DOWAGIAC — When coaches look at their schedules they would like to see one that increases the level of competition from week to week.

While most would like to start with an easier opponent to work out the kinks and get rid of the nerves, from the second week on, they want their schedule to get a bit tougher.

That will certainly be the case for the Dowagiac football team as Mike Stanger and his staff prepare to hit the road for the first time in 2018 and make the short trip over to Three Rivers.

“Dowagiac versus Three Rivers are always good games,” said Dowagiac coach Mike Stanger. “They are usually pretty close games that come down to the fourth quarter to be decided.”

Both teams enter the contest with 1-0 records. The Chieftains defeated Vicksburg 54-14, while the Wildcats defeated Plainwell 23-13.

Dowagiac and Three Rivers have had a long-running rivalry.

The Chieftains and Wildcats played in what is now the SMAC conference for decades before Three Rivers moved to the Wolverine Conference.

Dowagiac and Three Rivers played as non-conference foes through 1972 when the rivalry ended, partly because it became full of with animosity.

The two teams would not meet again until 1989 when the Wildcats ended the Chieftains’ season with a 13-7 loss in the Class B pre-regional round of the state playoffs.

The Wildcats became a thorn in Dowagiac’s side in the postseason again in 1991 when they defeated the defending Class BB state champion Chieftains 30-3 for the regional title.

The two schools would meet in the postseason in 1996 with Dowagiac winning the pre-regional contest 27-21. In 2000, the Wildcats picked up another playoff win, this time 20-17 in the Division 4 pre-district round.

Dowagiac then joined the Wolverine Conference in 2006 and the two schools renewed their regular season rivalry.

The Chieftains defeated Three Rivers twice that season, winning the regular season contest 25-0 and then knocking of the Wildcats 27-7 in the pre-district round.

Since joining the same league, Dowagiac and Three Rivers have faced each other 14 times in both the regular and postseason.

The Chieftains lead the series 9-5, including a 21-7 win over the Wildcats last year.

Three Rivers’ last win came in 2016, a 22-21 thriller.

Dowagiac opened the season with a commanding win over Vicksburg at Chris Taylor-Alumni Field.

The Chieftains rolled up 587 yards of total offense, including 447 yards rushing.

Senior Kade Schreiber led the way with 159 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.

First-year starting quarterback Cailyn Murphy, a junior, had a big night with 140 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns. Murhpy also ran for 83 yards on 12 carries and scored three times.

Three Rivers finished with 196 yards of total offense.

Jalen Heivilin was 10-of-24 for 146 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns.

Bryce Morlan and Jett Haifley both had 50 or more yards receiving, while Parker Ellifritz led the rushing attack with 27 yards on 11 carries.

“We are going to have to keep their quarterback in the pocket and get some pressure on him,” Stanger said. “We are also going to have to stay with their receivers in the secondary. We worked on our special teams, as well as offense and defense with the goal of improving in all three areas of the game. We also want to minimize the penalties.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.