WAUWATOSA, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Sophomore
Arnulfo Ortega (Laredo, Texas) connected on a school-record four field goals and Wisconsin Lutheran College scored the go-ahead touchdown with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter for a 25-21 Homecoming win over Lakeland on Saturday at Raabe Stadium.
The Warriors (1-2, 1-0 NACC) trailed 14-3 with 4:52 left in the first quarter following a pair of touchdown runs by the Muskies' Jatron Bevly, A 31-yard field goal sandwiched in between by Ortega capped the longest drive of the game for either team of 81 yards on eight plays.
WLC answered LU's second touchdown with an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior
Matthew Davis (Lake Mills, Wis.) to junior
Carter Schneider (Watertown, Wis.) at the 1:55 mark of the first quarter.
Wisconsin Lutheran came within a point at 14-13 after a 34-yard field goal from Ortega with just under nine minutes left in the second quarter. Lakeland responded with its longest drive of the game and a two-yard touchdown run from Bevly for a 21-13 advantage.
The Warriors tacked on three points just before halftime as Ortega connected on the second-longest field goal in program history, a 46-yarder, with 0:08 seconds remaining in the first half.
WLC stopped the Muskies on downs on their first possession of the third quarter, and the hosts capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive with another Ortega field goal from 29 yards away. That was the only scoring of the quarter as Wisconsin Lutheran trailed 21-19 entering the fourth.
In the fourth, Davis connected with Schneider again on a 74-yard pass play with nine minutes left to give the Warriors their first lead of the game. WLC's defense held firm, forcing an interception and turnover on downs on LU's final two possessions to secure the conference-opening victory.
Wisconsin Lutheran out-gained Lakeland 495-422. Davis completed 19-of-28 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Senior
Justin Parbs (Milwaukee, Wis.) rushed 23 times for 117 yards, and Schneider caught five passes for 138 yards and both touchdowns. Senior
Ty Castillo (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore
Savon Goodwin (New Orleans, La.) tallied 15 and 11 tackles, respectively. Sophomore
Connor Martin (Chino, Calif.) had a pass break-up, forced a fumble, and picked off a pass.
Jatron Bevly and Robert Michael rushed for 141 and 131 yards, respectively, for the Muskies. Justin McMahon made seven stops defensively.
The Warriors have a bye next week and return to conference play on Saturday, October 1 at Aurora (2-1, 1-0 NACC). Live coverage links for the 1 p.m. game will be available at WLCSports.com.
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