a game-high 132 yards.
Lakeland now has 15 days until its next game. The Muskies are idle next week but will return to face NACC power Aurora University Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. at Taylor Field.
Muskies make most of playing under Friday night lights, dominate in 49-8 win over Eureka
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241011_1038.xml
2024
Lakeland
49
Eureka
8
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland (3-2) | 7 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 49 |
| Eureka (0-5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Oct 11, 2024