Our area football teams are off to a great start in 2010 as all three of the Cass County schools we cover regularly are 2-0 on the football season.

It was another big week for Dowagiac, Edwardsburg and Cassopolis.

The Chieftains defeated the Division 4 state runner-up, although it hardly looked like the same team that teed it up last November, but a win is a win in high school football.

With 117 points already in the books for the Dowagiac offense and only 11 points allowed by the defense, it appears that the Chieftains are headed toward a big season in 2010.

But just how big are those two wins for Dowagiac?

Veteran Chieftain coach Mike Stanger tried to downplay the two wins knowing full well that Dowagiac’s toughest games are still ahead.

The Chieftains have opened up with two teams that are rebuilding, but the fact that the team came out and took care of business in both contests and didn’t allow itself to get caught up in looking past either opponent is impressive.

The truth of the matter is though, beating Three Rivers no matter who was playing in those uniforms on Thursday night is important.

Dowagiac rolled up three wins against the Wildcats when they joined the Wolverine Conference, including one in the post season.

But since then, Three Rivers has held the edge by winning the three games prior to Thursday night.

One of the biggest challenges of the season awaits Dowagiac next Friday night in Vicksburg.

The Bulldogs are back on track after being down for a few seasons and many believe they are the second best team in the conference.

So Friday night’s game will be a key early test for the Chieftains.

But if Dowagiac can continue to execute on offense by spreading the ball around to both running backs and receivers, and the defense can continue to stifle opposing teams, then the Chieftains have a chance to have the type of year Three Rivers fans saw in 2009.

The Thomas effect

No one really expected the Cassopolis football team to fall on its face with the departure of coach Andy Hubbard, who  resigned back in the spring.

The Rangers are a good football team and while some people around the area may not have known that, the coaches in the Lakeland Conference did and so did the Cassopolis fans.

So when the Rangers needed to find a new coach they turned to one of their own — Bernard Thomas.

A new offense and a new defense hasn’t seemed to slow the Rangers down this season and Cassopolis is off to a 2-0 start having scored more than 100 points in the process and only allowing 20.

The veer is alive and well in Rangerland and the team seems to be grasping the concept quickly.

Cassopolis ran for 291 yards on Friday night in its lopsided win over River Valley, but a key stat is the 123 yards in passing.

The Rangers only threw the ball five times, completing three of them including a touchdown of 78-yards.

Passing wasn’t the name of the game when Thomas coached in Dowagiac. In fact, when the Rangers threw 14 times in the first half of the season opener, many wondered what was going on.

Thomas, never at a loss for words, cracked that he had been watching SportsCenter.

“I used to think you ran the ball to set up the run,” Thomas said after the opening night win. “Now I think you can throw the ball to set up the run.”

Cassopolis appears poised to ‘run’ its way into the post season for the fifth straight year and is one of the teams that everyone is pointing to as a contender for the Lakeland Conference championship.

Defense wins championships

Every coach who is worth his weight in salt knows that you have to play great defense to be a champion.

There are very few instances where offensive teams have been able to overcome poor play on the other side of the football and be successful at a high level.

Before the 2010 season began, Edwardsburg coach Kevin Bartz talked about the changes he made to his football team, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Former Dowagiac assistant, who coached with Thomas when the Chieftains captured the 1990 state championship, was made the defensive coordinator.

The Eddies are 2-0 on the year after thrashing White Pigeon 49-0 on Thursday night.

Edwardsburg has allowed just seven points in is first two games and will need to continue to play solid defense as it prepares to head into Lakeland Conference action.

— Scott Novak