SHEBOYGAN, WIS.-- The Lakeland offense powered the Muskies to a 61-35 victory over Trine in a non-conference contest Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.
Lakeland scored 48 points in the first half and racked up 516 yards of total offense on the day. The Muskies forced the Thunder into five turnovers, three of which were converted into points on the ensuing drive and one of which was returned for a touchdown. Michael Whitley completed 28-of-41 passes for 438 yards and six touchdowns, plus ran for 62 more yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Whitley entered the game ranked 17th in the nation in individual total offense. Mark Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) rushed for a career-high 97 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries to lead Trine. The Thunder fell to 3-3 overall. Lakeland improved to 4-2.
John Harris-Scott (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wiregrass Ranch) picked up his first-career touchdown for Trine. He ran for 43 yards on nine carries. Overall, the Thunder rushed for 297 yards at a clip of 5.4 yards per carry.
Whitley spread the ball around to eight different Muskie receivers. All-NACC receiver Michael Esiobu caught 10 of those passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. Dezmen Morse added 86 receiving yards, while Peyten Petersen added 84 yards and a receiving touchdown. Kezlow Smith notched a pair of touchdown grabs.
The two teams combined for 41 points in the opening quarter. Lakeland opened the scoring on its first play from scrimmage as Whitley connected with Petersen for a 61-yard score. On Trine's ensuing drive, Landon Derginer recovered a fumble and took it back 71 yards for a 13-0 Muskie lead.
Derginer notched 10 tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception on the day. Lakeland forced two fumbles and picked off three passes in the game.
Trine attempted to keep pace as the Thunder marched back down the field on the ensuing drive to cut the score to 13-7. Harris-Scott punched in his first-career rushing TD from 11-yards out to cap the drive.
The two teams then traded quick-strike touchdowns. On the Muskies' second play on their next drive, Whitley hit Esiobu for a 61-yard touchdown. Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) answered with a 62-yard TD toss to Jeffery Barnett (Fremont, Ohio/Fremont-Ross) to cut the score to 20-14.
From then on, the Muskies took over as they scored the next 41 points over the next two quarters. Three Thunder turnovers led to Lakeland scoring drives. Smith's 18-yard touchdown catch from Whitley capped the scoring in the first quarter with a 27-14 Lakeland advantage.
Whitley continued his performance with rushing touchdowns on back-to-back drives. Three more touchdown passes from Whitley capped Lakeland's scoring at a 61-14 margin with 52 seconds to play in the third.
Wilson scored all three of his rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the Thunder. The sophomore scored on runs of five, two and eight yards.
Quinton Daniels (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) notched his first-career interception for the Trine defense. Tanner Vannieuwenhoven (Pulaski, Wis./Pulaski) forced a fumble and Mitchell Fair (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty) added the recovery.
Trine returns to MIAA play next Saturday when they travel to face Albion. Kickoff against the undefeated Britons is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium.
