CASSOPOLIS — Every now and then a game lives up to its billing.

Then there are those rare occasions when a game is better than its buildup.

Such was the case Friday night when Cassopolis hosted Mendon for the inaugural Southwest 10 Conference football championship game.

Both teams came into the contest undefeated with very similar numbers when it came to points scored and points allowed.

No one knew just how good either team was due to the fact that they had blown out all seven of its previous opponents.

One thing was for sure, the Rangers and the Hornets are two very talented teams that should make a long run in the postseason.

The game was a back-and-forth affair from the outset.

Even when Cassopolis jumped out to the early 13-0 advantage, I knew that Mendon would make a game out  of it.

For  a while in the fourth quarter, I thought the Rangers were teetering on the bring.

But then, as if it found an extra gear, Cassopolis responded and  was driving for the winning touchdown when the unthinkable happened.

The Rangers had been throwing the ball effectively all night long. In fact, it threw the ball better than it had been running it against the stingy Mendon defense.

Big games are usually won by big-time players.

Such was the case Friday night when the Hornets’ Wyatt Cool stepped in front of Dylan Green’s pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown that sealed the Mendon victory.

It has been quite some time since I was at a game that meant so much and turned out to be so good.

I unfortunately did not have the assignment when Edwardsburg rallied to defeat Dowagiac by scoring a touchdown in the final half-minute of play.

A lot of the high school games that I have to cover for the paper are predetermined. What I mean by that is that the winning team is easy to pick.

There are very few upsets these days in high school football, at least at the local level.

I would love to see more upsets, more last-second scores that pulls out a hard-fought game.

Unfortunately, that just does not happen as often as it used to.

Right now the games are played by the haves and the have nots, and right now that does not appear like it will change in the near future.

A lot of it has to do with the number of players that are coming out for football.

The more successful teams have greater numbers of participants to choose from. They also have better parent and community support.

Coaching also has a lot to do with it. The successful teams have better coaching staffs.

There is no quick fix for these issues either. Only hard work and a lot of effort put in by a lot of people can turn a program around.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.