ST. JOSEPH — St. Joseph found a way to win in another high-scoring football game with Portage Northern.

The Bears won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West Division showdown 48-34, amassing 516 yards of total offense. That wasn't quite as many as the Huskies, who had 537, but two interceptions and three fourth-down stops helped St. Joseph come out on top.

"Both offenses were really good tonight," St. Joseph coach Andrew Pratley said. "Fortunately for us I thought our defense came up with just enough picks to get us the ball back a couple times to get the win."

The two schools put up even bigger numbers two years ago in a 62-49 St. Joseph win, combining for more than 1,200 yards.

St. Joseph (2-0 SMAC West, 6-0), ranked No. 4 in Division 3, rushed for 440 yards. Dylan Chapman had his second straight 200-yard rushing game, carrying 37 times for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Davis Crossman rushed for 98 yards, most of them on a pair of long touchdowns, and threw for 76 yards and a score. Charlie Halstead added 22 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown.

A great offensive line performance kept the Bears moving no matter who was running the ball.

"It's awesome," St. Joseph left tackle Rusty Klaer said. "It just shows the hard work we've all been putting in together as a unit. Not only as an o-line, but the whole team together has been putting in the work. I think it's paying off and it's showing."

Portage Northern (1-1 SMAC West, 4-2) got most of its offense from Vaughnzell Tyus, who finished with 28 carries for 327 yards and two touchdowns.

Quarterback Joe Thole threw for 135 yards and a touchdown and ran for 44 yards and two scores, but two second-half interceptions, one by Maguire Lange and the other by Samuel Zarotney, proved costly.

"You've got to stop something and we chose to take away the pass," Pratley said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight. Unfortunately Tyus is a really, really good football player, and their offensive line is very good too obviously. They're a really good football team, and fortunately for us we got out with a win."

Both teams punted just once. St. Joseph was 7-for-10 on fourth-down conversions. Two of those conversions went for touchdowns — a 37-yard pass from Crossman to Bobby DeLong in the second quarter, and a 45-yard run by Crossman for the final score of the night. The Bears also converted four fourth downs in their own territory.

"That's who I am and that's what we do, and when you've got an offensive line like we do, we're going to keep doing it," Pratley said. "I thought all the backs ran hard today, Davis had a good game, but the offensive line continues to just pound people."

Portage Northern went ahead 9-0 early, but St. Joseph scored four touchdowns in the second quarter to build a 28-15 halftime lead. The Bears converted three fourth downs on their opening drive of the second half, ending in an eight-yard Chapman scoring run that made it 36-15.

Tyus immediately responded with an 80-yard touchdown run, and an interception by Carter Yates on the following possession had the Huskies poised for a comeback, but Lange intercepted the ball right back for the Bears.

The Huskies finally got to within one score on a 35-yard pass from Thole to Yates with 3:14 left, making it 42-34, but Crossman picked up two fourth downs with his legs on the final drive, including the clinching touchdown in the final minute.

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