The Lakeland College football team showed it will have a few growing pains to go through this season in a 33-7 loss to Carroll University in its season opener Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.
Replacing a three-year starter at the quarterback spot, the Muskies broke in a pair of true freshmen under center. Lakeland saw some good things from its new signal callers but was a step shy in consistency on offense, and coupled with a surprisingly balanced offensive attack from Carroll, the result was the fifth straight season-opening loss for the Muskies to the Pioneers.
Lakeland moved the ball at times throughout the game, finishing with 270 yards of offense, including 193 yards passing from quarterbacks A.J. Veloz (Whiting, Ind.) and Michael Whitley (Vidalia, Calif.). Veloz also rushed for the team's only touchdown, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak in the second quarter to draw the Muskies within 13-7.
Lamont Williams supplied the answer for Carroll on the day, rushing for 118 yards and scoring on a pair of big plays. The first for the Pioneer running back came when he received the ensuing kickoff and shook off a number of tackles, weaving across the field for a touchdown that put Carroll ahead 20-7.
The Muskies struggled to finish off drives, with four drives ending in Pioneer territory. Particularly noteworthy were a pair of drives in the second half that ended inside Carroll's 20, including the team's opening drive of the second half.
Lakeland still trailed 20-7 at halftime but took the second half kickoff and drove down to the Pioneer 19-yard line. The drive ended there, though, as a pass by Veloz on 4th and 1 was incomplete, giving the ball back to Carroll.
The visitors took full advantage just four plays later. Williams broke free again, this time racing 73 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
Landon Derginer (Jr.-Marinette, Wis.) blocked the point after touchdown, but Carroll's 26-7 lead proved to be plenty the rest of the way. The Muskies' next two drives would peter out early, and the Pioneers added a final touchdown on a 36-yard run by Daniel Arden early in the fourth quarter for the final score.
The game started out looking like it would be a defensive slugfest. Neither team scored in the first quarter as Carroll missed a field goal on its opening drive and then the teams combined for three straight punts.
The scoring picked up in the second quarter, though, with four touchdowns between the two teams. Kyle Burlingame entered the game in the second quarter for Carroll and provided a passing spark to a team that struggled to throw the ball last year. Burlingame threw for a pair of touchdowns to give the Pioneers a 13-0 lead before Veloz led a seven-play, 64-yard drive for a score. The key play was a 51-yard rainbow over the middle by Veloz to Kezlow Smith (Jr.-Pontiac, Mich.), who led all receivers in the game with 93 yards receiving on three catches.
Carroll gained 422 yards of offense, with 213 yards passing and 209 yards rushing. The Muskies finished with the advantage in time of possession, holding the ball 31:04.
Veloz completed 14 of 25 passes for 162 yards, while Whitley came on in the fourth quarter completed 3 of 7 passes for 31 yards and also rushed for 23 yards while leading a long drive that ended inside the Carroll 5. Both quarterbacks also protected the ball, as the Muskies finished without committing a turnover.
Sophomore Kevyn Lewis (Romulus, Mich.) led the Lakeland defense with 12 tackles, including one sack. Yaphay Harvey (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) also added 11 tackles.
Burlingame completed 11 of 16 passes for 128 yards for Carroll, which finished 6-4 last year and is now 5-0 all-time against Lakeland. All five meetings have come over the past five years, and this was easily the most decisive of the five, as the Muskies never lost by more than 14 points in the first four meetings.
The Muskies are idle next week with an early season week off. Lakeland will return to action on Sept. 20 when it is home again to face Hope (Mich.) College at 1 p.m.
Carroll uses big plays to pull away from Muskies in football opener
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140906_l84x.xml
2014
Carroll
33
Lakeland
7
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll (1-0) | 0 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 33 |
| Lakeland (0-1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Sep 06, 2014