Lakeland College Athletics News
Muskies look to build momentum Saturday against CUC
Revenge is the last thing on the mind of Lakeland College football coach Kevin Doherty.
A season after a final minute touchdown gave Concordia Chicago a 35-32 victory that left the Muskies with their first conference loss, focus on the task at hand has never been more important.
"Our upperclassmen, especially on defense, have been looking forward to this week, but last year was last year and this year is this year," Doherty said. "We've stressed over and over this season how every game on the schedule is equally important."
The Muskies (2-3, 2-0 NAC), one of two undefeated teams in Northern Athletics Conference play, will be looking for their third consecutive win this Saturday in a NAC contest against Concordia Chicago (4-1, 1-1 NAC) at 1 p.m. at Taylor Memorial Field.
Lakeland dominated the line of scrimmage last Saturday in a 14-9 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran, holding the Warriors to 65 rushing yards and 184 total yards of offense, their fewest total yards this season. Jeremy Williams was a yard short of breaking 100 for the third time this season, finishing with 99 yards on 23 carries.
"Defensively we did a fantastic job of containing their run," Doherty said. "We had some great stops on the goal line when our backs were against the wall and the defense did a great job of being resilient and not breaking. We gave up a field goal when it could have easily been a touchdown and the one touchdown we did give up was on a short field after a turnover."
With a first and goal from the Lakeland two yard line, Wisconsin Lutheran lost yardage on two consecutive runs before Josh Gordon recorded his only sack of the game for a 10 yard loss on third down, holding the Warriors to a field goal as the Muskies held to a 7-3 lead.
Lakeland followed the goal line stand with a 60 yard touchdown drive, capped by quarterback Jake Dworak's one yard touchdown run.
"On offense did a good job of controlling the ball and sustaining drives," Doherty said. "We shot ourselves in the foot a couple times and came up short when we should have ended up with points."
The Muskies are in for an entirely different challenge on defense this week. Concordia Chicago ranks sixth in the nation in passing offense, averaging 349 yards per game through five games this season. The Cougars have thrown for at least four touchdowns three times this season but maintain balance on offense, throwing 177 passes this season to 175 rushes.
Junior quarterback Mike Marotta found success against Lakeland last season, throwing for 292 yards and three scores in the last-second victory. The Cougars have a number of talented players on offense, including running back Khyre Copeland and receiver Mike Egebrecht. Copeland, the reigning NAC offensive player of the week, rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown in last season's game and Egebrecht ended the day with seven catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
"Concordia has a great offense," Doherty said. "They're explosive and score a lot of points. Their quarterback does a great job of finding the open receiver and has a great arm with a quick release. They have a quality back in Copeland and a strong receiver in Egebrecht who hurt us last year as their go-to guy. We need to have an answer for what they're doing."
That answer will likely need to come from the Lakeland defensive secondary. While having just two interceptions as a defense this season, Marotta has already thrown 10 at the halfway point this season, matching his total from last year. Factoring in an improved defensive line over the past two weeks, the success of the Lakeland back five could prove to be extremely pivotal to the final outcome.
"We need to play disciplined defense this week," Doherty said. "We need to be in good positions to make plays as far as our coverage, but most importantly we need to put pressure on the quarterback. We need to put them in an uncomfortable situation on the field."
