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CASSOPOLIS — The plans for the Cassopolis football team for Friday night have changed a bit.

Jeremiah Lee and his coaching staff were in the thick of preparing the Rangers for their fourth home game this season when the school received a call Wednesday morning from Sand Creek. 

The Aggies, a member of the Big 8 Conference and winless in six games, were scheduled to make the 110-mile trip to Cassopolis for a 7 p.m. kickoff. However, Sand Creek did not have enough healthy players to safely compete this week. The Aggies, who lost 42-12 a week ago to Vermontville-Maple Valley, were also forced to forfeit its game a couple weeks ago to Springport as well. 

Sand Creek, which has been outscored this season by a combined 183-78, is coached by Derek Hewitt. The Aggies qualified for the state playoffs the last two seasons losing both times in the Division 7 district semifinals. 

Cassopolis’ head coach knows far too well about the devastating effects a rash of injuries can have, especially on a football team whose roster is dominated by youth. 

Just one year ago, Lee had to make a difficult decision to suspend Cassopolis’ varsity season due to a player shortage brought on by multiple injuries to a young team. The Rangers’ freshmen and sophomore team members played two games at the junior varsity level and won both of those against Decatur and Dowagiac. 

Cassopolis receives a 1-0 forfeit this week improving the Rangers’ overall record to 2-5. So instead of lacing up the cleats on Friday night, Lee and his squad will attend the Hartford at Centreville game together as a team.

Centreville (2-4) visits Cassopolis in Week 8. In week 9, Cassopolis, a member of the Southwest 10 Conference, will face a to-be determined foe from the Big 8 in a cross-over game. 

“We will continue to practice as normal the rest of the week and then attend Centreville’s home game with Hartford on Friday,” Lee said. 

Despite his team’s losing record, Lee continues to see tremendous improvement every day in practice and each game. Besides this week’s forfeit win, Cassopolis’ other win came in the second week over Comstock 41-12.

Back-to-back losses the past couple weeks on the road at Decatur (38-7) and a heartbreaking 29-28 loss in Hartford were both contests that Lee contends that his squad learned a great deal from. Had those two contests went in Cassopolis’ favor, the Rangers very well could’ve been in the hunt for a playoff spot. Instead Lee says his squad will use those two contests as a springboard to finish this season strong leading into the offseason and the 2026 campaign.

“Our team is progressing very well, especially since the second half of the Decatur game. We feel like our younger kids are starting to figure things out more,” Lee said. 

Cassopolis’ coach felt the Rangers best half of football this season was the first two quarters against the Huskies. 

“We played a great first half of football, but our youth and inexperience really showed up in the second half and we just weren’t able to close that one out,” Lee said. 

The Rangers’ head mentor pointed to defense, especially tackling as one of the biggest areas of improvement so far this fall. 

“Our kids have taken a huge leap the last couple of weeks, especially. We have guys who are starting to record double-digit numbers in tackle totals. 

Leading that charge are Cassopolis’ trio of linebackers in junior Elijah Wagner, along with junior Lance Leach and Easton Mitchell, along with Tyson West.  Wagoner leads the Rangers in tackles with 63, while Leach has amassed 49. 

Tyson West, along with offensive lineman and defensive end Colt Dement as two players who have turned the corner in their development on defense for the Rangers.  

Junior quarterback Lucas Williams continues to be the brightest sparkplug offensively. Lee describes that situation as both positive and negative.

“Lucas is doing a great job, but we need other guys to step up and handle some of the offensive load. Right now we are way too one-dimensional on that side of the football,” Lee said. 

The 6-foot-0, 185-pound Williams has been a force all season with his arm and legs. Williams has completed 56-of-110 passes for 1,179 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also leads all rushers on the team with 71 carries worth 512 yards. 

“Opposing teams are starting to really key on Lucas so it’s important that we get our running game going here near the end of the season,” Lee said. 

Cassopolis’ head coach still identifies the Rangers’ offensive line as a work in progress. 

“We are still moving pieces around to find the right combination. We have a lot of sophomores in some of those positions,” Lee said. 

Among Williams’ top pass catchers are sophomore wide receiver Mason Nelson with 16 receptions worth 401 yards and three TDs. Senior Jaylen Pratt has 11 receptions for 322 yards and five TDs, while his sophomore brother Jamiere Pratt has 16 catches  for 307 yards and three TDs.

With the playoffs out of the picture, the Rangers’ have redefined their goals. 

“We really felt like we could win our last three games and our goal is to finish out the schedule on a strong note. We really feel like Centreville is a winnable game and then we will see who we play in the cross-over game,” Lee said. 

Cassopolis’ head coach has been impressed with the Rangers’ resiliency. 

“Our kids continue to show up everyday and work hard in giving me everything they’ve got,” Lee said. 

Injuries have been minimal for Cassopolis this spring.

“We’ve been fairly healthy and blessed to have avoided many injuries.”