By Staff
There is a buzz around Dowagiac and Cassopolis about their varsity basketball teams.
The Chieftains are off to a great start having won two of their first three contests.
Seven miles away over in Cassopolis, the Rangers are 2-0 and just pounding people.
Both teams stand atop of their respective conferences.
Dowagiac is 2-0 in its first season in the Wolverine Conference, while the Rangers are 1-0 in the Lakeland Conference.
There is a connection between the two schools that most of you know.
For those of you who do not, Josh Hood, who used to coach freshmen boys' basketball at Dowagiac and was an assistant for the varsity girls' squad this fall, is the coach of the Cassopolis Rangers.
Hood is in his second season at the helm of the Rangers' program.
Last year, Hood got off to a slow start, but Cassopolis got better as the season went on and the Rangers captured the Class C district title.
Cassopolis is off to a great start with a pair of big wins. Many felt that the Rangers might struggle early because of a lack of experience.
Cass has come out and played well as a team and can really get after people.
The key this year for the Rangers will be to keep it going. It is often easier to build on success than to maintain it.
But with Hood at the controls, I expect big things from the Rangers.
Heading into the season it was unknown just how Dowagiac would handle its new conference.
The Chieftains didn't know much about the Wolverine teams with the exception of South Haven, which it plays Friday night.
Dowagiac has knocked off two of the teams that were mentioned as being contenders already and if they can take out the Rams on the road Friday night, the Chieftains will be in good shape heading into the new year.
While Dowagiac is not a deep team right now, its starters are playing extremely well.
Amos Clark, Chris Primley, Jamie Simpson, Oscar Wilson and Andrew Cuthbert have all contributed through the first three games of the season.
The players coming off the bench are getting better with each game.
Dowagiac needs to keep improving, because I believe they have a chance to compete for the league championship.
The Chieftains played their lone home game of this year on Tuesday night. That means Dowagiac will have to win on the road early on to stay in the league race.
We can help their chances by showing up and supporting this team.
Dowagiac is playing an exciting brand of basketball. Win or lose, the Chieftains are fun to watch.
They are scoring points in a variety of ways and are getting after people on defense.
If you haven't already, check out the Chieftains on Friday night. I promise that you won't regret it.