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.
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.
After winning by just six points the first time they faced the demons, the bears were expecting anouther tough game on Aug. 11 when they travelled to Helsinki. The home team did not disappoint as they shut down the bears vaunted offense in the first half and trailed just 6-0. The bears were able to pull away in the second half for a 24-0 win, thanks to the help of several demons miscues. 1st Half The bears received the opening kickoff but were forced into a quick three-and-out. A 45-yard punt by Akseli Fonsen gave the demons the ball at their own 37. On 3rd-and-2, Helsinki QB Nesi Carpelan dropped back to pass but was sacked by Timo Vilja. The ball popped loose before Carpelan hit the turf and Juho Wiren fell on it to give the bears possession. Starting from the demon 39, Bedwell found Penttila for nine yards on first down. Two plays later, Bedwell hit Teemu Jokinen for a 29-yard touchdown on a fade to put the bears up 6-0. The extra point attempt was no good after a bad snap. The demons controlled the rest of the first half, running thirty-three plays compared to six by the bears, but they were unable to punch it in. 2nd Half The demons were unable to field Fonsen's kickoff to start the second half and Jesse Lahti was able to bring down the returner at the demons 1-yard line. With his back against the wall, Carpelan hit Eero Kaarlehto for ten yards on 1st down to give his team a little breathing room. The demons were able to drive to midfield before Matias Niekka made his third interception in the past two games at the demons 48. On first down, Obi Ikejiani was brought down in the backfield for a loss of five. An incompletion on second down left the bears with a 3rd-and-15 at their own 47. Like so many times before this season, the bears were able to capitalize on 3rd-and-long when Bedwell rolled right and connected with Tony Sandhu for a gain of 32-yards. Ikejiani broke loose 21-yards on the next play to give the bears a 12-0 lead. Bedwell's two-point conversion pass was knocked down at the line. After forcing the demons to go three-and-out on the following possession, things looked nice when Ikejiani rumbled for 36-yards to get inside the demons redzone. Two consecutive carries by Markus Kivero gave the bears a first down at demons 7. A stopped run and three straight incomplete passes by Bedwell ended the bears scoring opportunity. Luckily, the demons coughed the ball up once again a few plays later and Niekka picked it up and made a nice run to set up an 18-yard scoring strike from Bedwell to Penttila. Bedwell was stopped short of the goal line on the two-point attempt, but the bears were in full control with an 18-0 lead early in the 4th quarter. The demons following drive was halted quickly. On 3rd down, Niekka made a bone-jarring hit on a demon receiver to break up a potential first down. On the next play, Kimmo Mattila blocked Tommi Luhtala's punt and Jari Kauhanen recovered the ball at the demons 20. Six plays later, Bedwell ran 5-yards for a touchdown on a 4th-and-goal situation. The extra point attempt was once again no good, but the final margin of 24-0 was set. A few plays by the demons offense ran out the remainder of the clock as the bears improved to 9-0 and came within one game of a perfect 10-0 regular season. Bedwell led the bears offense completing 8-of-16 passes for 113 yards with 2 TD/0 INT. The signal-caller also ran for a touchdown. Ikejiani picked up 55-yards on four carries to lead the bears rushing attack. Sandhu led the bears in receiving with four receptions for 51-yards. Jokinen and Penttila each caught a touchdown pass, respectively. Carpelan led the demons offense completing 13-of-30 passes for 120 yards with one interception. He also ran for 47-yards. Pori's defense was once again led by Jarno Rosnell with three solo tackles and six assisted tackles. Other players with big days included Vilja (4 solo, 3 assists, 1 sack), Mattila (2 solo, 3 assists, blocked punt), and Niekka (3 solos, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery). The bears will be in action again on Sunday, August 19th when they travel across the country to face the Kuopio Steelers (6-3). The steelers have already clinched homefield advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Both teams are sure to play with intensity as they are looking for momentum headed into the playoff semi-finals on August 26th. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Kuopio.
