ST. JOSEPH — The Niles-St. Joseph Big 16 West Division contest was halted in the first quarter after several weather delays Friday night.

The Vikings were tailing the Bears 9-0 due to a safety and a punt return for a touchdown.

Both teams need a victory to keep their post season hopes alive. The Bears are 5-2, while the Vikings are 4-3.

The Bears scored their safety when Niles took a grounding penalty in the end zone to give St. Joe a 2-0 lead.

The game was then halted again due to lightning.

Jason Gambrell’s 36-yard touchdown run off a fake punt extended the lead to 9-0.

The contest was then stopped again and eventually postponed with 5:56 remaining in the opening quarter.

The game will resume at that point at 2 p.m.