Saturday, 10/27/18 - 1:00 PM Zeeland Stadium Zeeland, MI Radio (SJ): 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports Radio (ZW): 1260 The Pledge WPNW
St. Joseph Bears 5-4 (3-2 SMAC West)	All Time Series First ever meeting Last Game: First ever meeting	Zeeland West Dux 7-2 (5-1 OK-Green)
Gandalf Church 8th season	Head Coaches Seasons	John Shilito 14th season

(stjoefootball.com) - The Bears opening round opponent for the playoffs is the Zeeland West Dux

View the extended game notes (.pdf)

It’s a first-time matchup for the Bears and the Dux to begin the 2018 Division 3 playoffs.  Zeeland West comes into the game with a 7-2 record having earned an automatic bid to the playoffs.  The Bears come into the game with a record of 5-4 and earning the playoff bid with a high enough playoff point average.  This is the third time the Bears have played a playoff game at Zeeland, previously playing Zeeland East in the 2010 and 2011 playoffs. 

The Bears dropped the regular season finale with a 16-7 loss to Portage Northern at Dickinson Stadium.  Tyler Amos had a pair of touchdown runs for the visitors.   Andy Blomgren provided the Bears lone score on a 19 yard touchdown pass to Eric White in the third quarter.  Brent Huff recorded 12 tackles, including 2 for loss as well as a forced fumble. Konnor LaVanway also had 11 tackles, two for loss.   With the weather making passing nearly impossible, both teams stuck to the running game which resulted in St. Joe only having three possessions in the 2nd half, and only 1 in the fourth quarter. 

The Dux closed out the regular season with a 58-25 win over Hamilton.  Chase Peddie ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns at Zeeland West improved to 7-2 on the season, good enough for a second place finish in the OK Green.  Ross Bolman had one of two interception returns for a touchdown, he also added two rushing scores.

Midwest Family Radio Sports is once again the home of St. Joseph Bears football, with 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports, serving as the flagship for St. Joe football in their 21st straight season. Midwest Family Radio Sports provides weekly coverage of St. Joseph, Lakeshore, Benton Harbor, and South Haven football contests. Now in their 28th season, Phil McDonald (Play-By-Play) and Bret Witkowski (Color) will be calling the game. The broadcast is also available worldwide at www.wsjmsports.com. The newspaper recap will be in the Herald Palladium and at www.heraldpalladium.com.

Week 9 SMAC Games:
Portage Northern at St. Joseph
Mattawan at Lakeshore
Niles at Portage Central
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Battle Creek Central
Kalamazoo Central at Gull Lake
Battle Creek Lakeview at Battle Creek Harper Creek