A pair of ranked Wolverine Conference teams square off in a key non-divisional Week 3 battle Friday night.

Plainwell (2-0) will host Dowagiac (2-0) in a clash of unbeaten. The Trojans are ranked No. 7 in Division 4 by Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press, while the Chieftains are No. 6 in Division 5.

Despite a rash of penalties in both games, Dowagiac has managed to defeat Vicksburg and Comstock from the Wolverine’s new East Division.

The Chieftains have outscored their opponents 76-13, including last Friday night’s 55-6 victory over Comstock.

Plainwell has defeated Coloma 31-0 in the season opener and Three Rivers 34-26 last Friday night. The Trojans hold a 58-14 advantage in scoring over their opponents.

Dowagiac appears to have the physical aspects of its game in check, but veteran Chieftain coach Mike Stanger knows that it takes more than just pushing people around to win football games.

He wants his team to be mentally tough and more focused as the season heads along.

“We need to clean up mental,” Stanger said following last Friday night’s victory. “There are a lot of aspects to the game of football. We have to be mentally tough. The penalties came from us just screwing up snap counts.”

The Chieftains had five penalties for 25 yards against Comstock. They nearly all came in a stretch during the opening half where Dowagiac was whistled for three consecutive false starts.

In its opening game, the Chieftains had six penalties for 45 yards.

Dowagiac is trying to be a bit more balanced this season offensively.

The Chieftains are still going to run the football more than they throw it, but with two quality quarterbacks on the roster, Stanger is confident in the passing game.

Dowagiac was 7-of-13 for 87 yards against the Bulldogs and 6-of-7 for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Colts.

The Chieftains are also getting plenty of balance from their running game. Dowagiac has plenty of talented backs are spreading the ball around well. As a result, the Chieftains have already rolled up 591 yards on the ground for an average of 295 yards per game.

 

Wolverine Conference

West Division

Team                 W L  Pts. scored Pts. Allowed

Dowagiac               2   0          76                 13

Edwardsburg       1   1          49                 40

Coloma                    1   1          39                 59

Three Rivers         1   1        65                   27

South Haven         0   2          41                123

Berrien Springs 0   2          16                 64

 

East Division

Team                 W L  Pts. scored Pts. Allowed

Paw Paw                2   0          98                 35

Otsego                      2   0          81                 32

Plainwell               2   0          58                 14

Allegan                                      1   1          56                 41

Vicksburg               0   2          27                 58

Comstock                0   2           6                  106