LISLE, Ill. – A strong start to the game went awry for the Lakeland University football team as Benedictine University used a big second and third quarter to defeat the Muskies 54-40 Saturday afternoon at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.
The Eagles scored 35 unanswered points in a span of less than 14 minutes of game action and torpedoed Lakeland's undefeated record, dropping the Muskies to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Benedictine also remained unbeaten in the NACC, improving to 4-0 in conference and staying in a tie with Aurora University for the top spot in the league.
The Muskies started the game strong, building a 12-2 lead just over three minutes in and extending the margin to 14 points at 26-12 early in the second quarter. Charl'Tez Nunnery (Sr.-Liberty, Miss.) rushed for a touchdown and then connected with Brice Kensey (Sr.-New Orleans, La.) three times for touchdowns, part of a massive day for the duo.
Nunnery and Kensey hooked up 13 times for 194 yards, with Kensey's yardage the fourth-most for a receiver in school history and his receptions also tying for the fourth-most in a game by a Muskie. Kensey had ten receptions for 167 yards plus three touchdowns in the first half alone.
As the game went on, though, the Muskies were done in by the inability to get the Benedictine offense off the field. The Eagles hogged the ball for 41 minutes, 41 seconds of time of possession, nearly three quarters of the game and more than 23 minutes more than the Lakeland offense. Benedictine converted 10 of 15 third downs and its only fourth down try, and especially dominated the ball in the second and fourth quarters, combining to hold possession for 23:47 to just 6:13 for Lakeland.
After punting on its first possession, Benedictine would score on seven of its next eight possessions, including six touchdowns. The Eagles scored TD's on four straight drives from the end of the second quarter to late in the third, not including an interception also returned for a touchdown in the third quarter.
The teams were tied 26-26 at the half, but in a flash Benedictine (5-1 overall) would score three touchdowns in just over four minutes to take control of the game.
The Eagles would never trail again after taking the second half kickoff and driving 66 yards in five plays, with quarterback Tyler Jarnagin running it in from six yards out. The Muskies would run just three offensive plays before the hosts scored again when Chris Williams returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown. Lakeland would then go four-and-out on its next possession, and on Benedictine's first play Jarnagin went deep and found Sami Ayash for a 40-yard touchdown and a 47-26 lead with 10:39 left in the third period.
Lakeland would respond with a nine-play, 75-yard drive finished by Larry Rivers (Sr.-Dearborn Heights, Mich.) running 32 yards for a touchdown, but Benedictine came right back to go 71 yards in eight plays, with Jarnagin hitting Ayash again from ten yards out to push the lead back to 21 points. Rivers would carry a big load again on the Muskies' next drive with rushed of 35 and 16 yards and then catching a six-yard touchdown from Nunnery to make it 54-40 with still more than a quarter to play.
Lakeland would force a punt on Benedictine's next possession, but Cy Taylor intercepted Nunnery soon after and the Eagles then would bleed away almost the rest of the game on a 19-play, 57-yard drive that took 9:27 off the clock. Even after Tanner Mateus missed a 28-yard field goal, the Muskies had just 2:47 left in the contest and saw their last chance end on an incomplete pass on fourth down.
Nunnery completed 23 of 33 passes for a career-high 346 yards and four touchdowns as well as two interceptions. Rivers rushed 16 times for 131 yards, his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game of the season, and also caught six passes for 61 yards.
Lakeland gained 508 yards of total offense, and along with Benedictine gaining 523 yards the two teams combined for more than 1,000 yards. The Muskies twice saw drives end inside the Eagles 15-yard line late in the first half, though, including a possession ending at the 1-yard line as the half expired, and also committed three turnovers.
Isaac Anaya (Jr.-San Antonio, Texas) posted a season-high 16 tackles (five solo, 11 assisted) and Shazon Crutcher (Sr.-Lansing, Mich.) added 12 tackles (five solo, seven assisted) and an interception. The Lakeland defense recorded just five tackles for loss, though, well below its season average (9.8) that ranked among the NCAA Division III leaders.
Jarnagin completed 29 of 46 passes for 378 yards and five touchdowns for Benedictine, and he had two receivers finish with better than 100 yards with Nick Shelton (nine catches, 121 yards) and Ayash (seven receptions, 108 yards). Greg Hoard also rushed 19 times for 89 yards.
The Muskies are back in action next week when they travel to face Concordia University Chicago in River Forest at 1 p.m.
Benedictine tops Lakeland in 54-40 shootout to claim battle of NACC unbeatens
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211009_2cr1.xml
2021
Lakeland
40
Benedictine
54
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland (4-1) | 19 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 40 |
| Benedictine (5-1) | 9 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 54 |
Oct 09, 2021