Lakeland College suffered a tough 35-16 Carthage College in Kenosha on Saturday evening.

The Muskies (0-2 overall) were able to convert on just 4-of 15 third down conversions, while the Red Men (2-0 overall) took full advantage of their chances, converting on 10-of 18 third down opportunities.

The Red Men got on the board first about seven minutes into the first quarter when Nick Merchut scored on a seven yard TD pass from quarterback Dan DeBoeuf. The Muskies responded with a field goal by junior kicker Billy Hughes in the second quarter. However, the Red Men came back with three TDS to make it a 28-3 contest going into the locker room.

The Muskies looked much sharper in the second half and were able to get on the board a couple of times. With just than six minutes left in the third quarter, senior quarterback Brad Wilk found Jake Heinemeyer for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The Red Men scored again early in the quarter for their last score of the game. The Muskies closed out the game with Wilk scoring a TD on a one-yard run for a touchdown with just 10 seconds left.

"Our team needs to keep working hard and learn how to play a complete game," said Lakeland head coach Kevin Doherty. "We are too inconsistent during the game. We have great plays and drives but have not put it all together yet. We must minimize our mistakes on both sides of the ball and special teams, and we must limit our turnovers and create some. I truly believe that our non-conference schedule is going to benefit us when our conference play begins. We have one more challenging non- conference game to play then we open up with a big game in Greenville."

Offensively, Wilk was 16 for 44 passing for 302 yards. Freshman halfback Ben Lombardi led the Muskies' rushing efforts carrying the ball eight times for 40 yards. Heinemeyer paced the receivers with five receptions for 73 yards. Senior wide receiver MacArthur White added five kick-off returns for 199 yards with a long of 58 yards.

Junior defensive lineman John Wagner paced the Muskies defense with 10 solo tackles including two of them for a loss of a total of 10 yards. Senior safety Josh Schramm and sophomore linebacker Jamie Schramm each had nine tackles in the loss.

Lakeland will be on the road again this Saturday as they face non-conference foe UW-Oshkosh. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh.

Muskies fall to UW-Whitewater 41-7

Lakeland College opened its 2007 football season with a 41-7 loss to UW-Whitewater, the nation's second ranked team, in the Muskies' 2006 home opener at Taylor Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Muskies’ defense was able to hold the two-time defending Division III national runner-up to just 41 points this season, a big improvement over the 75-14 loss last season and a 73-12 loss in 2005.

First-year Lakeland head coach Kevin Doherty was please with his team’s performance.

“I’m very proud of how hard our team played for all 60 minutes of football,” said Doherty. “I was extremely pleased with our defense, and our offense showed some signs of coming together. Overall, I feel great and feel we have a lot to build on.”

The Warhawks got on the board first with on two-yard run by senior running back Justin Beaver with just 2:05 in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. But Lakeland’s defense held the Warhawks to a pair of field goals before Whitewater scored a second TD to take a 20-0 halftime lead.

The Warhawks would put another TD on the board with 6:52 in the third. The Muskies responded with their lone score on the day, an 86-yard kickoff return by senior wide receiver MacArthur White.

Junior defensive back Justin Medard and freshman defensive back Keith Woodson paced the Muskies defense with 10 tackles each.

Offensively, senior quarterback Brad Wilk was 9 for 25 passing with one interception. White paced the Muskies with five receptions for 25 yards, while senior Paul Resop led the rushing attack with 23 yards on 11 carries.

Next week, the Muskies will head to Carthage College for their first of four straight road games. The game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Kenosha, Wis.