St. Joseph Bears Football

(Battle Creek) -- The endzone became a very familiar place for the Bears, but no St. Joe player was more familiar with it than Drake Smith.

The senior running back had 245 yards rushing and amazing 6 touchdowns, establishing what is believed to be a new school record for touchdown runs in a game, in the Bears 67-35 win at Battle Creek Central.

Battle Creek Central found the scoreboard first as Michigan State prospect Larry Caper scored on a 7 yard touchdown to give the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.

St. Joe would answer less than three minutes later as Sean Guinane threw a 26 yard touchdown pass to Matt Jewell to tie the game.

The Bears found the endzone again just a few plays later as Battle Creek Central fumbled away the kickoff, which was recovered by the Bears. Three plays later, Drake Smith found the endzone again from 14 yards out to give the Bears a 14-7 lead with 19 seconds left in the first quarter.

Battle Creek Central would tie the game in the second quarter as Larry Caper scored his second touchdown of the game from 3 yards to tie the game at 14.

The Bears would break the less than two minutes later as Smith found the endzone for a third time from 4 yards out and a 21-14 St. Joe lead.

The Bear defense held Battle Creek Central to a three and out on the next drive and thanks to Jay Nimtz's long punt return, the Bears would start the next drive at the Battle Creek Central 16 yard line. Three plays later Smith would score his fourth touchdown of the night from 2 yards out and a 28-14 St. Joe lead going into halftime.

Battle Creek Central would pull within a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half as Larry Caper had his third touchdown of the game to cut the Bears lead to 28-21.

The Bears would find the endzone once again as the Bears used a 7 play drive, 6 of them runs by Drake Smith, ending in a 7 yard touchdown pass and a 35-21 advantage.

After forcing a punt the Bears would give the Bearcats the ball back after fumbling the punt away. The defense held again forcing Battle Creek Central to turn the ball over on downs.

St. Joe needed three plays to find the endzone again, as Sean Guinane's 42 yard pass play to Palmer Averill gave the Bears the ball at the BCC 11 yard line. Smith would find the endzone again for his 5th touchdown on the night and a 42-21 St. Joe lead.

Early in the fourth quarter Smith would add his 6th touchdown of the night and a 47-21 lead. Drake Smith who also kicks the extra points for St. Joe, missed the point after wide left.

The second string for the Bears played for most of the fourth quarter as Jamaal Jackson scored 2 touchdowns and Chris Killebrew added another touchdown.

Battle Creek would get fourth quarter touchdowns from Tylan Kirk and a pass from Dak Brit would close out the scoring.

In the win, St. Joe set a new school record for most points scored in a game with 67. The old record was 61 points, established on 10/25/85 when St. Joe beat Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 61-14.

St. Joe is now 4-0 on the season and will host the Niles Vikings at Dickinson Stadium for homecoming.

BC-Larry Caper 7 run (Joey Fuld kick)
SJ-Sean Guinane 26 pass to Matt Jewell (Drake Smith kick)
SJ-Drake Smith 14 run (Drake Smith kick)
BC-Larry Caper 3 run (Joey Fuld kick)
SJ-Drake Smith 4 run (Drake Smith kick)
SJ-Drake Smith 2 run (Drake Smith kick)
BC-Larry Caper 3 run (Joey Fuld kick)
SJ-Drake Smith 7 run (Drake Smith kick)
SJ-Drake Smith 11 run (Drake Smith kick)
SJ-Drake Smith 1 run (Drake Smith kick no good, wide left)
SJ-Jamaal Jackson 5 run (Drake Smith kick)
BC-Dak Brit 40 pass to Brock Reynolds (Joey Fuld kick)
SJ-Jamaal Jackson 9 run (Drake Smith kick no good, wide left)
SJ-Chris Killebrew 40 run (Drake Smith kick no good, wide right)
BC-Tylan Kirk 30 run (Joey Fuld kick)

Elsewhere around the Big 16

-Lakeshore 24, Portage Northern 22 - Al Stockman Stadium, Stevensville
Portage Northern rallied from a 24-2 deficit against Lakeshore, but the Huskies were unable to convert on a 2 point conversion with less than three minutes left. Portage Northern has lost two straight games after winning their first two games.

-Jackson Lumen Christi 42, Benton Harbor 0 - Filstrup Field, Benton Harbor
After losing starting quarterback Demetic Haynes to injury, new Benton Harbor quarterback Dawan Broyles was only able to generate 64 yards of offense in a 42-0 loss to Jackson Lumen Christi.

-Marshall 20, Niles 16 - Marshall Stadium, Marshall
Niles blew a 16-0 fourth quarter lead as the Vikings fell to 2-2 with a 20-16 loss at Marshall. Jamar Wimberly had two touchdowns for the Redhawks.

-Sturgis 28, Mattawan 27 - Mattawan Stadium, Mattawan
Sturgis converted on three 4^th down conversions on what would be the winning touchdown drive in the final quarter of the Trojans 28-27 win over Mattawan. The Trojans defense stopped the Wildcats on downs at the 27 yard line to preserve the win.

-Battle Creek Harper Creek 21, Kalamazoo Central 19 - Thomas Stadium, Kalamazoo
Dennis Mott scored a pair of touchdowns for Battle Creek Harper Creek in the Beavers 21-19 win at Kalamazoo Central. Zach Johnson had 138 yards rushing for the Beavers who have won two consecutive games after dropping their first two games.

-Battle Creek Lakeview 32, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 13 - Griffith Stadium, Kalamazoo
Donte’ Donaldson had three touchdown runs for Battle Creek Lakeview as the Spartans beat Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 32-13. Donaldson finished the game with 98 yards rushing on 19 carries.

-Portage Central 42, Coldwater 6 - McCamley Field, Portage
John Westerhouse scored two touchdowns in his first varsity start as Portage Central moved to 4-0 on the season with a 42-6 win over Coldwater. Spencer Munson also had 109 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Mustangs.

Photo Gallery 1 (Dorrine Guinane)