BOWERSTON — The Madonna football team went on the road and got a big win at Federal Hocking a week ago to keep themselves in the thick of the Class A playoff race.

This week’s road trip is an even bigger challenge for the Blue Dons with just as much on the line.

Madonna (6-2) heads away from home into the hills of Ohio once again Friday night, this time to take on 6-3, playoff bound Conotton Valley in Bowerston.

The Rockets are also coming off a big win on the road over a mutual opponent between them and the Blue Dons – Catholic Central. Conotton Valley led 27-26 going to the fourth quarter Saturday night at Harding Stadium and scored the final 20 points to pull away and clinch a trip to the Ohio Division VII, Region 27 playoffs.

The Rockets still have plenty to play for, as they are currently in fifth place in the standings and can finish anywhere from third through seventh according to Joe Eitel. A win likely would give them a finish in the top four for two potential home playoff games.

Madonna’s stakes are even greater, as they sit No. 11 in the Class A rankings, with the top 16 making the playoffs. After this game, the Dons have just one more chance to add to their point total as they host Oak Glen next week and then have their bye the last week of the regular season while they’ll wait to see how things shake out, so a win over the Rockets would go a long way to staying in a playoff spot. It may also move them towards the top eight to host a playoff game.

The race is tight, too, as spots 4-23 are separated by about two percentage points in the rankings.

Both teams have a strong passing attack.

The Rockets, who average 31.4 points per game, throw the ball nearly 60 percent of the time.

Senior four-year starter Zach Putnam, who threw for 365 yards and four scores against Catholic Central, has 1,933 yards on the season looking to become a 2,000 yard passer. He’s thrown for 26 touchdowns on the season.

Brooks Bower is his top target for touchdowns with 12. He has caught 51 passes for 607 yards, while Kam Wright has 53 catches for 615 yards and six scores.

Gavin Haney, who has caught for 476 yards and five scores, is the leading rusher on the team with 330 yards on 41 carries. He had 105 rushing and 152 receiving against Central last week.

Madonna, meanwhile, has been focusing on its rushing attack of late, getting that aspect of the game going in its back-to-back wins the last two weeks.

Wes Molish led that attack last week going over 150 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He’s over 300 yards on the season with six scores.

Freshman QB Maddox Bowen is over 1,000 passing yards for the season as well.

The defense also had a big week against Federal Hocking, as Dominic Maple recovered three fumbles and Koleton Grishkevich had a pair of interceptions.

Madonna is averaging 27.1 points and allowing an average of 23.4.