Friday Night Kickoff

As we start our week long look at the "Big Game" this week.   We should start by looking at the history of the St. Joe Bears and Lakeshore rivalry.

First the earth cooled... and then the dinosaurs came.... OK I won't go that far back...

But when Lakeshore opened in in 1957 it would take 4 years before the Lancers would play their first game against their neighbor to the north.

St. Joe shut out Lakeshore 34-0 in the first meeting in 1961.  The Bears shutout the Lancers again in 1962 26-0.  That's the way it went for 20 of the first 22 games played.  Lakeshore would break the 11 game St. Joe win streak to start the series when the Lancers won for the first time in 1972 by the score of 14-0.

St. Joe would win the next six games from 1973-1978 by the combined score of 124-31.

Lakeshore would record their second win in 1979. 

Followed by St. Joe wins in 1980, 81, 82, and 84.  The schools didn't meet in 1983.

In the first 23 meetings.  St. Joe won 21 of them and outscored Lakeshore 504-128.  To put it in perspective on how dominant St. Joe was in the first 23 meetings,  It took Lakeshore 23 seasons to score 128 points, St. Joe surpassed that after only year four with 131 points total.

After St. Joe's 34-0 victory in 1984, the series was put on hold.  During the break in the series St. Joe compiled an amazing 37-6 record over those years, making three appearances in the playoffs and even playing in the 1988 MHSAA Championship game in Class B.  While St. Joe went on to great success under Coach Ike Muhlenkamp those 4 years, Lakeshore compiled a record of 12-23. 

The series was back in 1989, but add a new coach to the Lakeshore sidelines... Denny Dock.

When Dock took over the reigns of the Lakeshore program the Lancers would begin on their own run of dominance in the series.   Lakeshore beat St. Joe 17-14 in 1989, then St. Joe won the next two games. 

In 1992, the Lancers 17-14 victory would be the start of what is now referred to as "The Streak."

Lakeshore would win 17 consecutive games over the next 15 years by the combined score of 534-183.  To put it in perspective again.  Lakeshore would surpass that point total in the 7th game of that streak.

In the midst of that streak, one of the most memorable games took place in 1997 at the old Dickinson Stadium in St. Joe.  With the Bears leading 28-24 in the fourth quarter, a transformer blew at the stadium, knocking out power to the stadium.  with no lights on a dark October night.  The game was suspended and would have to be resumed on Saturday.  The Lancers would stop the Bears and would score a late touchdown to win the game.

After the Bears went 0-9 in 2005, St. Joseph football coach John Van Wagoner was out as coach of the Bears and was replaced by college coaching veteran Elliot Uzelac.  The Bears turnaround was immediate. 

The Bears went from 0-9 to a 5-4 regular season in one year and made the playoffs for the first time since 1999 (where they were eliminated by Lakeshore).  Even though the Bears were suddenly competitive again they still lost 34-14 at Lakeshore in the regular season and a controversial call which helped Lakeshore secure a 28-20 win in the playoffs.

The Bears used that playoff loss as motivation for the 2007 season.  The Bears would meet Lakeshore at Dickinson Stadium on September 28th and would make sure that the streak would go no further as the Bears would win 21-3.  

As luck would have it, the Bears and Lancers would meet in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and the Bears would defeat Lakeshore 49-14 to claim the district championship.

The rivalry hasn't been limited to just football.   Lakeshore built a new football stadium as Al Stockman Stadium opened in 1998.  St. Joe would demolish the aging Dickinson Stadium after the 2001 season and open the new Dickinson Stadium in 2003.

St. Joe installed a new scoreboard at Dickinson Stadium in 1998 with a computerized message center.   Lakeshore would install one at Al Stockman Stadium in 2005.   

Lakeshore installed a new elecronic sign outside the high school.  St. Joe just recently added an electronic sign outside Dickinson Stadium a month ago.

Lakeshore just added turf...