DOWAGIAC — As Dowagiac and Three Rivers battled it out for a first win of the season, it was the Chieftains, who early on proved it wanted the win more.

Dowagiac used its experienced running game to take an early lead and continued its momentum until the final seconds of a 35-0 win over the Wildcats.

From the first play of the game, senior quarterback Cailyn Murphy had his eye on the end zone. Just 25 seconds into the quarter, he ran the ball for an 80-yard touchdown after beating several Wildcats on the right wing.

“It was keep out of the way,” Murphy said. “I told my teammates from the opening kickoff, ‘if we don’t score on the kickoff, I’ll score the first play.’ They made the blocks and made it so I got open.”

Trying to counteract Dowagiac’s early lead, Three Rivers opened its offense with quarterback Aiden Gidley continuing to pitch the ball to running back Parker Ellifritz. Dowagiac’s defense only gave Ellifritz, who was the Wildcats’ only ball carrier in three quarters, a few yards at a time. Gidley tried using the passing game and had two complete passes, but failed to convert to first downs.

Dowagiac’s offense got the ball back and continued to run plays alternating between running backs De’Ondray Henry and D.J. Lanier.

Eventually, Dowagiac would find the end zone again at the end of the first quarter, as Henry broke through the left side of the Wildcats’ defensive line off a pitch from Murphy and scored on a 10-yard run. Cristian Wilson’s kick went left, costing the Chieftains an extra point.

“They left the running game open, so we had to keep it on the ground,” Murphy said.

In the second quarter, Dowagiac’s defense kept the Wildcats far from the goal line, only giving their kicker Brayden Selent a chance at a long field goal that came up short.

With nine seconds left in the half, Murphy completed his first pass of the game, 40 yards to senior wide receiver TJ Reed, who caught the ball in the end zone. Henry scored the two-point conversion, sealing a 21-0 lead for Dowagiac after two quarters.

In the third quarter, penalties called on the Wildcats — illegal equipment and unsportsmanlike conduct — canceled out Ellifritz’s 22-yard gain. A wide receiver’s dropped halfback pass also forced the Wildcats to go back on defense.

With the ball back in Dowagiac’s hands, Lanier ran 13 yards and recovered his teammate Terrance Price’s fumble at the 17 yard line as the third quarter ended.

In the first seven seconds of the fourth quarter, Henry ran the ball in for a 17-yard touchdown, his second of the night.

“We were going to hike the ball in 10 seconds,” Head Coach Randy Brooks said. “That was what we did. That was the game plan. We stuck with it the whole second half.”

As the ball went back to the Wildcats, Ellifritz, who finished the game with 81 yards on the ground, suffered an injury. Jeremy Andrews became Three Rivers’ second ball carrier, but it was three and out after a seven-yard loss.

Dowagiac continued to run the ball against the Wildcat defense as Murphy picked up 19-yards giving him 135 rushing yards. He completed a nine-yard pass, his second of the night to Dashawn Brooks, which gave the Chieftains the ball on the three yard line. Lanier ran it in for Dowagiac’s final touchdown with four minutes remaining on the clock. 

“I thought our offensive line really came off the ball well,” Brooks said. “Defensively, we were pretty solid, and our backs ran hard. We wanted to come out here. Knock them off the ball. That’s the style of play we like.”

The Chieftains finished with 487 yards of total offense compared to 148 for the Wildcats. Of that total, 438 of it came on the ground.

Lamberto Paredes and Hunter Williamson led the Dowagiac defense with seven tackles each. Andrew McIntosh picked off a pass for the Chieftains, who now set their sights on Allegan.

Dowagiac travels north to face the Tigers Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.