Saint Joe was down many key players including their star running back Asante Anglin and wide receiver Walter Wesson during their NIC contest against Elkhart. The Lions feature a strong squad in their first season as a new school after combining Elkhart Central and Memorial High Schools. The Indians offense tried to lean on the run in order to drain the clock and limit possessions.  They did manage to take off half of the time in the first quarter with possession but only gained one first down.  “We wanted to make sure that we were burning the clock off, keep it close and then take our chances in the fourth quarter” said Coach Whitten. But the Indians could not hold off the explosive Lions offense including Western Michigan commit Tyren Mason and speedy freshman running back Jaiven Sharp.

The Lions scored 3 touchdowns in just the first 5 plays. It was 35-0 at halftime and injuries hampered the Saint Joe attack. The Indians offense managed to just get one touchdown by Tyrick Kamu. Saint Joe was down the top 3 running backs as Cedric Suggs and Alex Ortiz went down in the first half and were out indefinitely for the rest of the game. Kamau turned 15 carries into 58 yards and was playing on both sides of the ball also at corner on defense.

The Indians were unable to keep up and continued running the ball despite not having success with it. They gained just 93 yards on 37 plays in the first half. With a rolling clock in the second half, St. Joe had few opportunities to make a dent in the deficit. “They’ve got some outstanding young men and outstanding players. Coach Shattuck has a great scheme that they run. We just didn’t do good tackling,” said Whitten.   “And it wasn’t just on defense. It was on special teams as well. I’ve got to make sure that our guys are coached better. I’ve got to make sure our fundamentals are better. And I’ve got to do a better job.” The final score was Elkhart 49 and Saint Joe 6.