Football | 10/14/2016 2:53:00 PM

LAKELAND (3-2, 1-0 NACC) AT BENEDICTINE (4-1, 2-0 NACC)
October 15 - 1:00 p.m.

REWIND
Ryan Sample directed a game-winning drive with under two minutes remaining to lift Benedictine to a wild 51-49 victory at Concordia Wisconsin last week. Sample converted on a fourth and 10 by finding Elijah Walker on a 47-yard play to keep the drive alive. The winning score came on a 10-yard pass to JaVon McBride. Sample, who set three school records in the win, has led a pair of game-winning dives in the final two minutes this season.

SCENE SETTER
Lakeland won the 2015 NACC Championship by handling Benedictine in Wisconsin in the season finale. The Muskies were selected as the preseason favorite in 2016. Lakeland has won at least a share of the conference title in each of the past two seasons and the game between the two programs has served as a de facto conference title game each season.

MUSKIE MINUTE
Lakeland returns the 2015 NACC Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Michael Whitley. Whitley suffered an injury last week at Adrian and did not play following six pass attempts early in the second quarter. Whitley threw for a conference record 3,257 yards last year with 34 touchdowns. Colin Bruton, the 2015 NACC Coach of the Year, is on the sidelines for a second season. Lakeland is 3-2 on the season. The Muskies opened the year with close wins over Carroll and Albion before falling 56-0 at UW-Platteville, currently ranked seventh in the D3football.com Top 25. The lone conference contest of the year came under difficult field conditions by a 16-7 score over Concordia Wisconsin. Lakeland lost last week's non-conference crossover with Adrian, 28-21. Benedictine owns a 2-0 record against common opponents with Lakeland sitting 1-1.

SERIES HISTORY
After losing eight in a row from 2002-09, Benedictine is 4-2 over the last six meetings with Lakeland with identical 2-1 marks at home and on the road. This afternoon marks the 49th meeting between the two schools. The series began in 1950 and the schools have met every year since 1998 as conference opponents. Lakeland leads the all-time series 28-20.

LAST YEAR  
Lakeland pulled away from Benedictine early as Michael Whitley had a field day in a 46-22 win on the last day of the season to secure the NACC Championship. Whitley established a Lakeland record with 520 yards of total offense, accounting for seven touchdowns. Benedictine never led in the game and trailed 34-7 at the end of the third quarter. Ryan Sample threw for 252 yards but could not overcome four turnovers. Sample added 82 yards rushing. Lakeland outgained Benedictine 571-359.

STARTS WITH THE D
No school in the NACC is allowing less than 403 yards per game. Lakeland leads the conference in defense, allowing 403.2 per game with an even mix of 219.6 passing and 183.6 rushing. Benedictine sits fourth at 447.6 yards per game. Opponents throw for an average of 294.8 yards per game while rushing for 152.8.

UP NEXT
Benedictine takes a break from the NACC schedule to play a crossover game with the MIAA. Benedictine will travel to Olivet College in Michigan for a 12:00 p.m. CDT game. Olivet is currently 4-1. The Comets were picked to place second in the preseason MIAA poll.

HOMECOMING
This afternoon marks the annual homecoming contest. Benedictine rallied from a 28-7 halftime deficit to win last year's homecoming 39-35 against Concordia Wisconsin. Benedictine has lost just once on homecoming since 2010, a 23-6 defeat to Adrian under the lights in 2014, for a mark of 5-1 over the last six homecomings. Homecoming has featured several rallies in recent history in addition to last year. Benedictine trailed 28-7 to Albion in the homecoming game in 2012 before rallying to win 32-28. Benedictine also trailed Aurora 16-0 at the half in 2011 before winning 26-19.

TOUCHDOWN TIME
Benedictine has scored 27 touchdowns this season, most in the conference. Concordia University Chicago is second with 23 scores. Ten different individuals have accounted for touchdowns on the year. Elijah Walker leads the team with 10 touchdowns, all receiving. JaVon McBride, Jesse Kilbourn, and Derrick Miles have all scored three times.

STRICTLY STREAKING
Benedictine enters this weekend having won four consecutive contests. Benedictine has produced win streaks of at least four games in each of the past four seasons. The 2015 team opened the season 1-2 before ripping off six consecutive victories heading into the season ending clash at Lakeland. The team ended the season with five straight wins in 2014. In 2013, Benedictine won five straight before a season ending loss against Lakeland. The longest win streak in recent memory came in 2011 with the team winning six straight en route to an appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. During another NCAA season in 2010, the team won seven in a row.

SAMPLE SIZE
Ryan Sample posted a record-setting week against Concordia Wisconsin on October 8. Sample set single game records for passing yards (449), touchdowns (six), and total offense (453). The junior is assaulting the school record board in his second year as a starter having thrown for over 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. Sample, an honorable mention all-conference selection, is just two touchdowns away from matching his 2015 total of 20 touchdowns with five games remaining. The Manteno, Ill. native has thrown for over 300 yards in the last four contests, all victories. Sample owns six career games with 300 or more yards passing and attempted a career high 59 passes last week. Sample is tied for eighth in the nation with 18 touchdown passes while sitting ninth in passing yards and seventh in yards per game.

WALKER WONDERS
Elijah Walker leads the conference with 682 yards receiving, eighth in the nation. Walker has tallied over 110 yards in the last four contests and has caught at least five passes in each game this season. The senior has reeled in 10 touchdowns this year, tied for the conference lead with a number that is tied for second most in the country. Walker owns three touchdown catches in each of the past two contests to equal the conference record. Last week, Walker caught a career high 12 passes for a career best 185 yards.

ALL-AMERICAN
Despite a season marred with injury that resulted in a season ending injury in the seventh game of the year, Jarrett Lecas was selected as an AFCA All-American. Lecas missed parts of six games in total but still accumulated four interceptions, with two returned for a touchdown. The safety was named a Second Team preseason All-American last year by D3football.com. Lecas is just the fifth player in school history to earn All-American honors. John Borsellino was a two-time All-American in 2011 and 2012.

TURNOVER MACHINE
Victor Johnson has accounted for five of the 13 turnovers produced by the Benedictine defense. Johnson has recovered three fumbles while recording a pair of interceptions. Johnson has sealed victories with interceptions against Adrian and Concordia Wisconsin. The junior is the team leader with 45 tackles.

CONVERT THIS
Benedictine owns a third down conversion rate of just 37 percent but is converting on 69 percent of fourth down attempts. Benedictine has gone for it 13 times on fourth down this year. The fourth down percentage is tied for 20th in the country. Lakeland has converted on just 27 percent of third down attempts.

FOR TWO
Benedictine has converted on three two-point conversions following a touchdown this year on four attempts and have also added a two-point score on a return of a blocked PAT. Jacob Czerniakowski, the holder, has thrown for pair of conversions with Ryan Sample adding another. Luke Ludolph has reeled in two conversion passes with Jake Valas owning the other. Jarrett Lecas own the return for two points after he blocked a kick against Rockford. Additionally, Benedictine owns two more points on a safety. Lakeland owns four two-point conversions this season.

KICK THIS
Benedictine leads the conference in kick return and punt return average. Benedictine has only returned 18 kicks this year, fewest in the NACC, but has racked up 385 yards for an average of 21.4 per return. The 385 yards are third most. Elijah Walker sits second in the conference at 24.3 yards per return on eight attempts. By contrast, Benedictine has returned 12 punts, most in the conference, for an average of 14.9 yards per return. JaVon McBride owns the lone non-offensive touchdown of the year, an 85-yard punt return against Rockford on October 1 in the conference opener. McBride leads the conference in punt return yardage.

KICK THIS TOO
Three different kickers have attempted extra points this season while two have tried field goals. Freshman Kyle Bennett is 10-of-13 on PATs this season and connected on a 28-yard field goal in his first attempt of the season last week. The 28-yarder marked the longest field goal attempt of the season for Benedictine. Erik Hanson has converted on 7-of-8 PATs while Kyle VanEekeren is a perfect 2-for-2. Hanson is the only other player to attempt a field goal, an unsuccessful attempt from 25 yards in the home opener.

STATE YOUR CASE
The 2016 roster features players from eight different states and a United States Territory (Puerto Rico). The roster features 24 seniors, 24 juniors, 19 sophomores, and 38 freshmen for a total of 105 players. Seventy four players come from Illinois. The next highest state in terms of representation on the roster is Indiana with 13. Twenty of the 22 players listed on the offensive depth chart hail from Illinois along with a pair from Indiana. The defensive side is more diverse with 11 coming from Illinois.

RECORD WATCH
Ryan Sample is in sight of several single season school records. The junior is just seven passing touchdowns away from the single season mark of 25 set by Preston Earl in 2010. At the mid-point of the season Sample has thrown for 1,773 yards, ninth in the nation. The single season record for passing yards is 2,770 yards, set in 1992 by Ed Smith, who was inducted into the Benedictine Hall of Fame this fall. Should Sample stay healthy for another full season he has an opportunity to own most, if not all, of the Benedictine career quarterback records. Elijah Walker is more than halfway to the single season record for receiving yards, 1,189 owned by another Hall of Famer, Eric Green, also in 1992.

HONOR ROLL
Last week marked the first time this season that Benedictine was not represented among the NACC Weekly Award winners. Four different individuals have accounted for five awards this year. Ryan Sample is the lone player to receive offensive honors following a win over St. Norbert. JaVon McBride was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after the October 1 win over Rockford. Jordan Wallace also earned defensive honors after the Rockford game. Victor Johnson is the lone repeat winner this year. Johnson has twice been named as the Defensive Player of the Week. Johnson was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after recovering three fumbles against Wheaton in the season opener. Sample received honors from D3football.com as well by taking part in the play of the week with a 48-yard run against Adrian.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Benedictine ranks 11th in the nation in passing offense at 355.8 per game. The team ranks 30th in the nation in total offense at 486 yards per contest. Benedictine averages 38.8 points per game, 38th in the country.

LEADERBOARD
Benedictine leads or is tied for the NACC lead in 20 different statistical categories.

LONG ROAD
Today marks the fourth home game of the season for Benedictine, who played three consecutive contests at the Village of Lisle/Benedictine University Sports Complex from September 10-October 1. Benedictine has only one home contest remaining among the final four games, a date with Concordia Chicago on November 5. Benedictine has scored at least 34 points in each of the three home contests this year, all wins. Among the totals is a modern day scoring record of 67 points against Rockford, which set a record for the Village of Lisle/Benedictine University Sports Complex. The 67 points were the most since a school record 106 in a 1924 win over Sheridan Athletic Club.

MIAA MINUTE
The NACC and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association entered into a yearly agreement in 2012 to help with scheduling. The conferences play a yearly challenge where the schools from each conference are pitted against each other. Additionally, with an odd number of teams, the conferences play a second non-conference contest in a crossover on a conference bye week which was added to the agreement in 2014. Benedictine defeated Adrian 35-28 in the challenge on September 24 and faces Olivet next week in the crossover. The NACC has not fared well of late in the series. The MIAA won five of the seven games this year with Benedictine and Lakeland as the lone winners for the NACC. The MIAA owns a 25-10 edge in the series, sweeping all the games in 2015. Benedictine and Adrian have met in three consecutive seasons in the challenge game. Overall, Benedictine is 5-2 against the MIAA in the crossover/challenge games and has played Albion, Kalamazoo, and Adrian.

SCHEDULE STRENGTHS
The non-conference schedule for Benedictine this season will boost the team's profile nationally. The first three games of the year all came against schools predicted to win their conference that boasted a combined regular season record of 36-4 in 2015. Three of the opponents won or shared conference titles. Benedictine opened with a 26-7 loss at Wheaton, currently ranked 11th in the nation. Wheaton, picked to win the CCIW, has posted back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons and is currently 6-0. The second contest featured a home game against the Midwest Conference favorite St. Norbert College. St. Norbert finished the regular season 10-0 last year and has won three in a row following an 0-2 start. Adrian was selected as the preseason favorite in the MIAA and currently sits 3-2 with a win over Lakeland last week. Olivet notched a 9-1 mark last season, sharing the MIAA crown. The Comets have won four straight and are currently 4-1. Olivet tied for second in the preseason poll.

PLAYOFF PAST
Benedictine has made more playoff appearances than any school in the history of the NACC with three. With back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011, Benedictine became the first school to appear in the playoffs more than once from the conference. Benedictine fell 57-10 at St. Thomas in 2010 and dropped a 47-7 decision at Mt. Union in 2011. The most recent playoff appearance came in 2014 when Benedictine was sent 10 minutes across DuPage County to fall at Wheaton 43-14. The playoff appearances are the first three in program history. Lakeland became the only other program to make multiple appearances with last year's win over Benedictine.  The NACC has never won a playoff game. Concordia Chicago came the closest in 2012, losing 24-23 at home to Bethel in the only home postseason game for the conference, missing on a two-point conversion for the win at the end of regulation.