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Defense pitches a shutout in 26-0 win over Benedictine


Athletics - posted on 10/25/2008

SHEBOYGAN - One week ago, the Lakeland football team left Concordia Chicago shocked and embarrassed after a heartbreaking 35-32 defeat. The Muskie defense, which gave up over 500 yards of offense, surrendered the go-ahead score with just 20 seconds remaining in the game.

On this Saturday afternoon, the defense responded. So did the offense.

The Muskie defense allowed just 132 total yards while the offense piled up 450 yards in a 26-0 victory over Benedictine University in a Northern Athletics Conference match-up at Taylor Memorial Field. Lakeland moved to 3-4 on the season, including a 3-1 conference mark.

"Coming in, we had the attitude to not give him an inch," Lakeland senior linebacker John Wagner said. "We had a really bad game last week, plain and simple, and we had to come back and rebound, and come ready to play today. A big thing for us was to make sure we attacked them."

Wagner, a Kewaunee native, led the Muskie defensive attack with 10 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss. Senior safety Justin Medard (Evanston, Ill.) snagged his third interception of the season late in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.

The Eagles (1-6, 1-3 NAC) crossed midfield just twice in the entire game, and were never inside the Muskies' 40-yard line in the shutout.

"I was very pleased with how the defense responded from last week," Lakeland head coach Kevin Doherty said. "They had some big plays, got themselves off the field and created turnovers. Our defensive coaches really did a great job of getting these guys back on track and prepared."

Meanwhile, the Muskie offense surged for 19 points in the third quarter after a relatively quiet 7-point first half. Sophomore quarterback Jake Dworak (Denmark) tossed for 285 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Freshman running back Ben Duenas (Shiocton) paced the running game with 74 yards on just 14 carries, including a 33-yard burst in the fourth quarter.

"Offensively, we came out of the gates ready to roll and did some good things," Doherty said. "We had a dropped pass that hurt us and a turnover down near the goal line, but we came back out in the second half with the wind and made some nice reads."

Junior wide receiver Jake Heinemeyer (Shiocton) posted three receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. On the Muskies' second offensive play from scrimmage, Dworak found Heinemeyer wide open down the left sideline for a 62-yard score to give Lakeland an early 7-0 lead.

"We were able to spread them out, and the middle of the field was open on some 'sit routes,'" Heinemeyer said. "Jake found us and made the right reads. The first touchdown was a read route for me. I saw the safety rolled over and I figured I could go deep. I took a shot and it was open."

Heinemeyer also capped Muskie scoring, catching a 16-yard pass over the middle from Dworak with 16 second remaining in the third quarter.

Sophomore wide receiver Roberto Flores (Milwaukee) and senior wide receiver Matt Pawlyk (Marinette) also caught touchdowns from Dworak in the third quarter. Pawlyk finished with four receptions for 107 yards.

"Our receivers took the game into their hands, making first-down plays into big plays or touchdowns," Doherty said. "What that did was gave our offense more confidence and we ran the ball extremely well."

The offense fueled the attacking Muskie defense, which was all over the field, surrendering little ground to Benedictine's offense and harassing the Eagles' young quarterback, freshman Derek Hitt. Lakeland sacked Hitt four times and picked off three of his passes.

"We were able to rattle their quarterback," Wagner said. "We were stemming around and blitzing from all different angles. He wasn't really looking at the receivers, he seemed like he was worrying about the guys coming after him."

Defensive backs Mike Huber (Reedsburg) and Bryan Groshek (Cudahy) each recorded their first interceptions of the season.

Next Saturday, the Muskies head to Watertown to take on Maranatha Baptist Bible College. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.

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