MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Week eight of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) season has now wrapped up, and teams are fighting for conference placement, as there are just three weeks left in the season after today.

Benedictine defeated Concordia Chicago on the road to keep their undefeated season alive, while Wisconsin Lutheran outlasted Rockford in overtime.

Elsewhere around the conference, a late defensive play helped St. Norbert beat Aurora, while Lakeland got back to their winning ways with a win over Eureka.

Concordia Wisconsin (7-0, 5-0 NACC) had the bye this week, and will host St. Norbert (5-3, 5-1 NACC) next week.

WEEK 8	WEEK 9
Saturday, Oct. 24 RV Benedictine 40, Concordia Chicago 20 Lakeland 58, Eureka 20 St. Norbert 10, Aurora 3 Wisconsin Lutheran 13, Rockford 7 (OT) Idle: RV Concordia Wisconsin	Saturday, Oct. 31 (all times CT) St. Norbert (5-3, 5-1) at Concordia Wisconsin (7-0, 5-0), 1 p.m. Benedictine (7-0, 5-0) at Rockford (0-7, 0-5), 1 p.m. Concordia Chicago (4-3, 2-3) at Eureka (0-7, 0-5), 1 p.m. Lakeland (3-5, 2-4) at Aurora (3-4, 3-2), 1 p.m. Idle: Wisconsin Lutheran (4-4, 2-4)

Benedictine 40, Concordia Chicago 20
Following a close win over St. Norbert last week, Benedictine played spoiler to Concordia Chicago’s Homecoming by using a strong second half performance to defeat the Cougars at Concordia Stadium in River Forest, Illinois. Benedictine improves to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in conference play with the win, while Concordia Chicago falls to 4-3, and 2-3 in NACC action.
 
After the Concordia Chicago defense made a strong stand and forced a turnover on downs to start the game, an interception by Cougars quarterback Colton Bosch gave the ball back to Benedictine in CUC territory.
 
Benedictine got on the scoreboard first when Izeyah Pruitt hauled in a short pass from Marcus Martin, and took it in 35 yards for the touchdown.
 
The Cougars punted on their next drive, but a strong punt by Dennis Vanderplow pinned Benedictine at their own 11, and after the Eagles went three-and-out, a muffed punt attempt resulted in a safety for CUC, getting the Cougars on the board and making it a 7-2 game.
 
Concordia Chicago took the lead early in the second quarter after Bosch found Kevon Lawson for a 53-yard touchdown, but the extra point attempt was blocked, keeping it a narrow 8-7 Cougars lead.
 
Bosch was picked off again on the Cougars next drive, and the Eagles were able to take the lead back, with Tyler Pospisil picking up a 15-yard rushing touchdown.
 
Concordia Chicago went on a long drive of their own, culminating with Bosch finding Wesley Jackson in the end zone to tie the game. However, this time the extra point attempt was wide left, and the game remained tied.
 
Benedictine needed just a minute to answer with a touchdown of their own, and went into halftime holding onto a 21-14 lead.
 
The second half started strong for Benedictine. The Eagles scored on their first two possessions of the half, and their defense forced a pair of punts by Concordia Chicago, sending the game into the fourth quarter with Benedictine up 35-14.
 
Concordia Chicago narrowed the gap in the fourth quarter when Caleb Nellans hauled in a pass by Bosch in the end zone. However, on the two-point conversion, Bosch’s throw was picked off by Azaan Tabari, who took it all the way in the opposite direction for two points for the Eagles.
 
Benedictine added a field goal by Carter Velez late in the game, and its defense shut out the Cougars the rest of the way.
 
Martin was the leading passer in the game, going 18-28 for 292 yards and four touchdowns. Pospisil was the leading rusher in the game, picking up 92 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Jason Moore was the leading receiver in the game, making 10 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
 
For the Cougars, Bosch went 24-41 for 266 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Joron Brown led the Cougars on the ground with 68 yards on 22 attempts, an average of 3.1 yards per carry. Lawson was Concordia Chicago’s leading receiver, making six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. 
 
On the defensive side of things, Benedictine’s defense sacked Bosch twice, picked him off twice (not counting the interception of the two-point conversion), and forced a fumble. The Cougars defense. Ryan Hatter of Benedictine led the game in tackles with 12, 1.5 of which was for a loss. Kadin Stroer led the Cougars with ten tackles, with two being for losses.
 
Lakeland 58, Eureka 20
Coming off four straight losses, Lakeland was able to get back to its winning ways, with a sustained offensive attack lifting the Muskies over Eureka at John Taylor Field in Plymouth, Wisconsin. With the win, Lakeland is now 3-5, and 2-4 in conference action, while Eureka is 0-7, and 0-5 in NACC games.
 
The two teams traded the ball back and forth to start the game, until Carson Glosny got the ball to Caden Kleparski in the end zone to put Lakeland on the board first.
 
After Eureka turned the ball over on downs, Glosny ran it in himself from 11 yards out to double the Muskies’ lead, sending Lakeland into the second quarter with a 14-0 lead.
 
Lakeland continued growing their lead via a rushing touchdown from Octavis Cherry, and a 77-yard touchdown pass from Glosny to Jaden Davis put Lakeland up 28-0 going into halftime.
 
Eureka struck first in the second half, scoring on their opening drive of the third quarter. A 93-yard drive was capped off by Yveondre Jaccis pulling in a Tyler Lowe pass in the end zone to get the Red Devils on the board. The two-point conversion was no good, keeping it a 28-6 game.
 
Lakeland answered with a score of its own, with Kleparski hauling in another touchdown pass, this one thrown by Cy Lumbano-Larson. 
 
The Muskies scored another touchdown following a fumble by Eureka, but the Red Devils answered in turn, with Lowe connecting with Damarzei Swisher in the end zone for another Eureka touchdown. The two-point conversion was again stopped by Lakeland, and the Muskies added another touchdown before the quarter ended to go up 49-12 going into the final 15 minutes of the game.
 
Lakeland increased its lead with another touchdown early in the fourth, but the extra point attempt missed. A 75-yard pick-six on the Muskies’ next possession added another six for the Red Devils, and this two-point conversion attempt was successful.
 
Lakeland added a field goal late, and were able to kneel the ball once to run out the clock.
 
Glosny was the leading passer in the game, completing 12 of his 20 pass attempts for 221 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception. Cherry led the Muskies on the ground with 91 yards and two touchdowns on seven attempts, averaging 13 yards per carry. Davis was the leading receiver for Lakeland, catching two passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.
 
On Eureka’s side, Lowe went 13-22 for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremiah Robertson led the game on the ground, picking up 110 yards on 13 carries, an average of 8.5 yards per attempt. Swisher was the leading receiver in the game, catching five passes for 96 yards and a touchdown.
 
Lakeland’s defense sacked Lowe six times, made one interception, and forced three fumbles. Eureka’s defense sacked Glosny once and had two interceptions. Giovanni Merriweather led Lakeland and the game in tackles, making ten of them, 3.5 of which were tackles for losses. He also recorded 1.5 sacks. Micah Gilcrest led Eureka with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, and two interceptions. 
 
St. Norbert 10, Aurora 3
After suffering a close defeat at the hands on Benedictine last week, St. Norbert flipped the script with a close win against Aurora, mounting a late comeback to defeat the Spartans at Donald J. Schneider Stadium in De Pere, Wisconsin. Following the win, St. Norbert improves to 5-3, and 5-1 in conference action. Aurora is now 3-4, and 3-2 in NACC matchups.
 
Neither team scored in the first quarter, trading the ball back and forth to the tune of four punts and two turnovers on downs. 
 
A pair of punts started the second quarter, before Aurora drove into Green Knights territory. However, Brett Money’s 43-yard field goal attempt was no good, keeping the game scoreless. 
 
After three straight punts, Money tried another field goal from 43 yards out, and this one was good, putting the Spartans on the board going into halftime.
 
The third quarter featured more strong defense by both teams, as neither team scored in the quarter, with the five overall possessions in the quarter ending in two punts, two interceptions, and a fumble. 
 
With less than nine minutes to go in the game, St. Norbert had an opportunity to tie the game, but Tyler Juergensen’s field goal attempt from 25 yards out was no good.
 
With just over three and a half minutes left in the game, St. Norbert’s defense forced a turnover on downs right at midfield, and the Green Knights offense was able to get in position for Juergensen to hit a 31-yard field goal with less than a minute left in the game.
 
Aurora got the ball to midfield with the clock ticking down, and then Jim Feeney jumped in front of a Braden Siri pass, intercepting it and taking it 50 yards in the opposite direction to put St. Norbert up 10-3 with 22 seconds left.
 
The Spartans were able to get the ball to midfield, but Siri’s pass to Jalen Davis was incomplete as time expired, giving the win to the Green Knights.
 
Fernando Rodriguez completed 7 of his 21 pass attempts for St. Norbert, gaining 78 yards and an interception through the air. Jacob McVane was the leading rusher in the game, gaining 93 yards on 18 attempts for an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Will Darden was the leading receiver for St. Norbert, making one catch for 23 yards.
 
Siri was the leading passer in the game, going 12-25 for 175 yards and two interceptions. Demarion Williams was the leading rusher for Aurora, 35 yards on 10 carries, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Davis was the leading receiver in the game, hauling in four passes for 90 yards.
 
St. Norbert’s defense recorded two sacks, two interceptions, and forced a fumble. Aurora’s defense sacked Rodriguez once and had two interceptions. Feeney led St. Norbert with seven tackles, a half-tackle for a loss, and the interception that won the game for the Green Knights. Braedon Hellinger was the leading tackler in the game, making eight of them for Aurora.
 
Wisconsin Lutheran 13, Rockford 7 (OT)
Wisconsin Lutheran bounced back from back-to-back losses by taking down Rockford at Raabe Stadium in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in the first NACC game of the year to go into overtime. Wisconsin Lutheran improved to 4-4, and 2-4 in conference play, while Rockford falls to 0-7, and 0-5 in NACC games.
 
Neither team scored in the first quarter, with the two teams totaling four punts and two turnovers on downs. 
 
The game remained scoreless going into halftime, as there were six combined punts and two turnovers on downs in the second quarter.
 
After combined punts and a turnover on downs to start the third quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran took advantage of some strong field position to get on the board first. Roman Morales completed a pass to Elian Ojeda in the end zone to give WLC the lead with three and a half minutes left in the third quarter.
 
The Regents answered with a strong drive of their own, but Cliffton Nunnally Jr. was picked off in the end zone by Trevor Smith. 
 
On Wisconsin Lutheran’s ensuing drive, Matthew Hill forced a fumble by Morales, and Jeremyah Johnson picked it up and ran it 62 yards in the opposite direction to tie the game at seven apiece.
 
Three punts, a turnover on downs, and an interception later, the Regents had an opportunity to pick up their first win of the season. Goodnews Oloyede kicked a 40-yard field goal attempt, but the kick was blocked by Chris Korb to send the game into overtime.
 
Rockford started overtime with the ball, but on fourth-and-nine, Nunnally Jr. was only able to pick up four, and the Regents turned the ball over on downs.
 
After picking up a first down, Wisconsin Lutheran faced a third-and-three from the Rockford eight. Morales dropped back, and found Ojeda in the end zone for the second time in the game, and the Warriors picked up the overtime win at home.
 
Morales was the leading passer in the game, going 13-27 for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Carson Koehler was the leading receiver in the game, picking up 100 yards on 22 carries for an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Ojeda was the leading receiver in the game, catching five passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
 
For Rockford, Nunnally completed 8 of his 22 passes, for 51 yards and two interceptions. He was also the leading rusher for Rockford, gaining 40 yards on eight attempts, averaging five yards per carry. David Chew was the leading receiver for Rockford, making two receptions for 32 yards.
 
The Warriors defense picked Nunnally off twice, while Rockford’s defense sacked Morales eight times and forced a fumble. Korb led the Warriors with eight tackles to go along with his game-saving field goal block. Joey Alvarez led Rockford and the game in tackles, making 17 tackles, 13 of which were solo, and recording three tackles for losses.