Edwardsburg wears down Dowagiac with size, strength

Published 11:25 am Friday, August 30, 2019

By Scott Novak

EDWARDSBURG — One play may have changed the fortunes of the Dowagiac football team on opening night and the debut of coach Randy Brooks.

Trailing 24-8 late in the first half, the Chieftains fumbled the ball near midfield and allowed the Eddies to score their third touchdown of the opening half and take an insurmountable 24-8 lead.

Edwardsburg would wear down Dowagiac with its size and speed the second half, and went on to win 46-8 in the season and Wolverine Conference opener for both schools. It was also the Eddies’ 15th consecutive victory dating back to 2018.

“They just grinded us down,” Brooks said. “Their line really came at us in the second half. They’re big and strong upfront. We’re not going to see a better line in the conference.”

For the first two-plus quarters, the Chieftains made the Eddies earn every year and both touchdowns.

Cayden Calhoun put the first points of the season on the board for Edwardsburg in the opening quarter as he capped a long drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Per usual, the Eddies went for two and Dillon Hursh found the end zone to make it 8-0.

After shutting down the Dowagiac offense, Edwardsburg marched down the field again, this time scoring on a nine-yard Hursh run. Hursh also scored the two-point conversion to make it 16-0.

“We were steady in the first half,” Bartz said. “We weren’t crushing things, but we didn’t make any mistakes. We’re just bigger and more physical than them. You didn’t see too many big runs, so I thought his (Brooks’) kids were well-disciplined and played good defense.”

The Chieftains tried to make a game of it early in the second quarter when they finally found some success throwing the football.

Dowagiac converted a pair of fourth downs, including an 11-yard DeShawn Brooks halfback pass to Alex McIntosh for the touchdown. With an extremely strong wind blowing the entire game, and already down two scores, Brooks went for the conversion instead of the extra point.

De’Ondray Henry found the end zone and suddenly the Chieftains were within a touchdown.

The Eddies responded with another long drive, which was capped by Mac Gaideski, who scored on a seven-yard turn to make it 24-8.

Two plays later, the Chieftains coughed up the football and Northwestern commit Josh Priebe pounced on it at the Dowagiac 22-yard line.

Drew Bidwell made the Chieftains pay for the mistake with a two-yard run with 29.8 seconds remaining.

Edwardsburg (1-0) grounded it out in the second half, scoring on a five-yard Gaideski run and a 10-yard run by Jaylynn Luster to cap the scoring in the third quarter and start the running clock.

The Eddies finished the night with 303 yards rushing to just 139 for the Chieftains. Edwardsburg was 0-for-1 in the passing department, while Dowagiac was 3-of-9 for 41 yards.

Calhoun and Gaideski both rushed for yards.

Henry was Dowagiac’s leading rusher with 32 yards before suffering an injury. Hunter Williamson and DJ Lanier both finished with 30 yards. Caitlyn Murphy was 1-of-7 for 37 yards. Brooks was 1-of-1 for 11 yards.

TJ Reed caught one pass for 37 yards.

Dowagiac will host Three Rivers on Friday night, while Edwardsburg will head to Otsego.

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