This fall, the Muskies football team went into a very promising season. Turning predictions into reality, the Muskies carried out an 8-2 run with the help from the seniors who put their all into the football program at Lakeland university. This season had many highs and a couple lows, but the seniors who helped create the team we love left on a high.

For the third time, senior Larry Rivers (Dearborn Heights, MI) was named first team all-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football honors, leading a group of five seniors who received high all-conference honors for Lakeland University as the conference issued its postseason honors. Brice Kensey (senior; New Orleans) joined Rivers on the first team offensive. On defense, Rayshion Brumfield (sophomore; Ponchatoula, LA), Shazon Crutcher (senior; Lansing, Michigan), and Otis Watts (senior; Chicago) were all named to the first team. A total of 12 Muskies were recognized for their efforts in the postseason. Jeremiah Jones (sophomore; Chicago), Ezekiel Combs (senior; East Point, Georgia), and Peyton Domangue (Sophomore; Thibodaux, LA) were all named to the second team all-NACC squad, while Charl’Tez Nunnery (senior; Liberty, MS), Mason Prunick (senior; Sheboygan, WI), Dust Bergene (Jr.

Rivers rushed 220 times for 1,521 yards and 19 touchdowns while also receiving 25 passes for 252 yards and three scores. The NACC’s rushing yards, rushing yards per game (152.1), rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns (22) and points scored were all led by Rivers (132). Rivers also broke Lakeland’s single season rushing yardage, touchdown, and point scoring records. Throughout the season, he was among the NCAA Division III leaders in several categories, including scoring (13.2 points per game), running yards, rushing yards/game, touchdowns, and points scored, all-purpose yards (178.1 per game), rushing touchdowns, and yards per carry (6.9). Rivers concluded his Muskies career with 4,557 running yards and 41 rushing touchdowns, which are both second-most in NACC history.

Then we look at Brice Kensey, after one of the most successful seasons by a wide receiver in school history, Kensey was named to the NACC postseason team for the first time. After missing the first three games of the season due to injury, he caught 75 catches for 1,035 yards and 12 touchdowns in just seven games. He is only the third Muskie in school history to receive 1,000 yards in a season, and his receptions and receiving yards totals are tied for third all-time for a Muskie season. In the NACC, Kensey was second in receptions, third in receiving yards, and fourth in receiving touchdowns. He isn’t among the conference or Division III per-game leaders since he didn’t play in 75 percent of the games required. He would have led Division III if he had continued to average 10.7 receptions and 147.9 yards per game for another game. Full player and team stats and highlights are available here: https://lakelandmuskies.com/sports/football

So many of the seniors in this graduating class gave their hearts to this team and helped them reach this level of success. After talking to some of the underclassmen on the team they seemed excited to have big shoes to fill with people like Rivers and Kensey graduating. “Lakeland has seen some great players, but it is time for even more to get their chance,” said Xavier, a sophomore wide receiver. The future of Lakeland football is unknown yet very exciting. Stay tuned to see what is to come for the future Muskies.