By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
BENTON HARBOR - Niles' varsity football team played its first Big 16 West Division game Friday night and walked away with a 42-20 win over Benton Harbor, improving its record to 3-2 on the season.
The Tigers had the first possession to start the game and completed 14 plays with four first downs before Niles gained control on a fumble.
Senior Jake Groves picked the ball up at the 20-yard line and ran for an 80-yard touchdown to put the Vikes on the board early in the first.
The kick from Blaise Nsengiyumua was good to give Niles a 7-0 lead.
Benton Harbor attempted to get close to its end zone on the next possession, but an interception by Nick Etzcorn at the 15-yard line put the ball back in the Vikings hands late in the quarter.
After eight plays and four first downs to start the second quarter, Lyle Watson ran for a five-yard touchdown, with Nsengiyumua adding the extra point to bring the score to 14-0.
Again, the Tigers had a chance to make a comeback, but lost control after three plays, coming within 16 yards of the end zone.
Niles was able to extend the lead on the next possession when quarterback Jake Messner completed a 31-yard pass to Nick Etzcorn, who dove into the end zone for another Viking touchdown.
The PAT from Nsengiyumua was good, giving the Vikes a comfortable 21-0 lead.
But the Tigers weren't going to enter halftime without a fight.
Deontra Calhoun, who had six carries for 117 rushing yards on the night, hit paydirt after a 75-yard run ended with a flying leap into scoring territory.
The two-point conversion was successful with a double pass from Brandon Hurst to Jerry Washington, who passed it to Devino Williams in the end zone, putting the Tigers on the board, 21-8.
With 59 seconds left in the first half, Watson added his second of four touchdowns on the night. Nsengiyumua was again successful in adding the extra point, bring the halftime score to 28-8.
It was Benton Harbor which opened up the scoring in the second half on a 47-yard run from Akeem Cason, cutting the score to 28-14.
On Niles' next possession, three penalties in a row, two from Benton Harbor, worked to the Vikes' advantage as Watson scored yet another touchdown on a five-yard run. Nsengiyumua did what he does best and added another point to the score, giving Niles a 35-14 lead.
The Tigers' next possession saw a 52-yard run from Kendrick Payno, with a double pass again from Hurst to Washington.
The run brought Benton Harbor close enough to score its third and final touchdown of the night, bringing the score to 35-20.
Nsengiyumua attempted a 28-yard field goal to start the fourth, but was unsuccessful.
It didn't take long for Niles to recover though, as Rick Storm intercepted the ball after one play on Benton Harbor's end.
After seven plays from the Vikes, Watson drove in for his fourth touchdown from the one-yard line. Nsengiyumua's PAT was good, bring the final score to 42-20.
Watson had a total of 25 carries for 185 rushing yards on the night.
Pete Brandstatter had 14 carries for 136 rushing yards, with a 55-yard run.
Janicki said that his entire defense as a whole stepped up and played better this week. One thing he said they worked on a lot in practice last week was tackling, which gave the Vikes problems against Portage Central last week, but was much improved against the Tigers.
Janicki also stated that he switched his linebackers, Ricky Storm and Alex Zanders, and that both did a nice job handling the change.
Niles will travel to St. Joseph on Friday for another Big 16 game set to begin at 7:30 p.m. The Bears remain winless so far this season.