From staff reports

The Dowagiac freshmen and junior varsity football teams were swept by host Three Rivers Wednesday night.

The freshmen squad dropped 32-30 decision to the Wildcats, while the JV squad was defeated 49-46.

Freshman football

Three Rivers opened up a 10-point halftime lead and then held on to defeat the Chieftains (1-1) at Armstrong Field.

“We played our hearts out in the second half and we had a fourth and goal from the eight with 40 seconds left,” Dowagiac coach Tony Scaccia said. “The pass fell incomplete and we lost. In the end our kids played extremely hard and our 11 penalties probably cost us the game.”

Aaron Adams had 135 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown. He also caught a touchdown pass.

Lucas Petro had 123 yards on eight carries with a touchdown both on the ground and through the air.

Davion Highsmith finished the game 7-of-14 for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Carl Grant caught five of those passes for 70 yards.

JV football

Visiting Dowagiac led 46-14 after returning the second half kickoff for a touchdown.

Unfortunately for the Chieftains, it was all Three Rivers after that.

The Wildcats scored 35 unanswered points to pick up the come-from-behind victory.

“We played one of the best halves I have seen as a coach followed by the worst half I’ve seen,” Dowagiac coach Matt Alward said. “Turnovers and penalties killed us in the second half. It was a disappointing loss for everyone and we need to use this as a learning tool to get better. We just have to work harder and continue to improve.”

The Chieftains led 38-14 at halftime.

No individual statistics were provided.