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Knights, Dons looking to bounce back

WEIRTON — Two young teams looking to bounce back are set to meet in what is a pivotal matchup for both Saturday night at Jimmy Carey Stadium when Toronto crosses the river to take on Madonna.

The Red Knights, who have dropped three-straight after a 4-0 start, and Blue Dons, who sit at 3-2 after a loss to Cameron last week, both seek to get back in the win column.

Even though the last couple weeks may have been tough for Toronto, first-year Madonna coach Mauro Monz knows the Knights have faced some tough opponents and expects a challenge.

“They’re a big, physical football team that is well-coached,” Monz said of the Red Knights. “They do a lot of different things on offense, they run multiple formations. They run motions. They have a big offensive line and they play very hard on defense. They’re just an overall good team coming in with a winning record. They might be a little banged up right now, but who isn’t at this point in the season?”

Monz also knows the last time his team lost, it responded with a gutty performance the next week — and he’s seen a team determined to bounce back again this week on the practice field.

“We have had a good week of practice, the kids have responded well,” Monz said of bouncing back from losing to Cameron. “We’ve played four out of five games on the road and we’re a field goal (in the Mathews game) away from being 4-1. The third quarter kind of got away from us against Cameron, it was the first time our youth really showed for a long period of time. We’re happy to be back at home.

“When we lost to Mathews in a very tough, emotional game, we came right back and won a hard-fought game at Catholic Central. We’ve showed a lot of good character coming off of that I look for our kids to respond again and play hard, that’s all you can ask.”

Toronto, meanwhile, has faced a string of games against teams that are at least two divisions higher, two of which are 7-0, the past three weeks.

“The message is very simple to our kids — we’ve played two Division V schools with 50-plus kids on their team and they’re both undefeated,” Red Knights head coach Josh Franke said. “Despite the outcomes, we’ve played some very good football teams and schools that are quite a bit bigger than us. The message out of that is it’s going to prepare us to play schools that are our size. It’s going to prepare us for the playoffs.

“We’re still sitting in position for a home playoff game, we have to control what we can control. We’re looking forward to getting back out there and seeing if playing those bigger schools and undefeated teams prepared us for good teams that are our size.

“It’s a little bit of relief to play a school similar to our size, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any easier. Madonna puts a good, quality product on the field. It’s nice to go up against another school battling the same things that we are, injuries, limited numbers, endurance … a lot of the schools that we’ve played the past couple of weeks have kids that are able to rest on both sides the of the ball and that’s not a luxury a school our size has.”

The Red Knights sit No. 8 in the Division VII, Region 25 rankings, while Madonna is in striking distance of a playoff spot at No. 20 in West Virginia Class A.

Toronto won a close game last year at Clarke Hinkle Field, and Franke expects a similar looking style of team even though it’s a new coach on the other side of the field.

“Despite having a new coach, it’s kind of a similar system,” Franke said of the Dons. “They like to throw it around and air it out. We expect kind of the same come Saturday.

“The new coaching staff has done a good job, they have similar numbers to what we have and that is never easy, so for them to put together some wins and score points like they have, you have to give them credit.”

Both teams will also have a lot of underclassmen on the field.

The trip across the river is a new one for the Red Knights in recent years.

“This is my fifth season at Toronto we haven’t played there in that time, so I’m really looking forward to going over there,” Franke said. “I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere. It’s a little different for us having a Saturday night game. Having an extra day to get our legs back, get some kids healthy and back in the rotation will help us.”

The kick Saturday is set for 7 p.m.

“I think this a great local game,” Monz said. “We love playing at home, I love our home stadium, I’m sure we’re going to have a great crowd and Toronto will bring a great fanbase as well. I remember recruiting Toronto when I was a college coach and it’s a school with a lot of tradition.”

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