Dons ready to get back on the field in a big Class A game
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WEIRTON -- While Madonna's week off last week was not planned that way, it certainly ended up coming at a good time for John McCune and company.
The Blue Dons picked up a forfeit victory over Morgantown Trinity Christian due to Trinity being down on numbers and unable to play.
As it turned out, due to injuries, illnesses and other circumstances, the timing of the unfortunate cancellation worked out well for the Blue Dons.
"We had a lot of kids that ended up out sick, probably seven or eight kids missed practices with a bug, and we had our injuries still to deal with and with some of the threats that were going around we weren't able to practice on Thursday ... we got back on the field Friday close to full strength and had a good practice," McCune, Madonna's first-year coach, said. "Most of the week was focused on recovery trying to get kids healthy. It almost happened perfect as far as the timing."
There was some uncertainty last week whether it would go down as a forfeit or a no contest, but after some consideration Madonna chose to take the forfeit and go to 3-0.
"With how strong our schedule is we determined that having that (forfeit win) would give us more points in the end rather than having nine games," McCune explained.
This week the Dons will look to get another win in the column on the field as they welcome Webster County for what is an early season battle of the unbeatens at Jimmy Carey Stadium on Friday night.
The opening kick is set for 7 p.m.
"Webster County is 3-0, they're big, strong and they look like they play physical football," McCune said. "They like to run the ball and they pull (guards) a lot, they have a couple different sets they use. They will run some Wing-T and some spread. I anticipate a big, physical team coming into Jimmy Carey Stadium on Friday night that's going to try to establish the run.
"Defensively they like to blitz a lot so we're going to have to be on our toes knowing where the blitzes are coming from."
Webster is led by Isaac Cutlip, who averages 144 rushing yards per game and has made seven trips to the end zone so far this season. As a team, the Highlanders rush for more than 300 yards per game and run the ball on 8 of 10 snaps.
Madonna has shown big play ability in its two wins on the field. Leading that charge is freshman QB Maddox Bowen, who has thrown for 383 yards and five touchdowns in his first two games as a varsity quarterback and also rushed for a touchdown.
It is a big match up in the standings as well. Webster County is tied for eighth in the Class A rankings according to WVTailgateCentral, while Madonna sits in sixth place. Spots 4-10 are seperated by less than a point and a half in the ratings.
"This is a very important game, there are four bonus points on the line," McCune said. "Not everyone is lucky enough to have those bonus points on the line this early in the season. And, if you look at our schedule going forward with Steubenville Central, Cameron, Conotton Valley and Oak Glen all looming large on the horizon, this is a must-win and our kids, I think, are starting to realize that.
"This is a four or five week make or break stretch for us ... but we're focused on Webster and not looking ahead. I hope they get up here safely and we have a good, single A football game."