Dowagiac football runs away with 48-16 win over Parchment

Published 12:53 am Saturday, September 14, 2024

By Max Harden

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DOWAGIAC — It was a birthday to remember for Duane Davis.

The Dowagiac Union football coach saw his team shut down visiting Parchment in the second half and roll to a 48-16 win.

“I love those kids,” Davis said. “They did a great job. They went downhill and they punished them. That was awesome.”

The Panthers (2-1) had no answers for the Chieftains’ (2-1) offense, which outgained the visitors 429-221 in total yards and 336-100 in rushing yards. Tim Masterman led Dowagiac with 111 yards rushing on 23 carries and one touchdown run. Cooper Szymczak, Kaleb Smith and Skyler Vincek each tallied touchdown runs and LaMone Moore Jr. had both a rushing and receiving touchdown. Isaiah Fitchett added both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.

Leading 21-16 at halftime, the Chieftains leaned on the offensive and defensive lines to take control of the game. Dowagiac had four second half scoring drives, all of which ended in touchdown runs. The Panthers’ best chance to score in the second half failed as quarterback Jalen Kampen fumbled the ball into the end zone on a third-and-one play from the Dowagiac one-yard line.

On defense, Cameron White tallied nine tackles, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and Kaleb Smith caught an interception.

“My coaching staff made great adjustments at halftime,” he said. “They were ahead of the game before I even got into the locker room. We were able to get back to what we know, be physical up front and run the ball. The running backs blocked well, the O line did a great job. I had guys come in because they got injured and another guy stepped up and didn’t stop nothing.

Davis said the physical nature of last week’s 38-16 loss to Hudson helped the Chieftains Friday against the Panthers.

“That was probably the most physical team we’ve seen in a long time,” Davis said. “We put them on the schedule for that reason. We wanted to test ourselves and it made us even tougher for this week because those kids understood, that’s a tough team. We came out, we fought with them, a state power and we brought it to this week. I’m so proud of them for learning not getting down on themselves but to learn from us.”

Dowagiac faces Marshall (1-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. The Redhawks are coming off a two-game losing streak after falling to Sturgis 28-8.

“It’s going to take this effort a little more and not shoot ourselves in the foot again,”Davis said. “We can’t give away yards and give up touchdowns because we made mistakes. Marshall’s a big powerhouse team, good up front with a good back. So we gotta be better. We’ll get back to the grind on Sunday and back at the film and we’ll be alright.”

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