St. Joseph delivered one of the highest-scoring performances in program history Friday night, rolling past Portage Northern 64-28 at Huskie Stadium to improve to 5-1. The Bears’ 64 points rank third in school history, behind their record 75 against Okemos in 2021 and 67 against Battle Creek Central in 2008. St. Joe piled up 524 yards of total offense and nine touchdowns, pulling away with 29 unanswered points after the Huskies closed within seven early in the third quarter.
Ish Dixon powered the Bears’ ground attack with 177 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries. His scoring runs covered one, eight, 16 and 62 yards as St. Joseph rushed for 381 yards and eight touchdowns. CJ Scott added 78 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Caden LeClear contributed 74 rushing yards and two scores, and Brayden Malone finished with 41 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears struck first on Scott’s seven-yard touchdown run, but Portage Northern answered with a 60-yard scoring run and two-point conversion by Aireus Jackson to take an 8-7 lead. St. Joe regained the advantage after recovering a Huskies fumble, with Dixon finishing the ensuing possession from a yard out. Jackson tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter, but Dixon’s eight-yard touchdown run put the Bears back in front.
St. Joseph created separation with two touchdowns late in the first half. After Jackson’s third score trimmed the Bears’ lead to 21-20, LeClear connected with Nate Schmitt for 57 yards before scoring on a two-yard keeper. The Bears then stopped Northern on fourth down and drove 70 yards, highlighted by a 49-yard completion to Gabe King and a 16-yard touchdown pass to King with 31 seconds remaining, taking a 35-20 lead into halftime.
Northern briefly threatened again when Jackson opened the second half with a 49-yard touchdown run, cutting St. Joe’s advantage to 35-28. The Bears answered with Dixon’s 16-yard scoring run, then extended the lead on LeClear’s 23-yard touchdown keeper. Dixon capped the third-quarter surge with a 62-yard touchdown run, and Dinero Mitchell added the two-point conversion for a 57-28 lead. Malone completed the scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
LeClear finished 6-of-9 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown, with King catching three passes for 87 yards and Schmitt adding two receptions for 53 yards. Mitch Culver converted all eight of his extra-point attempts, while the Bears finished without a turnover and scored touchdowns on all seven trips into the red zone. Although Jackson rushed for 238 yards and all four Northern touchdowns, St. Joseph held the Huskies scoreless after their opening possession of the second half, turning a competitive game into a decisive victory. The Bears return home next Friday to host Redford-Union in a non-conference game.
