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Dowagiac blanks Vicksburg, 29-0

By RICK SWANSON and JODI BADDER / Dowagiac Daily News
Monday, September 15, 2008 11:11 AM EDT

VICKSBURG - The Dowagiac Chieftains football squad traveled to Vicksburg Friday night to meet the undefeated Bulldogs on the gridiron.

The artificial turf was slippery and the ball even more so as the rain fell at the beginning of the game.

In the end, the boys in orange and black routed the Bulldogs 29-0.

The Chieftains took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Dowagiac shutout ties the two teams in the Wolverine conference play at 2-1.

Preparing for Friday's game after last week's loss to Three Rivers, coach Mike Stanger said, "this week we worked on picking up our heads from the tough loss to Three Rivers. They played a good game, but lost. I gave them the choice of either having a chip on their shoulder and being ready to fight or having a hang over and not showing up. They chose being ready to play."

Senior Greg Nelson started the scoring with a 57-yard run up the middle at 7:47 on a second down run in the second series of the game. He made it look easy as his linemen opened up a lane, giving him a clear view of the field.

Nelson went on to lead the team in rushing 135 yards on the night as well as leading the defense with eight tackles.

Junior Brandon Douglas' impressive 28-yard touchdown run came at 11:28 of the second quarter and he ran 35 yards for the half.

A Vicksburg safety at 6:32 from a wild snap below the 5-yard line took all the wind out of the Bulldog's sails.

With 1:44 left to play in the first half, Jon Myers scored on a six yard run up the middle. He ended the game with 25 total yards on six carries

After the Chieftain defense forced a 7-yard Vicksburg punt, the offense took the field on their own 32-yard line with just eight seconds left in the half.

Sophomore quarterback Austin Adams, out of a shotgun offensive formation, threw back-to-back passes to Shaun Bruens and Brandon Douglas in an attempt to put six more points on the board before the half.

Both passes were knocked down and the Chiefs went to the locker room with a 23-0 lead.

Adams finished the night 3-of-9 for a total of 11 yards passing.

Douglas scored the only points in the second half with a touchdown at 10:36 in the third quarter when Michael Filley missed the extra point attempt, capping the score at 29-0.

Douglas finished the night with 60 total rushing yards and 12 passing yards.

In the second half Coach Stanger changed up his game plan.

"We got all of our players out on the field and were trying new plays," he said.

He and his staff were able to see the whole team on the field. "This was a good win for us," he said, "every one was able to contribute."

Dowagiac returns home Friday night to face Allegan in another Wolverine Conference contest.

Dowagiac 7 16 6 0 - 29

Vicksburg 0 0 0 0 - 0

D - Greg Nelson 50 run (Mike Filley kick)

D - Brandon Douglas 28 run (Filley kick)

D - Safety

D - Jon Myers 6 run (Filley kick)

D - Douglas 13 run (kick failed)

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