Pori Bears American Football Team

Welcome to the English website of the Pori Bears American football team.  The bears are members of the EFAF (European Federation of American Football).  In 2007, they will be playing at the second-highest level in Finland, the SAJL 1st Division.

After winning their first eleven games, the bears were heavily favored to defeat the Tampere Saints in the 2007 Spaghetti Bowl.  In front of a new record breaking crowd of over 700, the saints upended the bears by a score of 7-6 on a day that nothing could go right for the home team.  Spaghetti Bowl MVP Janne Kilpua, linebacker for the saints, made plays all over the field and single-handedly shut down the bears running game.  After the saints got on top 7-0 midway through the first, the bears would fight dilligently to get into the endzone for the rest of the game, but was unable to get there until late in the 4th quarter when Stan Bedwell found Tony Sandhu over the middle for a 32-yard touchdown to make the score 7-6.  The bears made the bold decision to go for two and the win, but the attempt was unsuccessful. 

The bears defense forced the saints to punt with just over a minute left, but the ball rolled down inside the bears 1-yard line.  Facing 99 yards and just over a minute to go, Bedwell's desperation pass to Sandhu on 1st down was intercepted, ending the bears dream of a perfect 12-0 season. 

The bears had twice as much offensive production as the saints, but bad decisions, the absence of a running game, dropped balls, lost fumbles, and costly penalties ultimately doomed the home team.  Bedwell finished the day 15-of-31 for 269 yards with 1 TD/2 INT.  Teemu Jokinen was the brightest spot for the offense catching four passes for 119 yards.  Sandhu added four receptions for 57 yards and the bears only touchdown of the day. 

Stan Bedwell Quote: 
"I give full credit to the saints, they were better prepared for the game than we were and they just wanted it more.  Kilpua played a great game and deserves the MVP award.  This was a very tough loss to swallow...you keep looking back and asking yourself "what if?"  Maybe we should've tried an extra point to send it to overtime, but I felt we could get the three yards needed and we almost did.  I'll take full blame for the loss...I am the leader of the team and we came up short.  It's my fault.  I am very proud of my teammates, coaching staff, and everyone that worked behind the scenes.  I have nothing but great things to say about the city of Pori and the bears organization." 

9/3/07

After nearly dropping to the 2nd division in 2006, the bears (11-0) have had a dream season in 2007 and will host the Tampere Saints (6-5) on Sunday in the SAJL 1st Division Championship, the 2007 Spaghetti Bowl.  The bears earned the right to face the saints after defeating the Kouvola Indians in the semi-finals on Sunday, August 26th by a score of 50-17 in front of over 600 spectators, the largest crowd in bears history. 

1st Quarter
After holding the indians to a three-and-out to start the game, the bears began their first drive at the 50-yard line.  On 1st down, Obiajulu Ikejiani was brought down behind the line for a short loss.  On 2nd-and-11, Stan Bedwell hit Ikejiani on a screen pass for twelve yards and a first down.  Two runs of 10-and-8 yards by Ikejiani and a personal foul on the indians set up a twelve yard touchdown toss from Bedwell to Ville Penttila to put the bears on the scoreboard first.  Ikejiani's conversion run made it 8-0. 



After holding the indians to another three-and-out, the bears took advantage of a short punt by the indians Aku Kuhlman when they took over at the 35-yard line.  On first down, Ikejiani carried the ball for five yards.  On 2nd down, Bedwell threw a 30-yard touchdown strike to a leaping Tony Sandhu to give the bears a 14-0 lead.  The indians would answer right back, however, as Joonas Nikula picked up several short runs before breaking off a 43-yard scamper to put his team on the scoreboard.  Kuhlman's kick made it 14-7.

Matias Niekka's lost fumble on the ensuing kickoff put the indians in great position to tie the game up, but Jukka Lunden stopped Nikula for a two-yard loss on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line to bring the bears offense back onto the field. 

2nd Quarter
Starting at their own 3-yard line, the bears were able to move the ball out to the twenty-two before punting it back to the indians.  Kouvola was unable to get anything going, however, and they turned the ball over on downs at the bears 38.  Two runs by Ikejiani moved the bears across midfield and a 41-yard completion from Bedwell to Jokinen set up a three yard touchdown run by Ikejiani to give the bears a two score lead.  Bedwell's conversion pass to Markus Kivero made it 22-7. 



Penttila intercepted Kouvola's Mikko Lautamatti on the following drive at the bears 41.  On first down, Bedwell found Kivero for twenty yards.  A 24-yard run by Ikejiani on the next play got the bears down to the indians 15.  Two plays later, Bedwell connected with Sandhu for a 12-yard touchdown to give the bears a 28-7 advantage. 

The indians appeared to be back in the game as Lautamatti hit Matt Epperson for a 10-yard touchdown with just 45 seconds remaining in the half to cut the lead to 28-14.  The bears would answer right back as two nice runs by Ikejiani and Bedwell moved them inside the indians 30.  A twenty-four yard pass from Bedwell to Penttila set up a four-yard touchdown run by Ikejiani with just seconds remaining in the half to give the bears a 34-7 halftime lead. 

2nd Half
The bears received the kickoff to start the second half and on just the second play of their drive, Bedwell found Sandhu streaking down the sideline for a 45-yard gain.  Two plays later, Bedwell and Penttila connected for a 10-yard gain to set up another short touchdown run by Ikejiani.  This one went for two yards.  Bedwell's conversion pass to Sandhu made it 42-14. 



A second interception by Penttila halted the following indian drive at the bears 32.  A 43-yard run by Kivero highlighted a six play, 68-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Bedwell.  Kivero's conversion run gave the bears a 50-14 lead.  Early in the 4th quarter, Kuhlman hit a 20-yard field goal for the indians to set the final margin of 50-17. 

For the second straight week, the bears offense put up over 450 yards of total offense.  Bedwell led the way completing 11-of-16 passes for 210 yards with three touchdowns.  He also ran for 35 yards and a score on five carries.  Ikejiani ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.  Kivero also chipped in on the ground game with 65 yards on just five carries.  Sandhu led the receiving corp with 87 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions.  Penttila had three catches for 45 yards and a score, he also intercepted two passes from his free safety position.  Other defensive standouts included Jari Suominen (5 tackles), Timo Vilja (5 tackles), and Lunden (4 tackles). 

The 2007 Spaghetti Bowl will kickoff at Herralahti Stadium at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.  The bears/saints met twice in the regular season with Pori coming out on top 22-13 in the first meeting and 25-0 in the second. 

8/30/07

The Pori Bears finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record after defeating the Kuopio Steelers by a score of 50-6 on Sunday.  After traveling six hours by bus that morning, the bears looked sluggish in warmups but once the scoreboard came on they played lights out. 

1st Quarter
On the first play from scrimmage, Stan Bedwell threw a quick screen to Ville Penttila who threw the ball deep downfield to a wide open Tony Sandhu to put the bears on top 6-0 early.  Obi Ikejiani was stopped just short of the goal line on the conversion attempt.  Kuopio's Ossi Manninen had a nice return on the kickoff out to the bears 42, but the steelers offense was unable to put much of a drive together and punted the ball away shortly afterwards. 

Starting from their own 21-yard line, the bears quickly went to work.  On first down, Bedwell found Penttila for a gain of eighteen yards.  Two plays later, Ikejiani rumbled for a fifteen yard gain to move the bears into steeler territory.  Bedwell hit Penttila once again for a gain of sixteen yards on the following play.  After another eighteen yard pickup by Ikejiani, Bedwell threw a six-yard pass to Penttila to set-up a six-yard touchdown run by Ikejiani.  Bedwell's two-point conversion pass to Markus Kivero made the score 14-0. 

After holding the steelers to a quick three-and-out, the bears went three-and-out as well.  The bears received a gift on the punt when the steelers Antti Suihkonen was unable to field Akseli Fonsen's kick and Bedwell was there to recover the loose ball at the 50-yard line.  Ikejiani went the distance on the following play to give the bears a 20-0 lead.  His two-point conversion run extended the bears lead to twenty-two with about one minute remaining in the first quarter. 

2nd Quarter
After holding the steelers to another three-and-out, the bears offense picked up right where they left off.  Starting at their own 44, the bears went backwards on the first play when Ikejiani was brought down in the backfield for a six-yard loss.  Bedwell found Jokinen who made a nice catch in double coverage on the following play for a gain of twelve.  On 3rd-and-4, Bedwell ran for eleven yards up the middle to give the bears a first down.  Ikejiani broke loose for a 39-yard score on the following play.  Bedwell's two-point conversion pass to Sandhu made the score 30-0. 

The steelers offense put together their first successful drive of the game on the following drive as QB Mikko Soininen made several nice plays to move his team into the bears redzone, but on 3rd-and-1 from the bears 15-yard line, Soininen was chased out of the pocket and his desperation pass was intercepted by Jukka Lunden. 

Starting at their own seven, the bears would methodically move the ball down the field once again.  On the first play of the drive, Kivero picked up 13-yards up the middle.  Bedwell threw to Penttila for a gain of fifteen on the next play.  A short run by Kivero and a 12-yard completion from Bedwell to Sandhu put the bears on the 50-yard line.  After a short pass to Jesse Lahti and a nine yard run by Kivero, Bedwell and Penttila connected for a gain of nineteen.  Three plays later, Bedwell hit Sandhu for a four-yard touchdown with just one minute remaining in the half.  The steelers had moved the ball across midfield when time expired.  The teams went into the locker room for halftime with the bears leading 36-0. 

3rd Quarter
After a very short return on the kickoff, the steelers started at their own 16-yard line.  Soininen brought his team to life with several nice passes and runs to move his team downfield.  He capped the drive off himself with a 4-yard touchdown run to give his team their only score of the game.  After moving the ball just twelve yards in 6-plays, Fonsen boomed a beautiful 65-yard punt that was downed at the steelers 3-yard line. 

The steelers were once again able to move the ball fairly well, but their drive was halted at the bears 40-yard line when Matias Niekka picked up his fourth interception in the last three games.  After a holding call, an incomplete pass, and a one-yard loss by Ikejiani...the bears were facing a 3rd-and-20 from their own 30.  The bears continued their excellent 3rd-down conversion success when Bedwell hit Jokinen down the middle of the field for a gain of twenty-one yards on the final play of the quarter to give the bears another first down. 

4th Quarter
After another holding call on the bears, Bedwell found Sandhu for a gain of 21-yards for another first down.  He threw to Sandhu again for an 11-yard gain on the next play.  Two plays later, Bedwell picked up 25-yards on a quarterback keeper down to the 5-yard line.  He found Jokinen in the endzone two player later to put the bears on top 42-6.  Tommy Oksa was stopped short on the two-point attempt. 

The steelers were unable to get much going on the ensuing drive and turned the ball over on downs at the bears 44-yard line midway through the quarter.  Oksa carried twice to the to get the bears to midfield and Kiver caught a 25-yard pass from Bedwell on 3rd-and-4 to bring the bears down to the 25.  Oksa picked up four on the first down and Bedwell ran for eleven on 2nd down to give the bears a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.  A short run and two incompletions later, the bears elected to go for it on 4th down.  With the line of scrimmage at the nine,  Bedwell rolled right and found Sandhu in the back of the endzone for the score.  Bedwell ran in the two-point conversion to set the final margin of 50-6. 

The bears offense racked up 522 total yards of offense on the day.  Bedwell finished 19-of-27 for 207 yards with 3 TD/0 INT.  He also ran for 42-yards on six attempts.  Ikejiani picked up 129 yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries.  Kivero added 52 yards on eight carries also.  Sandhu led the receiving corp with seven receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns.  Penttila caught five balls for 74 yards and threw a 76-yard touchdown pass.  Jokinen had 37 yards receiving on three catches with a touchdown.  Soininen led the steelers offense completing 14-of-37 passes for 166 yards.  He also ran 49-yards and a score. 

The bears defense held the steelers to just 205 yards of offense.  Leading the way was Marko Latva-Kokko (5 solo tackles, 1 assist), Jarno Rosnell (2 solos, 3 assists), Niekka (3 solos, 1 interception), and Lunden (1 interception). 

In other action, the Kouvola Indians defeated the Helsinki GS Demons 17-12 to earn the #4 seed in the playoffs.  The Tampere Saints beat the Helsinki 69ers 20-18 to clinch the #3 seed. 

In this weeks semi-finals games, the steelers will host the saints at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night at Magnum Arena in Kuopio.  The bears will host the indians at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday at Herralahti Stadium.  Admission to the game will 5 euros...all students will get in free with ID cards. 

8/22/07

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