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WEIRTON -- Suffice it to say, the Blue Dons have bounced back.
After dropping three straight, Madonna has won back-to-back games at home to get back above .500 and back into the Class A playoff race.
"The kids' confidence is very high right now," first-year Madonna head coach Troy Fetty said. "We've had two very good offensive weeks, we played pretty good on defense. It's starting to all click, everyone is starting to understand their role. I think we've found an offensive philosophy that fits our kids and they are buying in big time.
"One thing we never have to worry about with Madonna kids is effort for 48 minutes. Now we're taking that great effort and combining it with the scheme-wise stuff and putting it together the last two weeks."
The Dons are back at Jimmy Carey Stadium for a third-straight week, this time for its final home game -- a 7 p.m. Saturday night showdown with Conotton Valley.
While the Rockets (4-5) have dropped their last two entering Saturday, those losses have come to two of the teams that have beat Madonna in Toronto and Catholic Central.
"We had that same rough patch of the schedule facing Toronto and Catholic Central, those two are meeting this week and that's probably going to be the best game in the Valley," Fetty said. "We understand first hand that those are two great football teams. It takes a supreme effort to match up with them.
"Conotton Valley had a lead at one point against Central, they're a talented football team. Coach (Derek) O'Hara has done a fantastic job since taking over, (Brock Bower) is a tremendous player. Their quarterback (Zach Putnam) gets the football out fast and they have a good offensive line.
"This is going to be a good, small-school football game. Both teams have about 19-20 kids on the roster, we're going to have one whale of a football game.
"Small school football is all about getting as many kids as you can out and playing as hard as you can for your school. That's what we do at Madonna and that's what they do at Conotton Valley."
Bower has 650 receiving yards and seven TDs for the Rockets, while Putnam has thrown for 1,380 yards and 16 scores.
Being the final home game for the Dons, it is senior night, a night to recognize a group that has been vital in the late coaching transition.
"It's our senior night, we want to celebrate our seniors, and the best way to do that is with a victory on Saturday night," Fetty said. "To do that, it's going to be a very hard-fought game. We told our kids that we respect everyone and fear no one, but it's going to take 48 minutes of total effort and concentration.
"Senior night is a big night, all of our seniors contribute and play significant roles. Those kids have helped me a ton in the transition in taking over."
One of those seniors has especially been leading the resurgence the last two weeks as Chase Littleton has accounted for 14 touchdowns in those two victories.
"Chase Littleton is a kid that can do everything, he accounted for nine touchdowns last week," Fetty said. "The only thing he doesn't do is sell programs and popcorn and he'd probably do that to if we asked him to. As he goes, we go."
In addition to Madonna, No. 18 in the latest Class A rankings, needing to win to continue its charge back into the playoff picture, Saturday night is a win-and-in scenario for Conotton Valley, who enter the week in the final playoff spot in Ohio Division VII, Region 27.
"We're going to get their best, and they're going to get our best, too," Fetty said. "We're in playoff mode now, we have to win out to assure ourselves a chance at the playoffs with no help. They need to win this game to get in the Ohio playoffs, and we need this win to keep rolling towards a playoff spot. The implications are tremendous for both teams.
"It's a big game, it's a Saturday night under the lights, it should be one of the best games of the week, we're hoping it's a big crowd and an electric atmosphere. Come out and watch some good high school football with high stakes for both teams."