Dons look to keep winning their way into playoffs
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ELIZABETH -- The Madonna Blue Dons have won their way back into playoff position in Class A.
Madonna, which, thanks to a big win over Conotton Valley Saturday night in its home finale, goes on the road the final two weeks of the season in a playoff spot at No. 15 and riding a four-game winning streak.
"It's pretty exciting," first-year Madonna head coach Troy Fetty said of being in the playoff race late in the season. "When I first got the job, we weren't sure what kind of team we were going to be, we had 14 kids at one time and were just hoping to be able to play 10 games.
"We had some success early, went through a three-week rough patch and have come back out of it and got right back in it.
"The kids have worked extremely hard and have come a long way. We're very excited to be playing in big games at this time of the year.
"Everybody's goal is to be able to have a chance to play in the playoffs, but to get there you have to take care of business in the regular season to get to the tournament and we're taking it one game at a time."
To extend the streak to five, though, will be a challenge as the now 5-3 Dons travel about two hours to Elizabeth to test Wirt County.
The Tigers are 4-4 and currently sit at No. 19 in the Class A rankings, putting a lot on the line for both teams.
"Their record doesn't reflect how good they are," Fetty said. "They dealt with some injuries earlier in the season but they are a very good football team.
"There is a lot on the line for both teams. Whoever wins this game might assure themselves a spot in the playoffs regardless of what happens next week so this is a very big game for both teams.
"Our kids handled themselves great in a similarly big game last week.
"That pressure is always going to be there, but we've been through it and been able to process it and handle it."
The Tigers are riding a two-game winning streak. Much like Madonna, they hit a rough patch through the middle of their schedule, dropping four-straight from Weeks 3-6 after a 2-0 start before bouncing back.
The only common opponent is Calhoun County, whom the Tigers whipped 52-0 two weeks ago and Madonna closes the regular season with by visiting next week.
The Tigers won last year's meeting, 34-21, at Jimmy Carey Stadium in what was the first game contested between the programs since 2005.
"We're focusing on things one snap at a time, one game at a time," Fetty said. "That was our focus last week and it turned out pretty well for us.
"You can't win or lose the game on one snap, you have to keep it in perspective and keep working towards your goals."
Tyler Smith leads the Wirt County offense with 995 passing yards and 13 scoring tosses, while running back Chase Lowe has already surpassed the 1,000-yard mark and found the end zone 11 times.
"Their running back is legit and they have a good quarterback," Fetty said.
For the Blue Dons, Chase Littleton has been leading the charge back into playoff position.
He had a nine TD performance in a big win over Beallsville two weeks ago and had a pair of scores and was over 100 yards passing and rushing in last week's win over the Rockets.
For the season, he has 1,000 passing yards with 13 TDs and just two interceptions while rushing for another 737 yards and 14 trips to the end zone.