St. Joseph Christian football hosts DeKalb in playoff opener

St. Joseph Christian football will begin its playoff journey against DeKalb on Friday evening.The Lions are coming off an 87-64 road loss to Princeton last Friday, but their offense produced yet another strong performance. St. Joseph Christian has averaged nearly 76 points per game on offense over its last three contests, a trend that coach Steve Juhl hopes to carry into the postseason.“Any time you can throw the ball with success it makes everything you do in the run game easier,” Juhl said. “And of course our run game was the star of the show ...“... We had a lot of success on the ground as a result, I think partially because of our passing game, but then also the great preparation that the line guys did throughout the week to block Princeton’s defense.”The Lions will take on a DeKalb team that has struggled mightily throughout the regular season. The Tigers are winless going into the playoffs, but in recent weeks they have seen an increase in their offensive output.After averaging 8.7 points on offense in its first six games, DeKalb has increased that number to nearly 27 points. For Juhl, respecting your opponent regardless of past performance will be the key to success for the Lions.“I think coach Hoffman our defensive coordinator pointed it out in practice yesterday,” Juhl said. “He said from the way he’s watching the film, he doesn’t see any quit in them, they have pride in their program, and they’re going to play hard until the end of the game. And so if you take them lightly they’re absolutely the kind of team that can beat you just because like he said, they have I think good character.”The Lions finished the regular season 4-5 following a challenging schedule within the Grand River Conference. Last season, St. Joseph Christian won two playoff games before being eliminated in the state quarterfinals after playing a similarly difficult schedule. With several returning starters, particularly at key positions on the offensive side of the ball, the Lions are returning to the postseason with players who have already experienced a deep postseason run.“It’s very valuable, and that’s what I tell people about being in the GRC which is a great conference,” Juhl said. “And you do get beat up a little bit, and you tend to lose games unless you’re at the top of the conference because it is good. But it does prepare you for district play.”St. Joseph Christian takes on DeKalb in the MSHSAA Class 1 playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday in St. Joseph.