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)

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