By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

All three area football teams must win tonight in order to keep alive the hopes of having a successful season.

Niles will travel East to face winless Mattawan, while Brandywine entertains Edwardsburg in a Lakeland Conference contest and Buchanan faces a tough road test at Cassopolis.

Niles at Mattawan
The Vikings haven’t won since opening night, but are hoping that Mattawan (0-4) is a team they can defeat and get back on the winning track.

Niles (1-3) has lost a couple of games it had a chance to win.

The Vikings dropped a 20-18 decision to highly ranked Marshall in Week 2, and fell to rated Portage Central last Friday night in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates.

Niles must find a way to finish off games. The Vikings did not score in the second half against the Redhawks and last week against the Mustangs trailed 14-8 heading into the fourth quarter before falling 42-8.

Tonight in Mattawan, Niles will face a team that has given up a lot of points this season (164). The Wildcats are also struggling on offense, averaging just 16 points per contest.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Edwardsburg at Brandywine
The Bobcats will be back at full strength tonight as Dustin Sater and Dustin Bell both return to the line up.

The Bobcats (1-3, 0-2 Lakeland Conference) have lost two straight games, but will be looking to put it all together tonight against the Eddies.

Edwardsburg (1-3, 1-1 Lakeland) are coming off their first victory of the season.
But don’t let that record fool you. The Eddies have lost to Hopkins, White Pigeon and Cassopolis.

Edwardsburg picked up its first victory of the season last week as it defeated Bridgman 43-7.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Buchanan at Cassopolis
Before the season began this looked as if it was going to be a showdown between the Bucks and Rangers.

Cassopolis is 4-0 and 1-0 in the conference having defeated Edwardsburg 50-37 two weeks ago.

Buchanan is 1-1 in the conference, but just 1-3 overall having lost to Kelloggsville, Bronson and Berrien Springs.

The Bucks’ lone victory came in a 26-0 rout of Bridgman.

Buchanan would love nothing more than to knock the Rangers out of the ranks of the undefeated and get its first win against Cass since 2005.