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(stjoefootball.com) - Bears look to lay the crunch on the Bearcats in the Cereal City
St. Joseph and Battle Creek Central meet up tonight in the penultimate game of the regular season at the legendary C.W. Post Field in Battle Creek. St. Joseph is no stranger to C.W. Post as four of the last six meetings between the Bears and Bearcats, including tonight, are in the Cereal City. Three straight games were held here from 2019-2022 due to COVID and the SMAC’s scheduling change. St. Joe has won the last five straight in the series, including the last two games at Dickinson Stadium in St. Joseph, 55-12 in 2023 and 49-12 in 2024. St. Joseph holds a 19-8 advantage in the series including an 8-5 advantage at BCC. With a win tonight, coach Andrew Pratley will earn his 50th win at St. Joseph, his first win was against Battle Creek Central, a 32-19 win in 2019 that was delayed for several hours for lightning and didn’t conclude until after midnight. St. Joseph held off a late Mattawan surge to earn a 39–37 victory Friday night at Dickinson Stadium. The Bears’ offense was led by Ish Dixon, who ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns, and Caden LeClear, who totaled 96 rushing yards, 142 passing yards, and four total scores. LeClear threw long touchdown passes to James Atterbery and Nate Schmitt, while adding two rushing touchdowns of his own. Ish Dixon finished with 168 rushing yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns. St. Joe piled up 388 rushing yards and 530 total yards overall, using several long drives to keep control despite Mattawan’s big-play offense. The win moved St. Joseph to 4–3 overall and 2–1 in the SMAC West.
Battle Creek Central saw an early 12–0 lead slip away as Kalamazoo Central stormed back with 31 unanswered points to hand the Bearcats a 31–12 loss Friday night at C.W. Post Field. Lee Campbell Jr. threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Greg Williams, and Mubarrack Jubril added a 16-yard scoring run as BCC capitalized on two early turnovers. But the Maroon Giants took control in the second half with three INT’s and a blocked punt for a touchdown. The loss drops Battle Creek Central to 4-3.
Midwest Family Radio Sports is once again the home of St. Joseph Bears
football, with News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM now serving as the flagship for St. Joe football in their 27th straight season. Midwest Family Radio Sports provides weekly coverage of
St. Joseph and Lakeshore football contests. The broadcast is also available worldwide at
www.wsjm.com. In addition, St. Joseph fans can now also listen on the St. Joseph Bears Sports Network at www.sjbearssports.com The newspaper recap will be in the Herald Palladium and at www.heraldpalladium.com. Video of all home contests and select road games are available for a subscription at the NFHS Network. |
