Pioneers travel to Lakeland to play under the lights

The Game: The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers hit the road for their first away game of the season against Lakeland University on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. on Taylor Field.

Last meeting: The Muskies traveled to UW-Platteville in 2018 to play under the lights at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium where the Pioneers defeated Lakeland 49-12.

The records:  UW-Platteville is 2-0 overall after defeating East Texas Baptist University 38-30 on opening weekend and defeating Thomas More University 41-10 last weekend in Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. Lakeland sits at 1-1 overall after losing its home opener to Carroll University 44-34 and defeating Kalamazoo College 28-7 last weekend.

The coaches: Saturday's matchup features a couple of noteworthy items.  Mike Emendorfer is UW-Platteville's all-time winning coach, compiling a 103-101 record in his 21 seasons.  Game number one-and victory number one- came in 1999, when the Pioneers rallied to beat Lakeland 20-17 in the season opener.  Lakeland Coach Colin Bruton spent the 2004-06 seasons as the Pioneers' linebacker coach under Emendorfer.  He joined the Muskies' staff in 2007 and became the head coach in 2015.  In his five years, the Muskies are 28-17 and made consecutive appearances in the Division III playoffs from 2015-17 in addition to extending their string of conference titles to four straight years.

The Pioneers: UW-Platteville is 22-3 in non-conference play over the last eight years, including wins in 14 of its last 15. The Pioneers had compiled a 53-18 overall mark the previous seven seasons, with a pair of NCAA Division III playoff appearances.

Emendorfer's squad is averaging 423 yards per game, including 300.5 in the air. Junior Colin Schuetz has completed 41-of-72 (56.9%) attempts for 601 yards and seven touchdowns in two games. Senior Tyler Knigge (14 receptions for 190 yards) and junior Donald Allender (seven receptions for 166 yards) are Schuetz's primary targets. Senior running back Wyatt Thompson has totaled 32 carries for 156 of the Pioneers' 245 rushing yards.

On defense, senior defensive back Walter Ollie leads the Pioneers with 19 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and two pass break-ups.  Senior defensive back Tyler Reinhardt follows closely behind with 18 tackles in two games with two tackles for a loss of five yards and a pass break-up.

The Muskies: The Muskies will enter Saturday night's game averaging 500.5 yards total offense per game with 249.5 yards passing and 251 yards rushing. 

Lakeland's Charl'Tez Nunnery has completed 32-of-49 attempts (65.3%) for 484 yards and three touchdowns this season. Targets for the Muskies include Brice Kensey (eight receptions for 174 yards), Dezmon Eddie (nine receptions for 120 yards), and Larry Rivers (nine receptions for 118 yards). River also leads the Muskies in rushing with 47 carries for 350 yards.

On defense, Shazon Crutcher leads with 18 tackles while Trevion Smith has tallied 13 tackles.  Overall, Lakeland holds a 1,001-696 yards total offense advantage over its opponents this season.

Odds and ends:

• The Pioneers are 4-1 overall against Lakeland.
• Saturday marks the first time the Pioneers will compete against the Muskies on the newly resurfaced Taylor Memorial Field. Following the Pioneers' 2016 trip to Lakeland, the grass field was resurfaced and re-opened for the 2017 season.
• UW-Platteville is receiving votes in the d3football.com Top 25 Poll as of games through Sept. 21 with UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse listed in the Top 25 while UW-Stevens Point and UW-Oshkosh are also receiving votes.
• The 2019 UW-Platteville Football team continues its campaign to #SetTheExpectation. A nationally recognized campaign and pledge taken by college athletes that is focused on combatting sexual and physical violence.  Founder Brenda Tracy visited was an honorary captain last season at a home game.
• Looking ahead, the Pioneers will return home to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium when they open up WIAC play against the Eagles of UW-La Crosse on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. for Family Weekend and Bobblehead Day (free Pioneer Pete bobbleheads for the first 500 fans through the gate).