PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Robby Michael (So.-Sheboygan, Wis.) threw for a career-high 463 yards in one of the biggest passing yardage days in Lakeland University school history but Concordia University Wisconsin got the last word in a 31-28 win in the 32nd annual Cheese Bowl game held Saturday at Taylor Field.
The Muskies held a massive advantage in yardage but Falcons got a fourth down stop in the final seconds and kept the Cheese Bowl trophy for the second straight year. Concordia also won both teams' Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener and improved to 2-1, while Lakeland dropped to 1-2 this season.
Michael completed 38 of 61 passes for 463 yards and two touchdowns, threatening a trio of school single-game marks. The 38 completions are tied with Mark Novara for the second-most in school history (Oct. 22, 1994 against Concordia Chicago), and the 463 yards throwing are the fifth-most in a game in Muskies history. The sophomore quarterback also gained 83 yards rushing to finish with 546 yards of total offense, 30 yards short of the school record set by Michael Whitley Nov. 5, 2016 against Aurora University.
Lakeland rolled up 563 yards of offense, nearly 300 yards more than CUW's 265 yards. The Muskies converted on 11 of 21 third downs, ran 102 offensive plays in all to Concordia's 65 plays, and drove into Falcons territory on 10 of 13 drives, including eight times in the red zone.
Lakeland left way too many opportunities on the table, though, including five drives inside the CUW 30 without points. Three of those drives ended inside the 10-yard line, including one in the game's last seconds of a back-and-forth final quarter.
The Muskies were still in position to pull out the win in a fourth quarter that saw the teams swap the lead three times. After getting a stop late, Lakeland took over possession with 2 minutes, 41 seconds left at the Falcons 29 and proceeded to drive once again deep into Concordia territory.
The Muskies converted on third down with a Michael run for six yards, and he then found Kaeden Calcari (Fr.-Menominee, Mich.) down the right sideline for a 32-yard gain down to the Concordia 26. The next three downs gained just three yards, though, but on 4th-and-7 Michael scrambled for eight yards down to the 15 to keep the drive alive.
A pair of incompletions were followed by an eight-yard completion by Michael to Willis to get to the CUW 7. On 4th-and-2, though, Michael's attempted run up the middle was stacked up a yard short of the first down with 22 seconds left in the game to preserve the win for the visitors.
The fourth quarter scoring saw Concordia kick a field goal to take a 24-21 lead early in the quarter, but for the Muskies to drive 92 yards in just four plays, with Michael completing passes of 28 yards to Kolby Cohen (Jr.-Missouri City, Texas) and 34 to Keon Willis (So.-Chicago, Ill.) before a swing pass to Devon Harris (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) where the running back picked through defenders and got to the end zone for an 11-yard score an a 28-24 lead.
The Falcons answered on their next drive, going 61 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead. A pair of long conversions were key, including a 2nd-and-21 conversion for 23 yards and the final play coming on 3rd-and-10, as Michael Purkey found Kekoa Carmichael behind the defense and he pulled down a 30-yard touchdown to make it 31-28.
The Muskies drove to CUW's 29-yard line on their next drive, but on first down Michael was picked off for the first time this season, by Evan Lischka to stop the drive with 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game. The defense forced Concordia into a three-and-out, though, giving Lakeland a final chance in the closing minutes.
The Muskies had rebounded from an early Concordia score to take a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter, after a two-yard run by Michael for a touchdown and then a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Michael hitting Xaviar Thomas (Sr.-Chicago Heights, Ill.) for a five-yard touchdown.
The Falcons tied the score midway through the second, taking advantage of good field position from a botched snap on a punt that led to a 29-yard touchdown throw from Purkey to Nick Crowell. The Lakeland defense intercepted three CUW passes in the quarter, though, two coming on back-to-back passes. The first saw Karlis Ozols (Sr.-Fond du Lac, Wis.) pick off Roman Funk and return 21 yards for a score with 1:13 left in the quarter to put the Muskies back ahead. Markese Collins (So.-Phenix City, Ala.) then intercepted Purkey on the first play of Concordia's next drive and returned it 20 yards to the Falcons 29, but the Muskies drive stalled at the end of the half after getting as far as the CUW 4.
Cohen retrieved seven passes for 128 yards and led a group of five for Lakeland with at least 60 yards receiving. Caleb Besaw (So.-Conroe, Texas) caught eight passes for 61 yards, Jatron Bevly (So.-Springfield, Ill.) added six catches for 65 yards, Thomas caught four balls for 63 yards and Willis added four catches for 62 yards. Harris also caught seven passes for 43 yards.
Justin McMahon (Jr.-Kyle, Texas) led the defense with 10 tackles (six solo, four assisted) including a sack. Andrew Redditt (New Orleans, La.) made seven tackles and broke up two passes and Matt Glogowski (Jr.-San Diego, Calif.) added six tackles, a sack and an interception early in the second quarter.
Purkey completed 11 of 17 passes for 138 yards for Concordia, which gained 157 yards through the air and 108 yards rushing. Ashar Thomas rushed 22 times for 75 yards and Ben Kraft led the Falcons defense with 12 tackles (10 solo).
Lakeland goes back to the road next week, traveling to face Rockford University for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Rockford, Ill.
Michael has field day but Falcons take the cheese from Muskies again
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230916_kwoo.xml
2023
Concordia (Wis.)
31
Lakeland
28
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia (Wis.) (2-1) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| Lakeland (1-2) | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Sep 16, 2023