The Benedictine University football team overcame a feisty Lakeland offense to tally a 42-35 victory at home on Saturday afternoon.

The defense forced an immediate three-and-out and took advantage of a short field following a punt to grab the lead on their first trip down the field. Phillip Jacobs threw a 14-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the first drive, hitting Tristan Weglarz to make the score 7-0 with 11:52 left in the first. Lakeland tied the game by embarking on a lengthy drive before striking with 8:14 left in the first. The defense forced Lakeland to stall in the redzone before a quick drive put Benedictine ahead early in the second quarter on a pair of runs by Dino Stephens Jr., who scored on a 31-yard run at the 14:04 mark of the second. Stephens went over the 1,000-yard mark for the year in the contest. Another long drive enabled Lakeland to tie the score with 8:52 in the second. Alex Siebens responded by snaring a 50-yard touchdown strike to put Benedictine back in front just two plays later. Taking over on downs deep on their own half with just over four minutes to play in the half, Benedictine marched and answered to lead 28-14 on an 18-yard run by Stephens.

Jason Moore returned the opening kickoff of the second half 65 yards for a touchdown to stretch the advantage to 35-21. Lakeland scored two touchdowns rapidly after recovering an onside kick to fight within 35-28 in the third quarter. A 36-yard punt return for John Clampitt handed Benedictine a short field early in the fourth as Benedictine had a big day on special teams. Siebens reeled in a 14-yard score on the first play after the return to push the lead to 42-28 with 13:56 to play. Lakeland answered to draw within the final margin and had a pair of drives to attempt to tie the game after Benedictine grinded to a halt in the redzone and also punted for the first time in the final minute. The defense stood tall and drove Lakeland back, making the plays when needed to secure the win.

Lakeland finished the game with 560 yards of offense on 111 plays, attempting over 60 passes. Jake Diamantos led the defense with 20 tackles while John Thompson added 11. The defense racked up seven sacks as Brian Pritt and Dawson Piper both recorded a pair. Corey Baugh and Jeff Leighliter both broke up three passes in the secondary. Benedictine accumulated nearly 150 yards in returns on special teams. The offense finished with 360 yards as the teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards. Stephes ran 26 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns. The ground game netted 219 yards. Jacobs attempted just 12 passes, completing seven for 134 yards and three scores. Siebens caught just two passes but both for touchdowns, finishing with a team high 64 yards receiving.    

Benedictine (6-1, 4-1 NACC) visits St. Norbert next week in a key conference matchup. Read Full Article