BENTON HARBOR — The Niles JV football team defeated host Benton Harbor 54-18 on Thursday night.

“It was nice to finally be on the other side tonight,” Niles coach Josh Bourne said. “This past week was not our best week of practice this season by any means, but given the work that our players have put in day-to-day all season, with little success on Thursday nights, they deserved a game like tonight.

“The one individual that I think stood out to us tonight, and this week for that matter, was Alec Landon. Alec is a very self-motivated kid as of late that is taking a ton of coaching points and applying them. He is running very hard right now and defenses are having a tough time bringing him to the ground.  He is getting a little better at linebacker of being more aggressive and playing downhill, which has been a problem for him this season. It’s not always perfect with Alec but his gains have been noticeable. Outside of him I think the appropriate thing is to just recognize the entire team for their effort. They played the game hard but most importantly played it with class in a game that it is very easy to lose your edge and focus, which is exactly when poor decisions are made.”