St. Joe Bears Football - Bears 55, Mattawan 7

(Mattawan) -- A week after defeating a ranked Portage Central team, the Bears went back on the road, looking not to have a letdown against a struggling Mattawan team.

St. Joe erased any thoughts of looking past the Wildcats ahead of next week's game against rival Lakeshore, by crushing the Wildcats 55-7 on a cold and wet night in Mattawan.

The Bears decided to take the opening kick and put Mattawan defense on the field first, a place where they would be a lot. St. Joe took the opening drive 65 yards in 9 plays capped off by a 3 yard touchdown run by Chrys Killebrew.

Mattawan's offense would be forced to punt after only 5 plays. Devonte Jones returned the punt deep into Mattawan territory and Sean Guinane threw a 36 yard touchdown pass to Joel Bergman to put the Bears up 14-0.

Mattawan would give the Bears the ball back on the ensuing kickoff as returner Zach Moore fumbled the ball on the kickoff. Michael Case recovered the ball and the Bears went 24 yards on 6 plays as Sean Guinane took the ball into the endzone himself from 2 yards out and a 21-0 lead.

Still in the first quarter, the Bears defense would again force a Mattawan punt, the Bears found the endzone again with :03 seconds left in the first quarter as Guinane found Devonte Jones for a 48 yard score to put the Bears up 28-0 after 1.

Another Mattawan punt was followed by another Bears touchdown drive as Chrys Killebrew scored his second touchdown of the game for a 35-0 St. Joe lead.

Mattawan's offense tried to keep themselves close, but turned the ball over on down and the Bears closed out the scoring in the first half when Sean Guinane threw a bullet pass to WR Nick Piggee from 7 yards out as the Bears and Wildcats went into the locker room with St. Joe leading 42-0.

The second half would start with the MHSAA mercy rule in effect and most of the Bears starters on the sidelines.

Ryan Vitale would intercept a pass from Mattawan quarterback Zach Stone, and the Bears would find the endzone again when Ty Taylor scored on a 6 yard run. After staring kicker Josh Akins made 6 of 6 extra points, Josh Fagras would assume the kicking duties, but his first attempt was no good. The Bears had a 48-0 lead.

With the clock quickly running out, the Bears found the endzone again when third string quarterback Tommy Fry scored on a 20 yard scramble to put St. Joe on top 55-0.

Mattawan would get on the board with 3:19 left in the game when Joey Cernik scored on a 6 yard run to make the score 55-7.

In all the Bears dominated the Wildcats, St. Joe outgained Mattawan 500-150 in total yardage, St. Joe had 322 yards rushing compared to 150 for Mattawan, the Bears also got 178 yards passing compared to 0 for Mattawan.

Sean Guinane was 8 of 10 for 166 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, while running back Chrys Killebrew had 143 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.

The Bears return home for the final two weeks of the season, the first of them will be a showdown with arch rival Lakeshore.

SCORING SUMMARY

St. Joseph   28 14 6 7 � 55
Mattawan      0  0 0 7 -  7

SJ - Chrys Killebrew 3 run (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Joel Bergman 36 pass from Sean Guinane (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Sean Guinane 2 run (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Devonte Jones 48 pass from Guinane (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Chrys Killebrew 2 run (Akins kick)
SJ - Nick Piggee 7 pass from Guinane (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Ty Taylor 6 run (Josh Fagras kick wide left)
SJ - Thomas Fry 20 run (Josh Fagras kick)
MW - Joey Cernik 6 run (Kyle Hillsburg kick)

Elsewhere around the Big 16

	Lakeshore 41, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 6 � Griffith Stadium, Kalamazoo Eric Lemon threw four TD passes as the Lancers clinched their 12th straight playoff appearance as the Lancers defeated Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 41-6. Demetrius Greer had and interception return for a touchdown for Norrix's only score.
	*Portage Central 54, Benton Harbor 6 � McCamley Field, Portage* Portage Central clinched their 5^th playoff appearance in 6 years as the Mustangs defeated Benton Harbor 54-6. Kyle Cutler had an 83 yard score. Central outgained
	*Portage Northern 47, Niles 14 � Viking Field, Niles* Northern jumped out to a 20-0 lead thanks to two TD runs by Ben Hutchins and a fumble recovery in the endzone by Alex Rogers as the Huskies rolled over Niles 47-14. Ben Hutchins scored a total of 4 touchdowns.
	*Lumen Christi 26, Harper Creek 21 � Harper Creek Stadium, Battle Creek* Michael Lathers threw a 67 yard touchdown pass to Conor Sullivan with two minutes remaining in the game as Lumen Christi had the come from behind 26-21 win at Harper Creek. Lumen Christi takes the overall lead in the East Division.
	*Kalamazoo Central 49, Battle Creek Central 20 � C. W. Post Field, Battle Creek* Quarterback Jordan Zwart threw for 160 yards and four touchdowns as the Maroon Giants beat rival Battle Creek Central 49-20. K-Central�s Isaiah Harris added 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
	*Marshall 32, Coldwater 6 � Marshall Stadium, Marshall* Jamar Wimberly scored three touchdowns on 161 yards rushing, while Cody Boughton ran for one score and Kyle Waidelich had a touchdown reception as Marshall defeated Coldwater 32-6
	*Battle Creek Lakeview 40, Sturgis 17 � Trojan Field, Sturgis* Lakeview�s John Ayers scored just 14 seconds into the game after recovering a Sturgis fumble on the opening kickoff as the Spartans kept Sturgis without a win as Lakeview beat the Trojans 40-17.

Photo Galleries

Dorrine Guinane - Vicki Johnson
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Bears clinch playoff berth Sean Guinane and Chrys Killebrew lead the way as Bears demolish Wildcats

Bears clinch playoff berth
Sean Guinane and Chrys Killebrew lead the way as Bears demolish Wildcats