(Battle Creek) -- After falling at Marshall in the previous week, the Bear defense would have to face another East Division team that likes to run the ball... a lot.  

For the third time in four seasons, St. Joe made the trip up I-94 again to face the Harper Creek Beavers, at the newly renovated Harper Creek Stadium, which included the addition of field turf.  St. Joe made it three straight wins over Harper Creek and 2nd straight win on the Beavers home field as St. Joe beat Harper Creek 35-14.

Jamaal Jackson led the way for the Bears on offense has the senior running back had 203 yards of rushing on 33 carries and found the endzone four times to help lead the way for the Bears who are now 1-1 on the season.

Both teams struggle out of the gate to start the game as the Bears and Beavers went scoreless in the first quarter.

After the Bear defense forced Harper Creek to punt deep in their own territory, the Bears would start their first drive of the second quarter at the Harper Creek 22 yard line.  The Bears took just 1 play to start the scoring as Jamaal Jackson rushed for the score and a 7-0 St. Joe lead.

The Bears made it 14-0 late in the second quarter as the Bears went on a 40 yard drive topped off by Jamaal Jackson's 1 yard touchdown run.

The Bears didn't take long to strike again after halftime, as the Bears went on a 3 play 67 yard drive as Jeremy Rush completed a 26 yard touchdown pass to Devonte Jones for a 21-0 Bear lead.

After having their run game stymied for the first half, Harper Creek decided they have to start putting the ball in the air.  As the Beavers went on a 71 yard drive as Dennis Mott threw a 26 yard touchdown pass to Mike McKenzie to pull within 21-7.  After shutting out Harper Creek in the two previous meetings, the touchdown was first time the Beavers have scored against the Bears in 10 quarters

St. Joe responded on the very next drive as the Bears drove 64 yards and Jamaal Jackson added his third touchdown of the game on a three yard run to give the Bears a 28-7 lead.

Harper Creek kept pressing trying to get back in the game, after Nick Piggee mishandled a Harper Creek punt, the Bears had to punt from deep in their own endzone, giving Harper Creek the ball at the St. Joe 19.  The Beavers found the endzone three plays later on a 19 yard pass from Dennis Mott to Nate Park.  The Beavers cut the lead to 28-14.

The Beavers would get no closer as the Bears drove 67 yards on the ensuing drive and Jamaal Jackson scored for the fourth time to provided the final margin of victory at 35-14.

The Bears improved to 1-1 on the season while the Beavers fall to 1-1.  Harper Creek is winless all time on artificial turf and 0-4 at home after either opening or renovating their stadium.

St. Joe will be at home for the first time this season on Friday night as the Bears open West Division play against long time rival Niles.  Game time is at 7:30 at Dickinson Stadium.

SCORING SUMMARY

St. Joseph    0 14 14 7 -- 35
Harper Creek  0  0  7 7 -- 14

SJ - Jamaal Jackson 22 run (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Jackson 1 run (Akins)
SJ - Devonte Jones 26 pass from Jeremy Rush (Akins kick)
HC - Mike McKenzie 26 pass from Dennis Mott (Alex Ferguson kick)
SJ - Jackson 3 run (Akins kick)
HC - Nate Park 19 pass from Mott (Ferguson kick)
SJ - Jackson 10 run (Akins kick)

Elsewhere around the Big 16

	Lakeshore 33, Battle Creek Central 7 - C.W. Post Field, Battle Creek Lakeshore rushed for 345 yards on the ground as the Lancers defeated Battle Creek Central 33-7. Lakeshore QB Eric Lemon had a touchdown pass to Jordan Kauffman, as well as scrambling for another TD of his own. Lakeshore was penalized 13 times for 118 yards.
	Benton Harbor 26, Sturgis 17 - Trojan Field, Sturgis Lemuel White had two long touchdown runs, one from 80 yards an another from 51 as Benton Harbor broke a 19-game losing streak by beating Sturgis 26-17. Ben Varrie also had an 80 yard interception return for the Tigers.
	Portage Central 49, Coldwater 21 - Cardinal Field, Coldwater Brian Wise had 154 yards rushing on 13 carries and four touchdowns as Portage Central outscored Coldwater 21-0 in the second half to defeat the Cardinals 49-21.  Spencer Munson also added 119 yards rushing and a touchdown for Central.
	Jackson Lumen Christi 49, Mattawan 9 - Mattawan Stadium, Mattawan Connor Sullivan threw for two touchdowns as Lumen Christi outgained the host Wildcats by 200 yards as the Titans defeated Mattawan 49-9. MacKenzie Dietz had the lone TD for Mattawan
	Kalamazoo Central 7, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 6 - Thomas Stadium, Kalamazoo Central quarterback Jordan Zwart connected on a 30 yard touchdown pass to Phillip Blanks as time expired to tie the game. Central place kicker Lucas Visser connected on the point after touchdown to give K-Central a 7-6 win over rival Norrix.
	Portage Northern 34, Battle Creek Lakeview 2 - McCamley Field, Portage Jack Livingston threw for two touchdown passes and Antonio Hutchins had two rushing touchdowns as Portage Northern beat Battle Creek Lakeview 34-2. Lakeview’s lone score came on a bad snap on a Northern punt
	Marshall 20, Niles 18 - Viking Field, Niles Jamar Wimberly scored three touchdowns as Marshall and Niles traded TD’s in the first half as Marshall beat Niles 20-18. Both teams were held off the board in the second half, but Niles had a chance to take the lead late in the final quarter but were stopped by the Marshall defense.

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