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WELLSVILLE -- The Troy Fetty era at Madonna is ready to begin.
The first-year head coach, who took the reins over just a few weeks ago and guided the Blue Dons through the end of camp, will lead the team onto the field for the first time Friday night in Wellsville.
"I'm pretty excited for it to be game week," Fetty said. "It's always exciting to get to that first game, especially when a team has gone through the trials and tribulations our squad has. It has been a mostly positive build up to game week. We had a couple of scrimmages that went very well … hopefully that carries over into Friday night."
The Tigers have a week under their belt, which may pose an advantage over the Dons, but are coming off of a 37-6 loss to Catholic Central in which the Crusaders scored in every quarter and and out-gained Wellsville by more than 100 yards.
"We were able to scout Wellsville against Steubenville Central," Fetty said. "I was very impressed with the physicality of Wellsville. Steubenville Central is pretty good, but Wellsville was physical and their backs run hard. They're a physical team, they had a couple good backs.
"Wellsville's biggest improvement is going to be from last week to this week, so they might have a little bit of a leg up on us from having played,
"Friday night lights are a little different than Thursday night scrimmage lights, but we're having a good week of practice. I think we're going to be well-prepared and ready to go."
Since Fetty took over, Madonna's roster grew by four players -- though not all of them are eligible just yet -- which has aided in the preparation for Week 1.
"We're up to exactly 20 … having a couple more bodies has been a big help," Fertty said. "It makes drills go easier."
The keys for the Dons will be stopping the run.
"They're going to run the ball and come right at you," Fetty said. "They run different formations, they have a very decent sized line and they get after it. They have a very aggressive defense and play man-to-man; they're going to challenge us on the outside."
The game is set for a 7 p.m. kick.
"The kids are getting rambunctious and excited," Fetty said. "We're going to be ready to go."