From staff reports

OTSEGO — The Dowagiac freshman football team improved to 7-1 with a 27-0 win over host Otsego Thursday night.

The Chieftains got 114 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown from Shane Bevins, while Davion Highsmith was 3-of-5 for 50 yards and a touchdown. Carl Grant caught two of those passes for 20 yards and a score.

Lucas Petro intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.

Bevins and Brody Froehlich each had six tackles. Froehlich also had a sack. Ray Vega added two tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

“We were both 6-1 coming into this game and I told our kids it was time to see what we were made of,” Dowagiac coach Tony Scaccia said. “The defense played lights out and we got a huge win.”

JV football

The Dowagiac JV was not as fortunate as they dropped a 26-12 decision to the Bulldogs.

“Big plays hurt us tonight,” Dowagiac coach Matt Alward said. “Three of there scores were on big plays. We had some key injuries that slowed us down on offense.”

Cal Cox scored on a quarterback sneak, while Anteyon Rusell had the other touchdown for the Chieftains.

“I was very proud of our effort, we just fell a little short,” Alward added.