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DOWAGIAC — Once he’s able to iron out a few issues, Duane Davis feels his Dowagiac football team could be a group to be reckoned with. 

Davis saw glimpses of good execution in the Chieftains’ 41-22 non-conference win at home Friday over Marshall on Chris Taylor Alumni Field. 

“Our guys keep fighting and are a very gritty bunch. I’m excited about what we can do. But we have some issues that we have to address and most of the time that isn’t related to the game or the practice field. We have some distractions that we have to address if we want to become a complete team. Some of its execution and some mental things. There are outside distractions that are my responsibility to take care of,” said Dowagiac head coach Duane Davis.

Behind a powerful running game that netted 331 yards on 54 carries, Dowagiac (3-1) built itself an early 14-0 advantage. Senior Tim Masterman (5-foot-7, 205 pounds) scampered into the Redhawks’ end zone from six yards (7:57) followed by Cameron White’s four-yard ground strike (5:30). Chieftains’ senior place kicker Johannah McDonald was successful on both PATS. 

White recovered a Marshall fumble near midfield to help set up Dowagiac’s second scoring drive covering 60 yards.

Marshall’s first TD came with 2:36 left in the period on a 12-yard burst by senior tailback Akin Olapade. Matthew Waito completed a two-point conversion pass to Kye Saunders, slicing the Redhawks’ deficit to 14-8 entering the second quarter.

Senior defensive back Devin Rock came up with the first of his two interceptions, both in the first half, to help set up the next Chieftains’ TD with 2:25 left before intermission.

Rock’s interception set the Dowagiac offense up at the Marshall 25. The Chieftains cashed in eight plays later on White’s three-yard plunge. Dowagiac senior halfback Quentin Hill had a critical six-yard gain on fourth down and four from the nine to keep the drive intact. McDonald added the PAT to send the hosts into halftime with a 21-8 lead.

Dowagiac had two chances to add to its lead in the first half. The Chieftains reached the Marshall one-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The other scoring opportunity came with time winding down in the first half. Rock recorded his second interception and returned the ball 27 yards to the Marshall 22. But the Chieftains would give the ball back again the Redhawks on a fumble. 

Marshall went on an impressive drive to start the third quarter that reached the Dowagiac 27. The Chieftains’ Riley McCafferey recovered a Redhawks’ fumble on the 11th play of the drive to end that scoring threat. 

Dowagiac took over possession at its own 39 and drove 61 yards in nine plays capped off by Masterman’s two-yard TD strike with 2:13 left in the stanza. McDonald’s PAT was blocked but the hosts’ had increased their advantage to 27-8. 

Olapade pounced one yard into Dowagiac’s endzone just six plays later with eight seconds left in the third, lessening the Redhawks’ deficit to 27-14. Dominic Purcell’s conversion run was stopped short of the goal line. 

Dowagiac senior quarterback Skyler Vincek raced 28 yards around left end and successfully placed the football inside the pylon for the hosts’ next score. The Chieftains led 33-14 with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter after McDonald’s PAT went wide. 

A short time later, Marshall got great field position after Dowagiac gambled and went for it on fourth down and eight but failed to convert, giving the Redhawks possession at the Chieftains’ 39.

Waito hooked up with his senior wide receiver Landon Patton on a 39-yard scoring pass on the first play of the ensuring drive, cutting the Redhawks’ deficit to 33-22 after a successful conversion pass to Olapade. 

But Dowagiac added an insurance score seven plays after that with Hill sprinting the final eight yards to cap off a 50-yard drive. Rock hauled in the conversion pass from Vincek to cap the scoring with 1:59 left in the contest. 

Hill recovered another Marshall fumble with 1:47 left giving Dowagiac possession at the Redhawks’ 27. The excitement was shortlived, however, as Dowagiac fumbled the ball away to Marshall’s Colin Stealy. Marhall’s offense came back on the field and ran four more plays before the game ended.

Vincek emerged as Dowagiac’s top ballcarrier on the night with 12 rushes worth 107 yards and one TD. White added seven touches for 66 yards and two TDs. 

Through the air, Vincek completed 5-of-7 passes for 41 yards. Rock had two catches for 21 yards. 

Davis was pleased with what he saw out of his offensive line.

“Our offensive line is fast and physical and they get off the football quickly. They’ve been doing a nice job of driving opponents off the ball all season. We’re undersized almost every time we hit the field, but this group doesn’t care about that. We just come play our brand of football,” Davis added.

Dowagiac’s coach singled out the performances of his two-year starter Austin Thunell at right tackle; junior guard Maverick Baerg; along with a sophomore and freshmen who got some rotations during the absence of another starting guard that recently went down with an injury.

“I’m super proud of Austin and how well he’s been stepping up for us,” Davis noted.

White led Dowagiac defensively from his defensive back’s position with eight tackles and one fumble recovery. Cooper Szymczak added six tackles for the Chieftains.

“We work on forcing those kind of turnovers in practice and our kids knew what the keys were coming into this game. We knew we had to take Olapade away. He’s a big tough back who runs hard and they have a couple good wideouts and a good quarterback as well. Our defensive backs had a good understanding of what play was coming at them,” Davis said. 

Dowagiac’s defensive unit. limited Marshall to just 95 yards rushing and 108 through the air.

Dowagiac, 1-0 in the Lakeland Conference, returns to face league foe  Niles Brandywine on the road next Friday at 7 p.m.