St. Joseph Bears (3-1) VS. Harper Creek Beavers (4-0)

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1 St. Joseph Bears (3-1) VS. Harper Creek Beavers (4-0) Friday, September 22, :30 DeYoung Memorial Stadium ABOUT THE MATCHUP The Bears and Beavers meet for the East/West crossover game as the rest of the league begins divisional play. St. Joe is 1-0 against teams from the East Division; St. Joe defeated Coldwater 35-0 in week 3. This will be the 4 th West division opponent that Harper Creek has played in 5 games so far this season, Harper Creek has defeated Lakeshore, Niles, and Benton Harbor. ABOUT THE BEARS The Bears come into tonight s game coming off of their first defeat of 10/20 Jackson Lumen Christi the season, as St. Joe fell at home to Mattawan The Bears were unable to get much done against the 7 th ranked Wildcats. The Bears hit the road tonight for the first of four consecutive road games. After tonight, the Bears begin West Division play with games at Niles, Lakeshore, and Benton Harbor before returning home to face Jackson Lumen Christi on the final week of the regular season. ABOUT THE BEAVERS Harper Creek returns home tonight for the first time since opening night, when the Beavers defeated Lakeshore Since then the Beavers have played three consecutive games and recorded victories at Niles, Portage Central, and Benton Harbor. In their last game, Harper Creek defeated Benton Harbor 50-24, a game in which the Beavers scored 23 of their 50 points in the final quarter. Normally the Beavers offense will be the duo of Nate Smith and Rocky Weaver. Last week it was senior running back Justin Boughton who had 160 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Beavers. THE MEDIA Midwest Family Radio Sports is once again the home of St. Joseph Bears football, with News/Talk 1400 WSJM serving as the flagship for St. Joe football in their 10 th straight season. Midwest Family Radio Sports provides weekly coverage of St. Joseph, Lakeshore, South Haven and various SAC and Lakeland Conference football contests. Phil McDonald (Play-By-Play) and Bret Witkowski (Color) enter their 15 th season of calling games together. The broadcast is also available worldwide at Plus the area s most comprehensive post game wrap up shows Friday Night Fever follows tonight s broadcast. For St. Joseph fans traveling to the game, and for fans in the Battle Creek area, tonight s game is also available on Newsradio 930 WBCK with Ken Ervin (Play-By-Play) and Ike Ranger (Color), providing the broadcast in Battle Creek Fans can also check out coverage of the Bears on the official website for St. Joseph Football at Postgame results will be available on Saturday in print in the Herald-Palladium for fans in St. Joseph and the surrounding areas of Berrien County and on the web at the game recap will be available in the Battle Creek Enquirer, and also on the web at THE BEARS SCHEDULE St. Joseph 24, Battle Creek Central 21 08/31 St. Joseph Portage Northern 20 09/08 St. Joseph 35, Coldwater 0 09/15 Mattawan St. Joseph 6 Battle Creek Harper Creek (4-0) Niles Lakeshore Benton Harbor THE BEAVERS SCHEDULE Harper Creek 28, Lakeshore 27 09/01 Harper Creek Niles 22 09/08 Harper Creek Portage Central 38 09/15 Harper Creek Benton Harbor 24 09/22 St. Joseph (3-1) 09/29 at Battle Creek Lakeview 10/06 Coldwater 10/13 Marshall 10/20 at Sturgis 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 1 of 15

2 THE NUMBERS... Series History: Series Tied 1-1 St. Joseph points: 28 Harper Creek points: 41 Record in St. Joseph: Harper Creek leads 1-0 Record in Harper Creek: Series tied 0-0 (First game tonight) Record at Neutral Site: St. Joseph leads 1-0 Games Decided by 3 Points or Less: Series tied 0-0 Games Decided by 7 Points or Less: Series tied 0-0 Games Decided by 10 Points or More: Series tied 1-1 St. Joseph s Longest Winning Streak: 1 (1988) St. Joseph Longest Losing Streak: 1 (2005-) Current St. Joseph Streak: Lost 1 Biggest St. Joseph Win: 20-0 (1988) Biggest St. Joseph Loss: 41-8 (2005) Last St. Joseph Home Win: None Last St. Joseph Road Win: None Last Harper Creek Home Win: None Last Harper Creek Road Win: 2005 Enrollment: 1,041 (Class B) Superintendent: Dr. Carole Schmidt Principal: Jeff Runser Athletic Director: Kevin Guzzo Nickname: Bears Colors: Maize and Blue Fight Song: St. Joseph Fight Song Conference: Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference (Big 16), Charter member since 1931 First Year of Competition: 1913 All-Time Record: (91st season*) *(No teams in , influenza and WWI) State Titles: 0 Runner Up: 1, 1988 (Class BB) S.M.A.C. Conference/Division Championships: 32 Undefeated Seasons: 8 (1938, 71, 73, 80, 84, 86, 87, 88) Longest winning streak: 37-9/26/86-9/30/89 Retired Jersey s: 82 Rob Fredrickson (Class of 1989) THE SERIES Although this is the second game between Harper Creek and St. Joseph within the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference, the first game took place on November 11, On that day St. Joseph defeated Harper Creek 20-0 in the Class B football playoffs at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids. The two schools would not meet until September 23, 2005 when they would meet for the first time in Big 16 play. Harper Creek defeated St. Joseph 41-8 at Dickinson Stadium. Tonight s game will be the first ever meeting at DeYoung Memorial Stadium in Battle Creek. THE BEARS WHEN Overall Record: 3-1 Home Record: 2-1 Road Record: 1-0 Division Record: 0-0 Against Central Division Teams: 2-1 Against Eastern Division Teams: 1-0 Scoring first: 3-0 Opponent scores first: 0-1 Scoring 21 points or more: 3-0 Scoring less than 20 points: 0-1 Allowing 21 points or more: 1-1 Allowing 20 points or less: 2-0 Leading at the half: 2-0 Tied at the half: 1-0 Trailing at the half: 0-1 Leading after 3 quarters: 2-0 Tied after 3 quarters: 1-0 Trailing after 3 quarters: 0-1 Giveaways/Takeaways: 12/11 (-1) Did You Know??? The Bears and Beavers will not have to wait long for a rematch of tonight s game, as the Bears will open the 2007 season at Battle Creek Harper Creek. The realignment of the Big 16 also has St. Joseph playing at Niles this season and next season. St. Joseph will also be hosting Battle Creek Central, St. Joseph hosted the Bearcats in week one of this season. THE OPPONENTS Battle Creek Central: 3-1 (0..750) (SJ 24-21) Portage Northern: 0-4 (0.000) (SJ 21-20) Coldwater: 0-4 (0.000) (SJ 35-0) Mattawan: 4-0 (1.000) (MAT 28-6) Battle Creek Harper Creek: 4-0 (1.000) Niles: 1-3 (0.250) Lakeshore: 3-1 (0.750) Benton Harbor: 2-2 (0.500) Jackson Lumen Christi: 4-0 (1.000) Opponents overall record: (.636) St. Joseph Record: 3-1 (0.750) 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 2 of 15

3 THE BEARS ## Name Off. Pos Def. Pos. Height Weight Year 1 BRAD GUINANE WR DB 6'5" 208 Sr. 2 DREW MACHACEK RB LB 5'10" 165 Sr. 3 ROBERT SCHULER QB DB 5'7" 160 So. 5 JORDAN HOSBEIN WR DB 6'3" 190 Sr. 7 JOE WASSERMAN WR DB 5'10" 160 Jr. 9 ETHAN SCHWEIR QB DB 6'0" 180 Jr. 12 ALEX GRENKE QB DL 6'2" 200 Jr. 15 TIM RUMPF RB LB 6'0" 178 Sr. 16 DAVID TERRY WR DB 6'1" 170 Jr. 19 DUSTIN PHELAN RB LB 5'11" 175 Sr. 20 CODY FROEHLICH RB DB 5'7" 160 Sr. 21 CHRIS CLARK RB LB 5'10" 195 Sr. 22 ELLIOT HEINEY RB LB 6'0" 175 Sr. 23 CODY EVERTT WR DB 5'11" 170 Jr. 24 BURNELL GRANDERSON WR DB 6'2" 175 Jr. 30 GUY MILLER WR DB 5'10" 155 Jr. 31 ANTHONY GRANDBERRY RB DB 6'1" 170 Jr. 32 BRYAN AMMESON RB DL 5'7" 155 Sr. 33 BEN LUBBERS WR DB 6'0" 175 Jr. 34 JUSTIN PUCKETT RB LB 5'10" 180 Jr. 40 JOHN SCHWEIR RB LB 5'10" 205 So. 43 JAY NIMTZ WR DB 5'7" 150 So. 44 BEN BAUMGARTNER RB LB 5'11" 190 Jr. 50 RYAN ANGELO OL DL 5'10" 205 Sr. 51 TY VASTA OL DL 5'9" 190 Jr. 52 PAT SCHALK OL LB 5'9" 195 Jr. 53 RICK ESPINO OL DL 5'10" 185 Jr. 54 ANDREW STEFFEN OL DL 6'2" 225 Sr. 60 FABIAN KLEINSCHMIDT OL DL 5'11" 200 Jr. 61 MICHAEL CURTIS OL LB 6'0" 170 Jr. 62 MILES STEWART OL DL 5'10" 200 Sr. 64 CODY MILLER OL DL 5'11" 190 Jr. 66 MIKE MAVIS OL DL 5'10" 200 Jr. 67 ALEX HASTINGS OL DL 6'2" 262 Sr. 68 MATT MATTOX OL DL 6'2" 242 So. 70 ZACK BROCK OL DL 6'2" 235 Sr. 72 ANDREW ROSENTHAL OL DL 5'10" 235 Jr. 73 LUKE DARNTON OL DL 6'0" 210 Sr. 74 CJ PATER OL DL 6'3" 225 Sr. 75 BRYAN HENRIQUEZ OL DL 5'11" 175 Jr. 76 KALEB GEORGE OL DL 5'11" 225 Jr. 77 JAY PENDERGRASS OL DL 6'2" 275 Jr. 80 NICK BOVO WR DB 6'1" 175 Jr. 81 MAX BAUM TE DL 6'1" 195 Jr. 86 MATT JEWELL WR DL 6'2" 170 So. 87 BRETT VIRGIL TE DL 5'11" 225 Jr. 88 MARK LOCKWOOD WR DB 6'0" 195 Sr. 89 MIKE LAVANWAY WR DB 6'1" 175 Jr St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 3 of 15

4 THE BEARS COACHING STAFF Year Coach Record 1913 Whitehead Berry Gardner No Teams Gordon Gabal Henry Howe Fred Harrsen Henry Howe ( ) Ronald Finch Harry Lee Jack Petosky Jay Eldred Walt Gephart Dick Higgs Willis Koontz Ivan "Ike" Muhlenkamp John Van Wagoner Elliot Uzelac 3-1 ST. JOSEPH BEARS FOOTBALL COACHING HISTORY Head Coach: Elliot Uzelac A college coaching veteran with more than 30 years of experience is the 16 th head coach in the schools 91 seasons of playing football. Mr. Uzelac began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, Navy, and Michigan before becoming the Head Coach at Western Michigan University from He was named Mid American Conference Coach of the Year in 1975 while with the Broncos. He also served as Head Coach at the US Naval Academy from Mr. Uzelac has also has held coaching positions at Indiana, Ohio State, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Maryland, Georgetown, and with the NFL s Cleveland Browns. He is a 1964 graduate of Western Michigan and he earned a master's degree in physical education from Bowling Green in He and his wife, Wendy, have two children, Lisa and Nick, one granddaughter, Jordan, and one grandson, Elliot. Assistant Coaches: Ike Muhlenkamp, Larry Jackson, Tony Bruno, Gandalf Church, Rick Smiedendorf Managers: Kevin Strine, Keith Strine, Drew Welham THE WAY TO PRONOUNCE THE BEARS Elliot Uzelac - you-zelack Ike Muhlencamp mull -en-camp Rick Smiedendorf smee-den-dorf 1 Brad Guinane gin-ane 2 Drew Machacek - muh-hah-check 5 Jordan Hosbein hahz bine 9 Ethan Schweir shweer 19 Dustin Phelan fay-lan 20 Cody Froehlich fray-lick 22 Elliot Heiney high-knee 32 Bryan Ammeson am-eh-son 40 John Schweir - shweer 66 Mike Mavis may-vis 80 Nick Bovo bow-voh THE GAME OPERATIONS PEOPLE Public Address Announcer: Dave Durr Spotter: Phil Cole Clock Operators: Fred Alten, Gary Etter, David Foster Message Board Operation: Dave Wolf THE BOOSTERS Presidents: Dr. Marc and Cathy Mavis 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 4 of 15

5 THE BEAVERS ## Name Off. Pos Def. Pos. Height Weight Year 1 CONNOR LEWIS WR DB Sr. 2 MIKE JONES WR DB Jr. 3 JON GARAVALIA RB DB Jr. 5 CHARLES WADE RB DB Jr. 6 ROCKY WEAVER WR DE Sr. 8 DARRIN MERWIN RB DB Jr. 9 ADAM WILSON RB DB Sr. 12 NICK McCLEARY WR DB Jr. 14 NATE SMITH QB DB Sr. 18 NICK HARRINGTON WR DB Jr. 21 SHAE HAMILTON WR DB Sr. 22 WAYNE BLAIR RB LB Jr. 24 BRIAN EVEREST RB DB Sr. 25 JUSTIN BOUGHTON RB LB Sr. 26 BRANDON HARRIS RB DB Sr. 28 JOSH LOWER WR DB Sr. 31 ALEX LATTA RB DB Sr. 34 TYRONE GARNETT WR DB Jr. 48 GARETT CRITES WR DB Sr. 50 LANCE PALMER OL DL Sr. 51 SEAN GILMORE OL LB Sr. 52 ADAM LARSON TE DB Sr. 55 MITCH HEIKKILA OL LB Sr. 57 ROBERT KRUTSCH OL DL Jr. 61 JEFF STANTON OL DL Sr. 62 BRANDON KAIL OL LB Sr. 63 RYAN HILL OL DE Sr. 65 TRENT SCHULTZ OL DL Sr. 68 JOSH THOMPSON OL DL Jr. 69 STEVE TINK OL DL Sr. 70 THOMAS IVANY OL DL Sr. 73 JEFF ROBERTS OL DL Sr. 75 KEMSHAWN McMULLEN OL DL Jr. 76 NICK COPPERSMTIH OL DL Sr. 78 TRAY CRUSCIEL OL DL Jr. 79 TIM NELSON OL DE Jr. 80 KRIS DUNLAP WR DB Sr. 81 ADAM REED TE LB Sr. 82 JAKE BILANOW TE LB Sr. 85 JAKE HUBBARD PK PK Jr. 87 BRAD PASCOE WR DB Jr. Head Coach: Assistant Coaches: Ed Greenman Dennis Stansberry, Mike Seedorff, Alex Nicolich, Jim Robinsonww 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 5 of 15

6 THE ONES TO WATCH SJ # 9 Ethan Schweir (Junior, QB) Schweir ran for the Bears only score in last weeks loss to Mattawan. SJ # 22 Elliot Heiney (Senior, RB) Heiney will be looking to rebound after only rushing for 70 yards against Mattawan. SJ #43 Jay Nimtz (Sophomore, WR) The 5 7 transfer from California led the Bears in receiving yardage against Mattawan last week and is one of the Bears punt returners. SJ # 1 Brad Guinane (Junior, WR) Guinane has missed the last two games due to an illness and is trying to get back into the lineup. THE SEASON SO FAR 8/25 St. Joseph 24, Battle Creek Central 21 Dickinson Stadium, St. Joseph Junior Ethan Schweir booted the game winning field goal with :05 seconds remaining to break a tie to give the Bears the win over Battle Creek Central in the debut of new St. Joe coach Elliot Uzelac. St. Joe would get on the board in the first quarter on a 70 yard run by Ethan Schweir. Battle Creek Central would tie it in the second quarter on a 14 yard run by Larry Caper, and then take the lead on a 40 yard fumble return by Rashad White, the extra point was missed and the Bears trailed The Bears would take the lead with :02 seconds remaining in the half as Schweir would connect on a 27 yard pass play to Elliot Heiney, following Brett Virgil s PAT, the Bears lead was at the half. St. Joe would extend the lead on a 4 yard run by Schweir in the 3 rd quarter making it Battle Creek Central tied it once again in the 4 th quarter as Larry Caper ran it in from 9 yards out and also added the 2 point conversion to tie the game at 21. Setting up Schweir s game winner with :05 seconds left. 8/31 St. Joseph at Portage Northern McCamley Field, Portage Junior Burnell Granderson (#24) returned the game s opening kickoff 85 yards to give the Bears a 7-0 lead. The Huskies didn t take long to respond as Northern drove down into the red zone turning it over, only to have the Bears return the favor on the Bears first play from scrimmage. Northern would take it in to the end zone on a Trevor Nutt pass to Neal Anderson for the tying score. Northern would go ahead 14-7 later in the first quarter on a 7 yard run by Tom Poulter. St. Joe would tie the game in the final minute of the first half on a 5 yard run by Elliot Heiney on a 4 th and 1 to go. The defense for both teams pitched the shutout in the third quarter. St. Joe would take the lead with just over 5 minutes to play as Ethan Schweir found Junior WR Brad Guinane down the sideline and the Bears would take the lead on the 44 yard touchdown pass. Portage Northern would get a touchdown with 1:52 left in the contest on a Tyler Peebles 7 yard TD run, but Northern place-kicker Justin Rhodes missed the point after touchdown, keeping the Bears out in front. Northern would try the onside kick but the ball did not travel the required 10 yards before recovering the ball, and the Bears would get possession and knock all but 4 seconds off the clock before turning the ball over the Northern on downs. The Huskies Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Granderson and the Bears came away with the win St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 6 of 15

7 9/8 St. Joseph 35, Coldwater 0 Dickinson Stadium, St. Joseph Elliot Heiney ran for 217 yards and three touchdowns as St. Joseph easily defeated Coldwater. It all started early in the first quarter. Heiney would score his first of three TD s from 12 yards out to put the Bears up 7-0. St. Joe would explode in the second quarter as the Bears would find the endzone three times. Elliot Heiney had touchdown runs of 27 yards and 38 yards for scores and Ethan Schweir found Matt Jewell for a 49 yard touchdown pass to put the Bears up 28-0 at the half. Coldwater continued to struggle against the Bear defense in the second half. St. Joe would cap off the scoring when Schweir connected on a 4 yard touchdown pass to Mark Lockwood in the third. With the Bears leading 35-0, the MHSAA mercy rule would be in effect for the rest of the game. Brett Virgil was 5 of 5 in PAT s on the game. St. Joseph out gained the Cardinals 395 to /15 Mattawan 28, St. Joseph 6 Dickinson Stadium, St. Joseph The balanced attack of Brady Webster on the ground and Zach Laupp through the air, were more than enough to hand the Bears their first defeat of the season. Mattawan s tough defense only allowed a total of 103 yards rushing on the night for St. Joseph. Junior Quarterback Ethan Schweir completed 7 of 12 passes on the night for a total of 70 yards. Running back Elliot Heiney rushed for only 77 yards on 18 carries. Schweir had the Bears only touchdown of the night as he ran for an 11 yard score in the 3 rd quarter. Jay Nimtz led Bear receivers with 67 yards on 5 receptions. Starting WR Brad Guinane missed his second straight game due to illness. THE FRESHMAN 8/24 St. Joe BC Central 0 St. Joe 21, Port. Northern 6 9/7 St. Joe Coldwater 6 Mattawan 13, St. Joe 6 9/21 Harper Creek St. Joe 0 9/28 Niles 10/5 Lakeshore 10/12 Benton Harbor 10/21 at Jackson Lumen Christi THE JUNIOR VARSITY 8/24 St. Joe BC Central 20 St. Joe 40, Port. Northern 14 9/7 St. Joe Coldwater 20 Mattawan 20, St. Joe 6 St. Joe 21, Harper Creek 13 9/28 Niles 10/5 Lakeshore 10/12 Benton Harbor 10/21 at Jackson Lumen Christi THE 2007 SCHEDULE 8/24/07 at Battle Creek Harper Creek 8/31/07 at Marshall 9/7/07 Portage Northern 9/14/07 Battle Creek Central 9/21/07 at Niles 9/28/07 Lakeshore 10/5/07 Benton Harbor 10/12/07 at Mattawan 10/19/07 Kalamazoo Central 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 7 of 15

8 THE HOME OF THE BEARS Completed: 2003 (4th season) Seating Capacity: 5,300 (3,500 home stands- 1,800 visitor stands) Surface: Natural Grass Record at Dickinson Stadium: 6-11 First game: September 12, 2003 St. Joe 34, Kalamazoo Central 13 Press Box Phone: (269) The old Dickinson Stadium In the mid 1940's the St. Joseph School system acquired the title to a 40 acre parcel of land known as the Dickinson Estate. The area is where the current high school now stands. Around that same time the citizens of St. Joseph recognized the need for a new athletic and recreation area. The St. Joe football team played their games at Wells field (where Jefferson elementary currently sits). There was no parking for the fans, except on the neighboring streets, and the wooden grandstands were in danger of collapse. It was then that the St. Joe residents got the ball rolling for a new facility. After receiving numerous recommendations by various experts, the planning committee, commissioned architect Robert V. Knox to develop the sketches and conceptual drawings of the stadium. The Board of Education would take these plans to the various service clubs around St. Joseph to rally the community involvement in the project, Every group that were presented the plans went on record as supporting it. The voters overwhelmingly passed the $170,000 bond proposal on July 25, 1949 for the new stadium and track. A little over a year later, on September 22, 1950, the original Dickinson Stadium opened. Dickinson Stadium held it's last event on October 19, In the 51 year history of the stadium it was the home to thousands of events, including football games, track meets, soccer games, band competitions, and commencement ceremonies. The new Dickinson Stadium The idea for a new stadium came about when a commission was charged with reviewing and making recommendations on the future of the facilities of the St. Joseph Public School system for the next years. After a review of the old stadium it was determined that to bring the stadium's aging and deteriorating steel support and infrastructure up to code would be a very expensive project. The commission visited newly constructed high schools around the Midwest and made recommendations for the St. Joe schools, including a new football stadium. In March of 2001 a plan for a bond proposal was presented to the St. Joe taxpayers, which not only included the new stadium, but also a new athletic fieldhouse and other various projects at the high school, and a new auxiliary gym, offices, library and orchestra room at Upton Middle School. The bond issue passed on September 25, 2001, less than a month later, the last game at the old Dickinson Stadium would be played and demolition would begin. While construction continued during the 2002 football season the varsity team played their "Home" games at Lakeshore's Al Stockman Stadium, Benton Harbor's Filstrup Field and at Bridgman High School. Upton Middle School was the home site for the JV and Freshmen teams. The new stadium still has one feature from the old stadium, and that is the electronic scoreboard/message center that was installed prior to the 1998 season. The scoreboard was dismantled and moved from it's previous location to where it currently stands. The stadium now also has an 8 lane running track, the old stadium had 7 and only 6 were useable. The first games were played on Thursday, September 4th, by the Freshman and JV teams who gave the stadium it's first shakedown before the Grand Opening a week later. The official dedication was prior to the game between St. Joseph and Kalamazoo Central which St. Joe won Less than a year after the opening, the new Dickinson Stadium had the honor of hosting country music and TV star Reba McIntyre for a performance benefiting Harbor Habitat for Humanity, The concert was part of Reba's 2004 tour which was sponsored by Whirlpool Corporation. The concert was held in front of a crowd of over 6,500 on July 20, The Upton Middle School programs normally play their home games at Koontz Field at Upton Middle School, but the 8 th grade teams will play their final home games of the season at Dickinson Stadium which will become their new home field as Freshmen. Lake Michigan Catholic High School also plays their home games at Dickinson Stadium St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 8 of 15

9 THE BIG 16 LAST WEEK -Lakeshore 52, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 12 Lakeshore's Griffin Gibson rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns while Frank Witucki also threw for two scores as Lakeshore defeated Kalamazoo Loy Norrix Portage Central 50, Niles 13 Portage Central's Jaron DeShazor ran for three touchdowns, and Jarred Sherrod also ran for two scores at Portage Central won their first game of the season in a win over Niles. -Jackson Lumen Christi 17, Marshall 7 Mark Lathers scored a 56 yard touchdown to help lead Jackson Lumen Christi over Marshall Maurice Ansley rushed 123 yards for the 0-4 Redhawks -Battle Creek Harper Creek 50, Benton Harbor 24 In a game delayed almost 20 minutes, Battle Creek Harper Creek rushed for a total of 272 yards, 160 of them came from Justin Boughton, who also had 4 touchdowns. Brandon Hurst had 103 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Tigers. -Sturgis 21, Kalamazoo Central 14 - OT Dustin Cox threw a touchdown pass to Marcos Esparza on the first possession OF overtime and then Dale Norman intercepted a third down pass from Kalamazoo Central QB Morris Brooks to lead Sturgis to a win over Kalamazoo Central. -Battle Creek Lakeview 42, Portage Northern 14 Trevor Laubengayer had 145 yards rushing on 12 carries and 3 touchdowns to lead the Spartans over the Huskies Battle Creek Central 35, Coldwater 6 Bill Young had 141 yards rushing on 5 carries and touchdown runs of 5, 44, and 90 yards, in the Bearcats 35-6 win over Coldwater THE CONFERENCE STANDINGS THE WEST THE CENTRAL THE EAST Team Rec Div. Pts 1 Lumen Christi St. Joseph Lakeshore Benton Harbor Niles Team Rec Div. Pts 1 Mattawan BC Central Kal. Central Port. Central Loy Norrix Port. Northern Teams earn 1 point in the standings for a non-division win, 2 points for a win in the division. Team Rec Div. Pts 1 Harper Creek BC Lakeview Sturgis Marshall Coldwater BIG 16 TEAMS IN THE STATE RANKINGS Mattawan: Number 7 in Division 3 Battle Creek Harper Creek: Number 6 in Division 4 Jackson Lumen Christi: Number 2 in Division 5 HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE??? Entering tonight s contests, the home team has only won 17 of the 32 games played across the league this season (.531). There are 6 teams unbeaten on the road; Harper Creek 3-0 Mattawan 2-0 Jackson Lumen Christi 2-0 Benton Harbor 1-0 Sturgis 1-0 St. Joseph 1-0 THE BIG 16 TONIGHT -St. Joseph at Battle Creek Harper Creek -Jackson Lumen Christi at Lakeshore -Benton Harbor at Niles -Mattawan at Kalamazoo Central -Portage Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix -Battle Creek Central at Portage Northern -Sturgis at Marshall -Battle Creek Lakeview at Coldwater 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 9 of 15

10 ST. JOSEPH AND BATTLE CREEK HARPER CREEK PRESS CLIPPINGS Herald Palladium 9/16/06 Beavers arrive late, but still beat up on Tigers By FRANK BENSON H-P Sports Writer BENTON HARBOR About the only thing that stopped the Battle Creek Harper Creek football team Friday night was bumper-tobumper traffic along Interstate 94. We allowed about 90 minutes to get here by bus but it took us more like 2 hours and 20 minutes, said Beavers coach Ed Greenman. As a result the Benton Harbor- Harper Creek game started about 20 minutes late. But once it began it was all Beavers as unbeaten Harper Creek scored a victory. They are just explosive, said Benton Harbor coach Larry Featherstone. You stop them in one area and they can beat you in another. Harper Creek, ranked No. 8 in Division 4, has won 12 straight regularseason games and is 40 this season. It wasn t pretty, but I thought we were effective, Greenman said. Actually, Benton Harbor outgained Harper Creek in total offense The Tigers ran for 315 yards, thanks to 140 yards by quarterback Brandon Hurst. That No. 10 (Hurst) is one of the best players in this league, Greenman said. He s very tough to stop. Harper Creek came into the game with one of the area s top passing attacks but the Beavers turned to the ground game against the Tigers. Justin Boughton ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns and Brandon Harris ran for 38 yards and two scores. We came into the game determined to stop their top receiver Rocky Weaver and we did that for all except the last two minutes of the game, Featherstone said. Weaver, considered a college Division I prospect, caught just two passes, including a 9-yard score in the final minutes. Benton Harbor actually led 6 0 and 12-7 in the game but Harper Creek put the game away in the final quarter, outscoring Benton Harbor I think we wore them down a little bit, Greenman said. Against Benton Harbor you have to grind it out to beat them. Benton Harbor once again was hurt by mistakes. The Tigers were hit with nine penalties for 57 yards. Benton Harbor only fumbled once, but it was a big one. In the third quarter we were down by a touchdown and Harper Creek fumbled it over to us, Featherstone said. I thought we had a bit of momentum there but then on our first play we fumbled it back to them. I thought that play really broke our back. They went in and scored and we had a hard time getting it going from that point. Benton Harbor has now lost two straight games after winning its first two to start the season. After a three-game homestand the Tigers travel to Niles next week Battle Creek Harper Creek 50, Benton Harbor 24 Harper Creek Benton Harbor BH Brandon Hurst 13 run (kick failed) HC Justin Boughton 30 run (Jason Hubbard kick) BH Brandon Hurst 55 run (run failed) HC Justin Boughton 25 run (pass failed) HC WayneBlair 22 run (Justin Hubbard kick) HC Alex Liotta 24 pass from Smith (Hubbard kick) BH Bryan Thomas 39 run (run failed) BH Brandon Hurst 6 run (pass failed) HC Justin Boughton 3 run (Justin Hubbard kick) HC Brandon Hurst tackled in end zone,safety HC Weaver 30 pass from Scott (Hubbard kick) HC Brandon Harris 4 run (Hubbard kick) 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 10 of 15

11 Herald Palladium 9/16/06 Big line, big win Mattawan dominates to hand St. Joseph its 1st loss of the season By AL AREND Herald Palladium Sports Writer ST. JOSEPH Mattawan won the battle of the trenches Friday night, spoiling St. Joseph s football homecoming 28-6 in a battle of previously unbeatens at Dickinson Stadium. By dominating both sides of the ball, the Wildcats outgained the Bears 299 to 173 in net yards. We put in the 4-3 (defense) this year with cover-eight, and they re loving it, said Mattawan coach Doug Paran of his defense that has allowed only three touchdowns this season. And, I can be more aggressive with it. We have some big people up front and we tell them there are some things we should be able to do behind them. And for the most part we ve been able to do that, added Paran of his 40 squad. St. Joseph coach Elloit Uzelac agreed with Paran s assessment. They knocked us around pretty darn good, Uzelac said. We didn t play as hard as I thought we could. We played bad. We did everything wrong that could possibly go wrong...kicking, offense, defense, you name it. And I take full responsibility for that. Mattawan opened the scoring late in the first quarter when quarterback Zach Laupp hooked up with Calen Jones on an 8-yard scoring strike. The TD was set up when Ian Mc Caffrey blew through the Bears line untouched, blocking a Brett Virgil punt which gave the Wildcats the ball on the St. Joseph 9-yard line. We made a terrible mistake on that punt, Uzelac said. They had shown it (on film). Unfortunately our personal protector called the wrong protection, and they came through clean. It was one of those nights. When it rains it pours. Mattawan scored twice more in the second quarter as tailback Brady Webster tallied two of his three touchdowns. The first came on a 20-yard run following a lost St. Joe fumble at its own 28, and the second on a 20-yard scoring strike from Laupp with 42 seconds left in the half, giving the Wildcats a 21-0 lead at intermission St. Joseph scored its only TD of the game on an 11 yard scamper by quarterback Ethan Schweir following an interception by the Bears Dustin Phelan off a tipped pass on his own 39. Key plays in the Bears five-play, 61-yard drive were a 28-yard pass over the middle from Schweir to Jay Nimtz, who had five receptions for 64 yards, and a 24-yard run by fullback Ben Baumgartner, his only carry of the night. Mattawan s final TD came on a 33-yard run off an option pitch by Webster with 5:02 remaining. Webster led all rushers with 120 yards on 21 carries as Mattawan s balanced attack gained 151 yards rushing and 148 passing. Laupp completed 12 of 22 passes to five different receivers, including three for 57 yards to Webster, and four for 40 yards to 6-foot-5, 278-pound, junior tight end Mike McIntyre. St. Joseph s Elloitt Heiney, who was averaging 7.4 yards per carry entering the game, garnered 77 yards on 18 carries, including 39 on one run late in the first half when the Wildcats defense was in pass protection. The Bears managed just 103 yards rushing, as Schweir was sacked six times. He did complete 7 of-12 passes for 70 yards We worked on all of the blitzes in practice, except the corner crash, noted Uzelac. Honestly, if we get beat, I don t mind if we played hard. I felt they were a far more physical team than we were and that s a credit to their players and coaches. St. Joseph (3-1) hits the road for the next four weeks, traveling to undefeated Battle Creek Harper Creek before beginning Big 16 West Division play 2006 St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 11 of 15

12 Battle Creek Enquirer 9/16.06 Harper handles Harbor The Enquirer BENTON HARBOR It was better late then never for Harper Creek on Friday, as the Beavers put up 23 unanswered fourth quarter points to defeat Benton Harbor Harper Creek (4-0) wasn't afraid to run the ball, as the Beavers finished with 272 yards total on the ground. A bulk of those yards came on the back of Justin Boughton, who finished with 20 carries for 160 yards and four scores. Wayne Blair was also effective, tallying 53 yards on three carries, including a 20-yard touchdown run. A week after setting the school record for passing yards in a game, Nate Smith threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Alex Latta led the Beaver receiving corps with two catches for 70 yards, including a 34-yard grab for a score. Darren Merwin anchored the Harper Creek defense with 10 tackles. He, along with Blair, managed to sack Benton Harbor quarterback Brandon Hurst in the endzone for a safety. Adam Wilson tallied an interception for the Beavers, while Rocky Weaver had a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. Benton Harbor (2-2) was led by Hurst who finished with 103 yards rushing and three scores. Kalamazoo Gazette 9/16/06 MATTAWAN 28, ST. JOSEPH 6: At St. Joseph, Brady Webster rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 20-yard TD pass from Zach Laupp as Mattawan improved to 4-0. Webster also had eight tackles from his safety position. This was a big road win, Mattawan coach Doug Paran said. (St. Joseph's) program has turned around a lot this year behind (Elliot) Uzelac. We knew this would be a very disciplined team and we needed to come out and execute. Laupp was 12-of-22 passing for 151 yards, adding an 8-yard scoring toss to Calen Jones. Tyler Payne was 4-for-4 on extra-point kicks for the Wildcats, who built a 21-0 halftime lead. Nick Lower led the Mattawan defense -- which has allowed only 19 points in four games -- with 11 tackles St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 12 of 15

13 Battle Creek Enquirer 8/25/06 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW Talented duo to lead Harper Creek Bill Broderick The Enquirer It's the kind of 1-2 punch that knocks you back if you are an opposing team looking at a scouting report. Harper Creek quarterback Nate Smith and his favorite receiver Rocky Weaver helped the Beavers to a Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division title last year and practically rewrote the record books on the way. And they were only juniors. Now, ready for their senior season, the two hope to help Harper Creek to another big season. "We have some very good skill kids and it starts with Nate and Rocky. I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say they are the best 1-2 combination we've had here," said Harper Creek coach Ed Greenman. "Those two are outstanding kids and outstanding athletes and those two get a lot done by themselves. I know I wouldn't want to defend those kids." "We want to spread the field and get the ball to those skill kids that we have." "We will be very tough up front on defense," Greenman said. "We are going to a different defense because so many people are spreading us out." Harper Creek will go to four down linemen with two linebackers and five defensive backs in its basic set. That puts Schultz with Coppersmith and Lance Palmer as the two down linemen with Weaver and Blair at defensive end. Jake Villeneaux and Boughton will line up at linebacker. There is no real experience coming back in the defensive backfield, but Greenman likes the talent pool he can draw from. He also likes his team's chances when it comes to the division race and making the playoffs, which the Beavers have done in six of the last seven years. "We are going to be a little young, from the standpoint that we'll play a lot of seniors, but it might be the first time those seniors have seen varsity action. We were so senior dominated last year, so we are counting on a lot of different kids," Greenman said. "But I like to think we should be one of the favorites." Beyond the big two, Harper Creek has other weapons to use. Justin Boughton and Wayne Blair will see time at running back along with Brandon Harris, a transfer from Pennfield. Shae Hamilton will get time at both running back and receiver with Connor Lewis, John Garavalia, Alex Latta and Nick McCleary also taking reps at reciever. The offensive line is thin on experience, but does return Trent Schultz as a starter and Nick Coppersmith, who was in the playing group a year ago. On defense, Harper Creek is changing its style slightly St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 13 of 15

14 Herald Palladium 8/22/06 EXPERIENCE COUNTS Old-school approach takes over St. Joseph football By AL AREND H-PSports Writer They may be old school but deep down they re still young at heart. Elliot Uzelac and Ike Muhlenkamp first met in the early 1970s at a University of Michigan football camp. Uzelac was offensive line coach for the Wolverines, and Muhlenkamp was a young varsity football coach at St. Joseph High School. Little did they know their paths would cross 35 years later, and they would be coaching together as a pair of 65-year-olds in an attempt to revitalize the Bears once-proud high school football program. Truth of the matter is we love kids and have a great time coaching them, said Uzelac, who served seven years as Western Michigan University s head coach ( ) and three years as head coach of the Naval Academy ( ). Kids keep you young and the challenge is here to rebuild the program. I m having a ball. Retirement is way overrated. My feet are feeling better now after not teaching, said Muhlenkamp, who turns 66 on Friday, when the Bears open the season at home against Battle Creek Central. Obviously, Elliot and his enthusiasm kind of turns you on. I ve known Ike for a long time, and when the job opened up I told my wife I need one guy to make this successful, and that was Ike. When I knew I had it (the job) and decided to take it, I called him that day, recalled Uzelac. Uzelac said he asked Muhlenkamp if he wanted to get back in to it, and Ike said yes. Ike has been phenomenal for me, Uzelac said. Working with him will make me a better person and coach. I mean that sincerely. I depend on Ike a lot, because he s been through it here. I value Ike s knowledge and I want him to tell me things, and he does. And we adjust accordingly, Uzelac added. He knows these kids and this environment. Uzelac was a head high school coach only once before, from at St. John s Military Academy in Washington, D.C. The job at St. John s prepared me for the high school level again, admitted Uzelac, whose coaching stints were all at the collegiate level, with the exception of one year (1992) as assistant coach of the Cleveland Browns. I went through a lot of these things. My first year at St. John s was much tougher than my experience here. Muhlenkamp coached St. Joseph for 34 years ( ), compiling a mark at the school including a Class BB state runner-up finish in He said when he heard Uzelac was getting the job, I told my wife We have to talk. I ve got to know the answer before he calls. Muhlenkamp said. She said go ahead. This is good. I feel good. He gets all the problems now. I don t get them, Muhlenkamp laughed. He s brought a lot of enthusiasm and new techniques. People in our league are going to have to be concerned with that, no doubt about it. Because we re running a lot of college situations they haven t seen before. I think we ve scaled down to what we re going to do on offense and defense based on our talent, Uzelac said. When we went to two-a-days this August we started moving personnel around. We gave them everything... reps, reps, reps. If I don t try something how do I know if they can do them or not? It s obvious the coaching change has affected the players, too. It s their knowledge base. Those two (Uzelac and Muhlenkamp) know so much it s just incredible, said Elliott Heiney, returning tailback from last year s 0-9 squad. They critique us on every single thing we do wrong. It s a different attitude around here. They ve won so much before, they keep telling us to keep focused and don t get down on yourself. Burnell Granderson, a free safety and running back, added: They just get us going real good. They make us do a lot of things we didn t do last year. They push us hard. Zach Brock, an offensive lineman, noted: They pay a lot more attention to detail. Everything is broken down. We watch film of every practice, a lot of fundamental stuff, and applying the mental aspects of the game. That first game (home against Battle Creek Central) is our most important game of the season, added Uzelac, who acknowledged the program needs a victory, the sooner the better. I want to see those home stands filled on August 25th, Muhlenkamp said. It s important that the community supports these kids in order to turn this thing around. Other assistant coaches on the varsity besides Muhlenkamp include Gandolf Church, Larry Jackson and Tony Bruno, a longtime assistant under Muhlenkamp. Tony Balbo is head junior varsity coach and is being assisted by Eric Robinson. Coaching the freshmen are Todd Rose, Bob Baumgartner and Matt Culver St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 14 of 15

15 Herald Palladium 8/22/06 Bears hope to establish upward momentum St. Joseph s football program has nowhere to go but up. Following last fall s 0-9 season, new coach Elliot Uzelac has spent the summer getting his Bears physically ready to win some games. I know we re stronger and well-conditioned, Uzelac said. Now we need a little luck. Injuries have played a big role in the recent demise of this program. Uzelac, former head coach at Western Michigan and the Naval Academy, will run a multiple offense. On defense, expect the Bears to line up in a 4-3. Offensively, Uzelac said: We ve given them the whole package, and I think they ve done a good job picking up on it. They have to know it all, because we ll use different packages on different opponents. Now it s just reps (repetition), reps, reps in practice, and getting our spacing down. Defensively, Uzelac said it appears his team s biggest problem...is we re not as physical tackling people as I would like. But we re improving, trying to correct old mistakes. Numbers are up as 47 are listed on the varsity roster. Combined with the junior varsity and freshman teams, around 130 are out for the sport. Five years ago, the Bears didn t have enough players to field a freshman team. Now we just need some wins, Uzelac said. Junior Ethan Schweir (6 foot, 180 pounds) will finally get his chance to quarterback the Bears. He was injured the first day of practice last fall and missed the entire season after starting at safety as a freshman. Three years ago, he led Upton Middle School s eighth-grade team to an undefeated season. Returning at tailback is senior Elliott Heiney (6-0, 175), who nearly rushed for 1,000 yards last season. That s pretty remarkable, considering he played for an 0 9 team, Uzelac noted. Ben Baumgartner (5-11, 190) will start at fullback, and can expect to share some of the running load. Fullbacks keep defenses honest, Uzelac said. The offense will feature two to three wideouts, including Brad Guinane (6-5, 208), California transfer Jay Nimtz, Jordan Hosbein, Lake Michigan Catholic transfer Nick Bovo, Matt Jewell and Cody Everett. Hosbein and Everett are seniors. On the the offensive line are tight end Mark Lockwood, a 6-3, 200-pound senior. A pair of seniors will be at the tackles in Zack Brock (6-2, 235) and Alex Hastings (6-2, 252). The guards will be either junior Andy Steffen (6-2, 225), sophomore Matt Mattox (6-2, 242) or senior Myles Stewart (5-10, 205). C.J. Pater, a 6-2, 225-pound senior will be the center. Three players are expected to play both ways, as Lockwood and Brock will be defensive ends and Hastings, a defensive tackle. Junior Mike Mavis and senior Brian Ammeson are battling for nose guard. Battling for the three linebacker spots are Tim Rumpf, Johnny Schweir, Coloma transfer Ryan Angelo, Justin Puckett and Baumgartner. On the corners will be senior Drew Machacek and junior Anthony Grandberry. Junior Burnell Granderson is at free safety with sophomore Robbie Schuler at strong safety. Nimtz can also play either corner-back or free safety. Brett Virgil is expected to handle the place-kicking and punting. Guinane can also punt, and Bovo is a place-kicker St. Joseph Bears Football Harder, Smarter Page 15 of 15