Perhaps 'winning ugly' could describe the Holy Innocents' Golden Bears 43-12 win over visiting Kipp Friday night, but when that 'ugly' keeps the season goals alive of hosting a playoff game and being in contention for a state championship, Coach Nick Perrotta & Company will take it.
 
"I'm happy that we won the game, but I'm not happy with the way we played," Perrotta said afterwards. "We were sloppy, we made mistakes, we had too many penalties, and we shot ourselves in the foot, but a resilient team can still find a way to win."
 
It was still a game early in the fourth quarter when the Warriors cut the Bears' lead to 22-12. From there, however, HI notched 21 straight points to put Kip away, with the first TD coming on a slant from Ryan Wood to Brayden Bailey, good for a 23-yard score with 7:02 left.
 
On the next drive, Woods carried himself for a 13-yard score just a minute and half later, and the final TD came on a Woods to Sam Chasteen hook-up that covered 43 yards at the 2:20 mark.
 
Going back to the start, HI led 14-0 after a quarter, as Denim Stevens scored from a yard out to end a 39-yard drive. The defense got in on the action on Kipp's next possession when Bailey intercepted a pass and took it 35 yards for the score.
 
HI got a safety on Kipp's first second quarter possession when a high snap sailed over the punter's head and out of the end zone. Kipp's offense got untracked temporarily at that point, however, as they put together an 85-yard march to get on the scoreboard at 16-6.
 
On the last play of the first half, Mitchell Bainbridge booted a 38-yard field goal to put Perrotta's bunch up 19-6 at half, then another Bainbridge field goal – this one from 27 yards out, put the lead at 22-6 after three periods. Kipp's scored early in the final stanza to make it to 22-12, before the Bears nailed it shut from that point. 
 
Defensively, besides Bailey's interception, Chasteen and Finn Ferrero also picked off passes, while Lucas Tiliakos and Landon Murray had fumble recoveries. Myles Jackson and Jordan Mays were among the leading tacklers; Miller Wimberly, Bennett Burroughs, Ryder Ripps, and A.J. Donnelly were other key names.
 
On the other side of the ball, Jake Berte had three receptions, Kai Worthy was a key receiver, and Hunter Laughlin caught a bomb that temporarily put the Bears in field goal range. Stevens and Woods both had excellent runs in leading the ground game. 
 
Bainbridge finished regular season perfect on extra points and also punted Kipp down to the 10.
 
Looking ahead, the Bears (7-3) will be off next weekend before beginning playoff action Nov. 14^th. Stay tuned for more info when scores from other games come in and the brackets take shape.