ST. JOSEPH — Fight can only take you so far.

Niles found that out in its biggest football game of the year against St. Joseph.

In a game that was suspended on Friday because of lightning and completed on Saturday, the Vikings fell to the Bears, 30-18, ending Niles’ playoff hopes.

Lack of execution cost the Vikings, who pulled to within 23-18 after trailing 23-6 after three quarters. Entering play on Saturday, Niles trailed 9-0 midway through the first quarter.

“We got off to a rocky start (Friday) and I thought we did some good things (on Saturday),” said Niles coach Dan Brawley, whose team fell to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West Division.

Those good things came in the fourth quarter as the Vikings put together a five-play, 56-yard drive to start the fourth quarter, which was capped by Ronnie Jones’ 1-yard touchdown run. The big play on the drive was a 42-yard pass play from Cole Clemens to Myles Busby. Niles trailed 23-12 with 9:09 left in the game after the two-point conversion run failed.

Niles then attempted an onside kick and were successful, getting the ball at St. Joseph’s 46-yard line. The Vikings broke the huddle and got a quick kick from Ryan Casey.

“We’ve been working on our onside kick,” Brawley said. “It’s tough to field the ball with 11 guys coming at you. You see some guys with alligator arms. Players are coming at you as fast as they can and you’re standing still.”

Niles took advantage of it special teams play and got a 30-yard touchdown pass from Cole Clemens to Ronnie Jones to pull within 23-18 with 8:06 left in the game. The 2-point conversion run failed.

“Unusual game, obviously,” said St. Joseph first-year coach Gandalf Church, whose 6-2 Bears qualified for the playoffs for the sixth straight year. “Last night, we came out and were ready to go and played great and had (Niles) on the ropes. But, we had to come back today and it was tough. We tried to do everything to keep things as normal as possible for our kids. But you when you walk out there and there’s 100 people in the stands and you can hear a pin drop it’s different. But we just kept battling. Last week when the chips were on the table we didn’t make a play and Lakeshore did (a 23-17 Lakeshore win). This week, I thought we made some plays.”

Trailing 23-18, Niles got a defensive stop, but lost field position. St. Joseph drove deep into Niles territory after a 71-yard pass play from A.J. Montoya to Marcus Valentine. The Bears fumbled on the drive and the ball was recovered by the Vikings’ Fritzel Findeisen at Niles’ 5-yard line.

“We got beat on the sidelines when we were down five,” Brawley said. “That was unfortunate. The kid made a good throw and there was a good catch.”

Niles was forced to punt after the turnover and St. Joseph responded with a clutch drive. The Bears drove 55 yards on eight plays with Justin Gambrell scoring on a four-yard turn to give the hosts a 30-18 lead with 2:08 remaining in the game. St. Joseph’s Alex Rutherford rushed for 36 yards on four carries during that possession. Rutherford finished the game with 175 yards on the ground on 26 carries.

Bad exchanges from center to quarterback cost Niles. The first bad snap came when the Vikings trailed 16-0 and had a fourth-and-1 at the Bears five yard line late in the second quarter. Running the wildcat, Anthony Bice bobbled the snap and was tackled for a six-yard loss.

The second bad snap came when Niles trailed 16-6 late in the third quarter. St. Joseph’s Kameron Stortz recovered the ball at the Vikings’ 8-yard line. After an illegal participation call on the Bears, Rutherford scored on a 13-yard run to give St. Joseph a 23-6 lead at the end of the third quarter.

“That hasn’t been a problem,” Brawley said about the poor snaps. “We just started doing it. The snaps didn’t seem to be that bad. I don’t know if there was a little pepper on it and a little high.”

For Niles, Clemens completed 8-of-18 passes for 153 yards and Brandon Partee had a two-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

Niles 0 0 6 12 – 18

St. Joseph 9 7 7 7 – 30

SJ – Safety (Niles intentional grounding in end zone)

SJ – Justin Gambrell 36 run (Ryan Kitron kick)

SJ – James Morris 2 run (Kitron kick)

N – Brandon Partee 2 run (pass failed)

SJ – Alex Rutherford 13 run (Kitron kick)

N – Ronnie Jones 3 run (run failed)

N – Jones 30 pass from Cole Clemens (run failed)

SJ – Gambrell 4 run (Kitron kick)