BUTLER TWP — Even in defeat, there was victory for the Butler County Bears.

The third-year semi-pro football team struggled offensively in the second half in suffering a 17-6 loss to the Cleveland Cobras in Heartland League play Saturday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

The Cobras (6-1) are a seven-year program, two-time defending division champion and sport a 28-7 record over the last two-plus seasons. A handful of their players have been in NFL camps within the past five years.

“We knew this would be a tough one,” Bears coach Kirk Bergbigler said. “You see what kind of speed they have. That’s an experienced, solid program, yet we stayed with them for four quarters.

“For us being in just our third year, it shows how far we’ve come.”

Both teams scored the first time they had the ball. The Cobras marched 56 yards on seven plays, quarterback Ronnie Jones scoring on a 5-yard run. A 43-yard kickoff return by Steve Cupec set the Bears up at Cleveland’s 38-yard line. Cupec capped a nine-play drive with an 11-yard run.

The Bears (5-2) botched the PAT as a low snap was mishandled.

Cupec, a New Castle product, wound up with 183 all-purpose yards — 101 on three kick returns, 82 rushing.

“That guy is a heck of a player,” Cobras coach Jessie Caldwell said. “He’s small and runs low to the ground. Those kind of guys are hard to tackle.”

The Bears trailed 7-6 at halftime, but managed only 23 net yards offensively in the second half. Butler County fumbled the ball away on its first snap of the third quarter, Mike Henderson recovering at the Bears’ 27-yard line.

Five plays later, JT Kafury — who was in the Buffalo Bills’ camp a couple of years back — booted a 33-yard field goal.

Again, the Bears answered. Using a steady running game, they drove inside the Cobras’ 10-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Bergbigler opted to go for the go-ahead touchdown.

Erik Fuhrer rolled left and spotted Antawane Davis in the corner of the end zone. The pass was a little low and Davis could not pull it in.

“Our field-goal attempts have been getting blocked all year,” Bergbigler said. “I figured our chances were better to just go for it. I didn’t want to risk getting one blocked there.”

A Cleveland interception was returned 20 yards to the Bears’ 41 late in the third quarter. Quarterback Demonte Clement — who played at Youngstown State — scored on a 16-yard run with 13:18 left in the game.

After the Bears went three-and-out, the Cobras chewed clock. Cleveland marched 74 yards on 14 plays, eating 9:33 off the clock. No points were scored before the Cobras relinquished possession at the Bears’ 1-yard line with just 1:43 left to play.

“I would have liked to have seen us score more points, but we hurt ourselves with penalties,” Caldwell said.

“That (Butler) team plays good defense. They hit hard. We’re happy to head on home with a win.”

The Bears turned the ball over three times Saturday night. Karns City graduate Jerod Hutchison intercepted a pass for Butler County’s lone takeaway.

“Our defense was on the field way too much,” Bergbigler said. “We wore down late. But we still kept them out of the end zone on that last drive.

“We never quit fighting, but this was our worst week of practice and it showed tonight. A number of guys didn’t show up for practice. No phone calls, no nothing. That has to change.”

Second to the Pittsburgh Pride in the Blue Division of the Northern Conference, the Bears play their final home game at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Northeast Ohio Disciples (3-3). They play the Pride at J.C. Stone Field in North Park in two weeks.

“If we have any hopes of winning the division, we have to win that game,” Bergbigler said. “But we stand a good chance of making the playoffs if we finish strong.”

Cleveland 17, B.C. Bears 6

Cleveland 7 0 3 7 — 17

B.C. Bears 6 0 0 0 — 6

First Quarter

C — Ronnie Jones 5 run (JT Kafury kick), 10:07

BCB — Steve Cupec 11 run (kick failed), 4:05

Third Quarter

C — Kafury 33 field goal, 11:29

Fourth Quarter

C — Demonte Clements 16 run (Kafury kick), 13:18

Team Statistics

First Downs — Cleveland 19, B.C. Bears 12

Rushes-Yards — Cleveland 40-192, B.C. Bears 34-111

Passes Comp.-Att.-Int. — Cleveland 4-9-1, B.C. Bears 4-15-2

Passing Yards — Cleveland 64, B.C. Bears 44

Total Yards — Cleveland 256, B.C. Bears 155

Penalties-Yards — Cleveland 8-70, B.C. Bears 7-65

Fumbles-Lost — Cleveland 2-0, B.C. Bears 2-1

Individual Statistics

Passing — Cleveland, Demonte Clements 4-9-64-1. B.C. Bears, Erik Fuhrer 4-15-44-2.

Rushing — Cleveland, Demonte Clements 7-20, Quinton Elom 7-29, Ronnie Jones 10-57, Derrick Slocum 2-10, Duane Griffin 14-76. B.C. Bears, Erik Fuhrer 4-15, Matt Robinson 3-0, Steve Cupec 17-82, James Shope 8-30, TEAM 1-(-17), Justin Sanderson 1-1.

Receiving — Cleveland, Eddie Horne 2-35, Jason McLaren 1-16, Ronnie Jones 1-13. B.C. Bears, Antawane Davis 3-34, Jereme Loos 1-10.