
Battle of the unbeatens goes to St. Joe
Blocked punt propels Bears to victory
(Portage)
– Whenever Portage Central and St. Joseph meet on the football field,
the game usually is an instant classic. The 50th all time meeting
between the two storied programs probably topped them all.
Ty Taylor blocked a
punt by Portage Central's Tad Drabik, then Taylor picked up the loose ball and
ran 30 yards for the St. Joseph touchdown to give the Bears a 35-28 lead.
The Bears got things
going early in the game as St. Joe grabbed the lead on the opening possession of
the game. Eddie Montgomery scored on a 21 yard run to give the Bears a 7-0
lead less than four minutes into the game.
The Bear defense help
the Mustangs potent offense to a three and out on their opening drive forcing
the Mustangs to punt. St. Joe then got the ball back and scored again on a
10 yard touchdown run by Montgomery to give the Bears a 14-0 lead after the
first quarter.
The Mustangs
responded in the second quarter scoring twice to tie the game on touchdown runs
by Central's Aaron King from 65 and two yards out.
The Mustangs
attempted to take the lead late in the half but a 27 yard field goal attempt by
Drabik was wide left.
Portage Central
didn't take very long to grab their first lead of the game when Aaron King ran
for a 64 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to
give the home team a 21-14 lead.
The Bears answered
back on their next possession as St. Joe went on a nine play drive to tie the
game on a one yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21.
Portage Central would
take the lead late in the third quarter when Nick Price scored on a 10 yard run
putting the Mustangs up 28-21.
The Bears then went
on an amazing 15 play-80 yard drive that took 8:18 off the clock and tied the
game on a two yard touchdown run by Eddie Montgomery.
The Bears defense
again stepped up and forced a three and out for Central which resulted in
Taylor's blocked punt and return for touchdown giving St. Joe the 35-28 lead.
The Mustangs still
had 2:37 and a full compliment of time outs, but on their first play, Marcus
Valentine intercepted Kyle Cutler's pass attempt. It was Valentine's
second interception of the game, the first happened in the endzone during the
second quarter with the Bears leading 14-0.
The Bears would run
out the final 2:20 of the game for the win, clinching a playoff berth for the
fifth straight season.
St. Joe has won four
straight over Central leads the all time series with the Mustangs 27-23, and
outscored PC 866-860.
St. Joe returns home
for the final time in the regular season as the Bears host 2-4 Mattawan for
Senior Night.
SCORING SUMMARY
St. Joseph 14 0 7 14 -- 35
Portage Central 0 14 14 0 -- 28
SJ - Eddie Montgomery 21 run (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Eddie Montgomery 10 run (Josh Akins kick)
PC - Aaron King 65 run (Tad Drabik kick)
PC - Aaron King 2 run (Tad Drabik kick)
PC - Aaron King 64 run (Tad Drabik kick)
SJ - Jeremy Rush 1 run (Josh Akins kick)
PC - Nick Price 10 run (Tad Drabik kick)
SJ - Eddie Montgomery 2 run (Josh Akins kick)
SJ - Ty Taylor 30 yard blocked punt return (Josh Akins kick)

Elsewhere
around the Big 16
  |
Lakeshore 28, Niles 20 - 2 OT -
Viking Stadium, Niles
Lakeshore blocked a potential game winning field
goal at the end of regulation and then Alex Padla scored
touchdowns in both overtime sessions as the Lancers defeated
Niles 28-20 in double overtime. Brandon Partee scored
twice for Niles |
  |
Portage Northern 59, Benton Harbor 0 - Filstrup Field,
Benton Harbor
Terry Kerr scored four touchdowns and had 150 yards
rushing as Portage Northern defeated Benton Harbor 59-0.
For the second straight game Benton Harbor was held for
negative yardage for the game. |
  |
Mattawan 49, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 39 - Mattawan
Stadium, Mattawan
The Wildcats rallied after trailing 21-0 after the
first quarter as Mattawan got 276 yards rushing and two
touchdowns from Cameron VanFleet in a 49-39 win over
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix. Mattawan also got two touchdowns
from Davis DeVries as the Wildcats improve to 2-4. |
  |
Jackson Lumen Christi 34, Coldwater 7
- Withington Stadium, Jackson
Jackson Lumen Christi scored just one play after
Coldwater fumbled away the opening kickoff as Jason Cross
scored the first of his three first half touchdowns in the
Titans 34-7 win over Coldwater. Michael Cremeans
added 107 yards rushing and a touchdown for Lumen Christi. |
  |
Harper Creek 28, Battle Creek Lakeview 14 - Harper
Creek Stadium, Battle Creek
Harper Creek got rushing TD's from Kasey Carson,
Kody Carson, and Nick Fletcher as the Beavers defeated
Lakeview 28-14. Harper Creek's Jamie Walker recovered a
blocked punt in the endzone for the other score. Lakeview
was held to -1 yards of offense in the first half |
  |
Marshall 21, Battle Creek Central 6 - C.W. Post Field,
Battle Creek
Everett Woods ran for 177 yards and Derek Klingaman
threw for and ran for a touchdown as Marshall won their
first game since winning the state title last November 21-6
over Battle Creek Central. |
  |
Kalamazoo Central 24, Sturgis 14 - Trojan Field,
Sturgis
Brandon Delk had a 75 yard punt return for a
touchdown and added 40 yard touchdown run in the final
quarter as Kalamazoo Central scored 14 unanswered points in
the fourth quarter to defeat Sturgis 24-14. Chris
Alexander had two touchdowns for the Trojans. |
|