By SCOTT NOVAK
Dowagiac Daily News

The Allegan Tigers have not won a game yet this season, but don’t expect the Dowagiac football team to take them lightly.

The Chieftains learned the hard way two weeks ago about not being fully prepared to play.

Dowagiac (2-1) did not play like it was ready against Three Rivers and it didn’t play with a lot of emotion.

Expect to see plenty of emotion Friday night as the Chieftains try to keep their Wolverine Conference title hopes alive.

Two undefeated teams
There are only two undefeated teams left in the Wolverine Conference after three weeks of the season.

Three Rivers, which defeated Dowagiac 35-14 in Week 2, and Otsego are the lone squads to have a 3-0 mark heading into this week’s games.

Powerful offense
Three Rivers and Gull Lake are the two highest scoring teams in the league having both put 101 points on the board through three games.

There are just two other teams that have scored more than 80 points – Dowagiac (82) and Paw Paw (83).

The lowest scoring team in the conference is the Chieftains’ opponent on Friday night, Allegan. The Tigers have only scored 32 points so far this season.

Defenseless
South Haven, which Dowagiac defeated 41-6 in the season opener, and Plainwell have both given up 117 points this season.

The best defense in the league belongs to Three Rivers, which has allowed just 28 points.
The Chieftains are averaging just 14.6 points per game, while they are scoring 27 points a game.

In total, five Wolverine Conference teams have given up 50 or less points through the first three games.

Cassopolis/Edwardsburg game notes
• DaShaun Curtis had to change from jersey number 24 to number 25 in the second half after to much wear and especially tear.

• For the second straight week, Kyle Dale led the Eddies in receiving with three catches for 66 yards.

• Since the 2000 season, the Eddies are 7-3 against their cross-county rival.

• Ranger coach Andy Hubbard had this to say about the Edwardsburg offense and their scheme.
“That’s a good offense. For us being up in the first half, it shocked me and it shocked my coaching staff.  In my opinion, it has to be the hardest offense to defend in the country and when you got a team like them running it and after four or five years of them doing it, it is absolutely amazing and you don’t know where the ball is, kids are running everywhere.”

– By Jeff Fisher

Niles game notes
• The Niles football team is hoping to be back at full strength Friday night when it hosts Portage Central in a Big 16 Conference non-divisional contest.

The Vikings fell to 1-2 following a 48-0 loss to St. Joseph.

• Niles is expecting to have quarterback Cameron Sly back under center and wide receiver Myles Busby back in the line up against the Mustangs.

Sly missed the second half of the Vikings’ loss to Marshall two weeks ago with a dislocated shoulder.

Busby is returning from a one-game suspension after being ejected for fighting against the Redhawks.

• The Vikings scored 50 points in their season opening victory over Coldwater, but have only managed 18 points since.

Niles scored all of those points in the first half against Marshall and have now gone six quarters without scoring.

• On the defensive side of the football, Niles gave up just 35 points in its first two games, but allowed 48 points last week to the Bears, who are averaging 36.6 points per game.

Brandywine game notes
• Brandywine continues to struggle offensively this season, averaging just 7.3 points per game.

• The Bobcats may have even more trouble scoring Friday night at Coloma as it will play without a pair of starters.

Dustin Sater (running back) and Dustin Bell (offensive line) will both miss Friday night’s Lakeland Conference game against the Comets after being ejected for fighting last week.
• While the offense has struggled, the Brandywine defense has actually played pretty well.

Despite spending a lot of time on the field, the Bobcats are allowing just 18.3 points per game on defense.

• Brandywine continues a tough stretch of games to open up the league portion of their schedule.

Brandywine opened with Berrien Springs last week on the road and heads over to Coloma on Friday night. The Bobcats will then face Edwardsburg, Buchanan and Cassopolis before finishing up with River Valley and Bridgman.

The Eddies, Bucks and Rangers are all conference contenders, as are the Comets and the Shamrocks.
Buchanan game notes
• After picking up its first win of the season last Friday night, the Buchanan Bucks are sitting atop the Lakeland Conference, along with Cassopolis and Berrien Springs.

• Buchanan scored 26 points against Bridgman, which is six more than it had scored in the previous two games combined. The Bucks may also have found a running game in junior Cordel Johnson and senior Adam Byrdak. The two combined for 295 yards rushing.

• Three of the Bucks’ next four games are against conference contenders.