By SCOTT NOVAK
Dowagiac Daily News

It may only be week 3 of the season, but the Dowagiac football team is already facing a must-win situation in the Wolverine Conference.

After falling to Three Rivers 35-14 last Friday night, the Chieftains find themselves facing another undefeated squad in Vicksburg.

The Bulldogs (2-0) will invade Chris Taylor-Alumni Field Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Vicksburg defeated Allegan 40-12 last week, scoring 26 points in the third quarter to break open a 14-6 contest.

The Bulldogs finished with 393 yards in total offense, including 294 on the ground.

Derek Debiak ran for 156 of those yards and scored a touchdown. Zach Lane added a pair of touchdowns for Vicksburg.

Dowagiac, meanwhile fell behind 35-0 to Three Rivers, but outscored the Wildcats 14-0 in the second half.

The Chieftains lost starting quarterback Austin Adams in the opening half, suffering a knee injury.

Adams will return to the line up this week according to coach Mike Stanger.

However, the Chieftains could be without linemen Adam Roach and Ricky Roach.

Pranschke pleases
Dowagiac back up quarterback Mike Pranschke did a good job in the second half replacing Adams.

Pranschke threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Douglas for one of the two Chieftain scores.

Chieftains need control
Stanger said that his team failed to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football, nor did it play with the intensity needed to make a run at the conference championship.

Edwardsburg at Cassopolis
The cross-county rivals tee it up Friday night in the Lakeland Conference opener for both schools.

The two teams are coming into the contest from very different directions.

The Rangers are 2-0 and have blown out both their opponents, while the Eddies have dropped back-to-back heartbreakers to Hopkins and White Pigeon.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.