No Answer
Top-ranked East Grand Rapids dominates St. Joseph in Div. 3 regional final
By BEN SANDERS - Herald Palladium Sports Writer

(East Grand Rapids) -- St. Joseph didn't have any answers for East Grand Rapids.

The three-time defending Division 3 state champions had no trouble with the Bears in Saturday's regional final, winning 40-7.

The Pioneers scored all 40 of their points in the first half. The second half was played with a running clock.

"I don't really have an answer for it," St. Joseph coach Elliot Uzelac said. "I thought we practiced well, we prepared well. For whatever reason, it just didn't turn out our way.

"I'm sure that they'll win the state championship again. They're truly a great team. They've got a lot of good football players and they're extremely well-coached."

East Grand Rapids (12-0) had 401 yards of total offense. Kirk Spencer rushed 22 times for 229 yards, and Ryan Elble passed for 164 yards and four touchdowns. Two of his scoring passes went to A.J. McEwen, who finished with 5 catches for 83 yards and also intercepted a pass on defense.

"I think that was as balanced as we've been," East coach Peter Stuursma said. "We were able to keep them on their heels a little bit. If you can give our defense a little cushion, they're pretty good."

A 13-yard pass from Elble to Josh Drummond produced the Pioneers' first score. East's second possession lasted just one play - a 61-yard scoring run by Spencer.

St. Joseph (9-3) finally stopped the Pioneers on their third possession, as Jeremy Rush intercepted Elble on a fourth-down pass. However, the Bears were unable to take advantage, and East reached the end zone four times in the second quarter.

The Bears were limited to just 169 yards of total offense, over half of them coming on a 91-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.

"We couldn't block them," Uzelac said. "We knew what they were doing, but it didn't matter."

Jamaal Jackson finished with 20 carries for 72 yards, and scored St. Joseph's only touchdown on a 3-yard run with 1:45 left to play. The score was set up by a 56-yard pass down the left sideline from Sean Guinane to Bobby Symonds.

St. Joseph finished with its second district title in three seasons. The Bears also were eliminated by East Grand Rapids in the 2007 state semifinals.

"We had a great year," Uzelac said. "This doesn't take away from the year. When you win the conference and the district, you've done a lot. Today was just one of those bad days."

SCORING SUMMARY

St. Joseph  0  0 0 7 -  7
East GR    14 26 0 0 - 40

EGR - Josh Drummond 13 pass from Ryan Elble (Bobby Aardema kick)
EGR - Kirk Spencer 61 run (Aardema kick)
EGR - A.J. McEwen 2 pass from Elble (Aardema kick)
EGR - Drummond 3 run (kick blocked)
EGR - McEwen 55 pass from Elble (pass failed)
EGR - Nick Mulhall 33 pass from Elble (Aardema kick)
SJB - Jamaal Jackson 3 run (Josh Akins kick)