The Dowagiac defense stymied visiting Allegan en route to a 27-0 Wolverine Conference victory at Chris Taylor-Alumni Field Friday night.

“Defensively we played really well,” said Dowagiac coach Mike Stanger said. “We flew around. Offensively we did not execute, and we did not sustain drives in the first half. And that is very frustrating.

“We have to go back to the basics. We have to get better up front. I thought the kids answered the call in the second half. We just have to be aggressive and get off the ball.”

The Chieftains (2-1) held the Tigers’ ground game to minus 59 yards rushing and minus 1 yard in total offense while pitching its first shutout of the season.

Allegan quarterback Chris Hitchcock was in the crosshairs all night as he struggled with bad snaps and a relentless Dowagiac defense that forced him into a minus 45 yards rushing.

Hitchcock did manage to complete nine passes for 58 yards, with an interception by the Chieftains’ Andrew McIntosh.

“Defensively we executed to perfection,” Stanger said. “We came out and did what we wanted to do. We came with pressure and we played man coverage. Our defensive backs did a great job. We brought great pressure on them and we stopped the run.”

On the flip side, Dowagiac quarterback Brenden Dudley was 8 of 13 for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Dudley connected with Ellijah Williams for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave the Chieftains a 7-0 lead at halftime.

Dudley would hit Logan Thies with a 47-yard scoring strike to break open the game.

Dowagiac finished with 147 yards on the ground.

Caleb Murphy was the Chieftains’ top runner with 53 yards on a pair of carries, which included a 25-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring.

Duan Simpson added a 15-yard touchdown run and 22 yards on the ground. Richard Payne and Jamin Hunt finished with 39 and 37 yards rushing, respectively.

Stanger said that he and his staff tried to keep the team’s focus on Allegan and not Edwardsburg.

“We tried to guard against it and not to look past Allegan,” he said. “I take the blame for it. Maybe we put too much pressure on them to come out and execute and perform. I think it may have worked backwards instead we probably should have just let them come out and play ball.”

Dowagiac will now set its sights on undefeated Edwardsburg, which beat Paw Paw 52-0.

The Eddies (3-0) have scored 186 points in its first three games and allowed just eight.

Kickoff  for Friday’s contest is set for 7 p.m.

 

DOWAGIAC 27, ALLEGAN 0

At Dowagiac

Allegan            0          0          0          0 – 0

Dowagiac        0          7          14        6 – 27

D – Ellijah Williams 21 pass from Brenden Dudley (Drew Davis kick).

D – Duan Simpson 15 run (Davis kick).

D – Logan Thies 47 pass from Dudley (Davis kick).

D – Caleb Murphy 25 run (run failed).

Varsity records: Allegan 0-3, Dowagiac 2-1