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CASSOPOLIS — Regardless if the Dowagiac football team makes the postseason or not, head coach Duane Davis believes the Chieftains are back to playing the brand of ball fans are used to seeing.

Friday’s 35-0 non-conference win at Cassopolis was a good example of how far Dowagiac’s program has come after a combined 2-16 mark in the last two seasons.

According to Dowagiac’s head coach, the Chieftains 5-4, came into its regular-season finale needing lot of help from other teams to have any hope of qualifying for the playoffs.

Dowagiac built a 22-0 advantage after the first half.

Quarterback Isaiah Fitchett scored on a two-yard sneak on Dowagiac’s opening series of the game at 8:23 for a 6-0 lead. Jacob Rial’s PAT failed.

The Chieftains found the end zone again on their very next possession on a 58-yard TD dash by sophomore tailback Devin Rock. Fitchett floated a two-point conversion pass into the hands of Kaleb Smith for a 14-0 Dowagiac lead after one quarter.

Smith sped 40 yards for Dowagiac’s next score with 3:39 left in the second period and senior running back Justin Bannow added the conversion run, putting the Chieftains in front 22-0 at intermission.

Both teams turned the football over on their opening series of the second half.

Dowagiac’s defense set up its next score after it stopped Cassopolis on a fourth down conversion attempt.

The Chieftains took over possession at the Rangers’ 30-yard line and scored two plays later on Bannow’s 18-yard scamper. Rial booted the PAT for a 29-0 Dowagiac lead with 3:32 left in the third.

Dowagiac regained possession late in the period and went on a 70-yard scoring drive that culminated in Fitchett’s six-yard TD toss to a wide-open Smith. Rial’s PAT failed, but the Chieftains took a 35-0 lead into the fourth quarter.

Dowagiac’s defense was stupendous in allowing Cassopolis to drive inside the Chieftains 40 on just two occasions on the night. But the progress of the Rangers’ offensive unit was hampered continuously by penalties.

Dowagiac hammered out 303 yards of total offense, including 259 on the ground. Smith led the Chieftains’ assault on the ground with eight carries for 131 yards and Bannow tacked on 68 yards in 11 attempts.

Fitchett completed 3-of-5 passing attempts worth 44 yards.

“Our guys up on the offensive line have put in the work during the offseason to improve like they have. I’m proud of them,” Davis said. “We had a couple kids out on defense the last couple weeks, but other guys stepped up and filled in nicely. Our defensive coordinator (Pat Lyle) did a nice job preparing us these last couple weeks.”

Tim Masterman, Dowagiac’s 5-foot-5, 170-pound linebacker, led the Chieftains’ defense with six tackles and Isiah Hill recorded five, including two for loss of yardage.

Jamal Williams and Quentin Hill had interceptions for Dowagiac.

Davis reflected on the season and the improvement Dowagiac made this fall.

“We got back to what we know best and that’s being a fast and physical football team. We got into some injury trouble during the middle of the season and it hurt us. But these kids have fought for us every day. I’m proud of them for that,” Davis added.

Cassopolis, which finishes 3-6, was led in rushing by senior QB Jadyn Baucom with 22 carries for 70 yards and the Rangers gained 181 rushing as a team.

Baucom completed 8-of-19 passes for 88 yards. Malachi Ward caught six passes for 22 yards and Kenny May hauled in five passes for 70 yards.

Senior defensive lineman Braylon Brown racked up 11 tackles for the Cassopolis defense. Ward added seven stops for the Rangers.

Spencer Wagoner recovered a fumble for the Rangers.

“I felt we were able to compete tonight, but you can’t play a game behind the chains with the penalties we had,” said Cassopolis Coach Jeremiah Lee. “We just weren’t disciplined enough.”

Lee felt his team came along way this season after a 0-9 finish in 2022.

“You don’t know what you are going to get after a winless season like we had. We had the culture shift we needed though with our group of 13 seniors this year. We know we are about two or three years from flipping things around, but we’re happy with the direction the program is going,” Lee said.