Bears defense holds back Vikings
Bears win fifth straight over Niles

NILES -- Over the past four years, the Bears offense has been the reason for the Bears success, but it's become very apparent that the St. Joe defense this season that is charged with the role of helping to win games.

The St. Joe defense held Niles to just 17 yards of total offense in the second half as St. Joe defeated the Vikings 15-7, it's the Bears fifth straight win over Niles.

St. Joe got on the board first as Alex Rutherford ran for a 64 yard touchdown run at the 3:18 mark of the first quarter.  Josh Akins point after was no good after a bad snap.

The Bears defense forced the Niles offense to a three and out and a bad punt gave St. Joe the ball at the Niles 41 yard line.

St. Joe would find the endzone 7 plays later as Rutherford scored his second touchdown of the game from a yard out.  Another bad snap on the extra point attempt caused the attempt to fail.   St. Joe had a 12-0 lead with 10:07 left in the first half.

Niles would get back into the game on their first play from scrimmage as Niles took advantage of a missed assignment on a blitz as quarterback Nick Lucero found Ronnie Jones alone behind the Bear defense and scored on a 67 yard pass play.  Dustin White's point after was good and the Bears had a 12-7 lead.

The Bears threatened to score late in the half, but Jeremy Rush's pass was intercepted with 33 seconds left in the half and both teams headed to the locker room with the Bears holding the 5 point advantage.

The second half started with St. Joe holding the ball for the first 7:36 of the third quarter, the drive ended after Josh Akins missed a 35 yard field goal.

Niles got the ball back but thanks to penalties and sacks, the drive ended after 9 plays, gaining only 8 total yards, but took 4 minutes off the clock.

After forcing the Bears to punt the ball on the next possession.  Niles would quickly lose control of the ball as Riley Johnson cause Niles rusher Martell Miller to fumble the ball, which Josh Akins recovered, giving the Bears the ball at the Niles 24 yard line.

Josh Akins recovered the fumble and then five plays later he added a 27 yard field goal to put the Bears ahead 15-7.

The St. Joe defense stepped up again and forced Niles to a three and out on their next series, giving the ball back to the Bears with 6:21 left in the game.  Niles still with two time out left didn't realize that they would not get the ball back.

St. Joe used the last 6:21 of the game and converted on a 4th down when drawing a Niles player offsides.  St. Joe held on to the ball for 9:27 of the 4th quarter, compared to just 2:33 for Niles.

It's the Bears fifth straight win over Niles. St. Joe has outscored Niles 146-16 over those five games.

The Bears host Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Dickinson Stadium on Friday at 7:00.  It's the first time that Kalamazoo Loy Norrix has every played a game at the new Dickinson Stadium.  The Knights last appearance in St. Joe was in the opening week of the 2001 season, at the old Dickinson Stadium.

SCORING SUMMARY

St. Joseph   6 6 0 3 – 15
Niles        0 7 0 0 –  7

SJ – Alex Rutherford 64 yard run (point after failed, bad snap)
SJ - Alex Rutherford 1 yard run (Josh Akins kick failed)
NV - Nick Lucero 67 yard pass to Ronnie Jones (Dustin Wright kick)
SJ - Josh Akins 27 yard field goal

Elsewhere around the Big 16

	Lakeshore 49, Mattawan 7 – Mattawan Stadium, Mattawan Robert Shelby had 120 yards rushing and two touchdowns as Lakeshore routed Mattawan 49-7.  Alex Padla added 93 yards on the ground.
	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 24, Benton Harbor 20 - Filstrup Field, Benton Harbor Ce'Juwon McFerrin scored on a 37 yard run with a minute left in the game to give Kalamazoo Loy Norrix a 24-20 win at Benton Harbor.  McFerrin had 204 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
	Portage Central 37, Portage Northern 27 – McCamley Field, Portage For the fifth straight season, the Kavanaugh Trophy will reside at Portage Central after the Mustangs defeated Northern 37-27.  Aaron King scored three touchdowns and added 163 yards rushing. Kyle Cutler added 120 yards on the ground and a TD for Central.
	Lumen Christi 7, Battle Creek Lakeview 0 – Withington Stadium, Jackson Michael Cremeans scored the only touchdown of the game from 49 yards with 1:39 left in the third quarter to give Lumen Christi a 7-0 win over Battle Creek Lakeview.  Cremeans ran for 200 yards in the victory.
	Marshall 36, Kalamazoo Central 6 – Redhawk Stadium, Marshall Brandon Delk had 151 yards rushing and three touchdowns as Kalamazoo Central defeated Marshall 21-14.  The Redhawks have now lost their first three games after winning the state title last year.
	Battle Creek Harper Creek 47, Battle Creek Central 0 – C.W. Post Field, Battle Creek Harper Creek got two 50-plus yard touchdown runs from Kasey Carson as the Beavers defeated city rival Battle Creek Central 47-0.  Carson had 149 yards rushing in the win.
	Sturgis 41, Coldwater 14 - Trojan Field, Sturgis Sturgis gained control of the Silver Football Trophy with a 41-14 win over rival Coldwater.  Chris Alexander rushed for 135 yards and a TD. Chance Stewart was 14 for 23 for 219 yards and 2 TD's as Sturgis improves to 2-1 overall after going 0-9 last year.