Benton Harbor beats Lakeshore
Huge win. Happy to see my old college coach making such a positive impact late in life!
BENTON HARBOR - Mike Jones lined up for a field goal at Filstrup Field on Friday with the game on the line. It wasn't a long kick - 22 yards - but there was a lot riding on it.
Benton Harbor had just held Lakeshore scoreless on its first overtime possession. On fourth down, the Tigers put their trust in their kicker.
Jones' kick looked good the moment he hit it and it sailed through the uprights, giving Benton Harbor a 10-7 win, its first over Lakeshore since 1984.
"It felt great," Jones said of the kick. "I saw, as soon as I kicked it, it was through."
Jones took off running to midfield, where he was mobbed by his teammates.
"I broke down into tears," he said.
Benton Harbor (2-2 SMAC West, 4-3) had lost 14 straight against Lakeshore (2-2, 4-3). The Tigers hadn't even come close recently. Lakeshore had won by 30 or more every year since 2006.
Benton Harbor last beat Lakeshore during the season finale in 1984. The two schools did not play between 1985 and 2000.
Maybe more importantly, it keeps Benton Harbor's playoff hopes alive. One more win - over Kalamazoo Central or Portage Northern - and the Tigers are playoff eligible.
Benton Harbor has never made the playoffs since the postseason began in Michigan in 1975.
Jones wasn't the only Tiger with tears in his eyes afterward.
"I'm an emotional wreck right now," Benton Harbor coach Elliot Uzelac said. "This is a great, great win."
For the 74-year-old coach in his first year resurrecting a program that had won four games in the previous eight years, words were difficult to find.
"That win," Uzelac sputtered. "That win ...
"I've seen Benton Harbor play for a lot of years, and I don't think there's ever been a team that played harder and better than Benton Harbor did tonight. And we had to, to beat an excellent Lakeshore team."
After a scoreless first quarter, Lakeshore forced a fumble from Benton Harbor quarterback Tim Bell. The Lancers' Shane Clapp picked it up and ran 32 yards for the score.
The defensive touchdown was the Lancers' only score on the night.
The offense finished the night with only 177 total yards. Quarterback Joel Brawley threw for 106 yards and one interception. Running back Corey Hampton ran 11 times for 33 yards.
As they have all year, the Tigers kept the ball on the ground against the Lancers.
Benton Harbor scored on a 15-play, 70-yard drive that used up more than half the second quarter. It culminated in a five-yard score from running back Jeremy Burrell.
Burrell led the way with 108 yards rushing on 26 carries with a touchdown.
"We're not real fancy, but we take pride in controlling the game and our linemen did really well," Uzelac said. "We controlled the game and Jeremy Burrell and Percy Brown, they run hard, boy. They run hard."
Brown rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries.
The offenses stalled in the second half. Neither team found the end zone the rest of the game. Regulation ended in a 7-7 tie.
Benton Harbor elected to play defense first in overtime. After three straight runs, Lakeshore was faced with a fourth-and-goal from the two. Rather than attempt a field goal for the lead, they went for it. Brawley threw a pass behind his target, incomplete.
The Tigers fans erupted. They could sense a victory.
Benton Harbor took over at the 10 and ran three times to pull within two yards. That's when Jones took the spotlight.
"I was going to make it," Jones said. "In the fourth quarter, with about three minutes left, I was like, we're going to win by a field goal, and we did."
"Oh man," Uzelac said. "What a win, huh?"
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Benton Harbor beats Lakeshore
