The first week of the high school football season revealed a few things about our area football teams.

First of all, Dowagiac was able to roll up more than 450 yards on the ground using a slew of running backs.

Ten different running backs touched the ball Friday night against South Haven in the Chieftains’ 41-6 Wolverine Conference win.

Of course, it’s hard to tell if it was great running by Dowagiac or bad defense by South Haven.

It’s probably a combination of both.

There were other things I liked about the Chieftains in their season opener.

The defense looked pretty solid against both the run and the pass.

South Haven chucked it up there 35 times, completing just 13 of them, the longest being only 15 yards.

That’s a good sign as the Chieftains face a Three Rivers football team which likes to throw the football as well.

The difference is, the Wildcats can also run the football.

Three Rivers won both meetings last season with the Chieftains, which snapped a nice little winning streak that Dowagiac had going.

If the streak is going to end Friday night, Dowagiac will have to do it on the road in Vicksburg.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Speaking of running the football, the Cassopolis Rangers did a pretty good job of it themselves over in Bangor.

The Rangers had 531 yards on the ground and finished with over 700 yards in total offense, which included 119 yards in kickoff and punt returns.

DaShaun Curtis led the way for Cass with 139 yards.

I expect more of the same from the Rangers this week as they travel to St. Joseph to take on Lake Michigan Catholic.

This game is being played at Dickenson Stadium at St. Joseph High School and will begin at 7:30 p.m. instead of 7.

The Edwardsburg Eddies dropped a tough 25-20 decision to perennial powerhouse Hopkins.

The game was probably the best in the area as it came down to the closing seconds.
Edwardsburg had a chance to win it, but an incomplete pass allowed the Vikings to escape with a season opening victory.

Despite the loss, the Eddies found out that they have a pretty good football team and should be able to compete with anyone on their schedule this season.

Friday night, Edwardsburg hits the road to take on White Pigeon before opening up its Lakeland Conference season at Cassopolis on Sept. 11.

Former Dowagiac coach Randy Brooks is now an assistant for the Eddies.

Another former Dowagiac coach didn’t get off on the right foot with his new team either.
Mike Nate’s debut at Brandywine was spoiled by Lawrence’s 14-8 win in overtime.

The Bobcats did not play well on offense, but turned in a solid defensive effort against the Tigers.

Tonight, the Bobcats travel to Centreville for a 7 p.m. start.