By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Dowagiac soccer and softball teams will host invitational tournaments on Saturday, weather permitting.
Dowagiac will host the Chieftain Early Bird Tournament on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
This round robin soccer tournament will have the host Chieftains taking on Niles at 10 a.m.
The Lady Vikings will then face River Valley at approximately 11:30 a.m. Dowagiac and River Valley will wrap up tournament play at approximately 1 p.m.
The team with the best record will claim the tournament championship. The tiebreakers for the tournament are most goals scored, least amount of goals allowed or quickest goal scored.
Chieftain Invitational
The annual Chieftain Invitational will once again feature some of the best softball teams from southwest lower Michigan and northern Indiana.
Joining Dowagiac for the 2007 version of the tournament will be defending champion Andrean (Merriville, Ind.), Kalamazoo Christian, Mishawaka Marian (Ind.), Elkhart Memorial (Ind.), Grandville, Portage Northern and South Bend Washington (Ind.).
In 2006, Andrean won yet another championship as it defeated Dowagiac in the title game, 6-2. Andrean has won all but two of the tournaments it has participated in.
Kalamazoo Christian won the 2006 championship with a 1-0 victory over the Chieftains.
The tournament will be played at Dowagiac Union High School, Rotary Park, Russom Field and the Highway Department field across from the high school.
The Chieftains will take on Mishawaka Marian at the high school.
Kalamazoo Christian will face Elkhart Memorial at Russom Fields on Yaw Street, while Grandville will meet Andrean at Rotary Park. In the other first round game, Portage Northern will face South Bend Washington at the Highway Department field.
All first round games begin at 10:30 a.m.
The winners of the Dowagiac-Marian and the Christian-Memorial contests advance to the semifinals at 1 p.m. at the high school field. The winners of the Grandville-Andrean and Portage Northern Washington games will play in the other semifinal at Rotary Park, also at 1 p.m.
The losers of the first round games will play at 1 p.m. at Russom Field and the Highway Department.
The championship game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at the high school. The third place game will be played at Rotary Park, while the fifth place game will be played at Russom Field.
The seventh place game will be played at the Highway Department field.
Those games all begin at 3:30 p.m.
The Optimist Club will hold a pancake breakfast, served at the high school until 11 a.m.
Port-a-Pit chicken will also be available from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the high school.