Blue Dons host Maroon Knights

WEIRTON - Wheeling Central invades Jimmy Carey Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday to play unbeaten Madonna for the right to go to Wheeling Island Stadium the following week for the state Class A championship game.

A mention of Wheeling Central conjures up a kind of mystic quality, especially for Madonna because almost any trip to the state championship in any sport means beating the Maroon Knights and the Blue Dons haven't been able to do it very often.

The Maroon Knights (9-3) have a swagger about them and with the success they've had, perhaps they should.

"Frequently, the road to the state finals goes through Wheeling Central," said veteran Blue Don coach Bob Kramer, who was presented with his 100th win as the Madonna head coach in the 48-0 romp over Tucker County last week.

"They beat us in the championship game in 2004 and beat us again in the semifinals two years ago.

"They have the confidence that they're going to win regardless of the score or the time in the game."

The Maroon Knights have come from behind to win several games this season and won two one-point games during the regular season when they came from behind to down Martins Ferry, 15-14 and Linsly, 36-35.

The Blue Dons have reached the semifinals by a different route. They have dominated all 12 opponents with the closest margin being the 22-8 win over Bridgeport.

While the Blue Dons defense is rated tops in the state regardless of classification, the offense has been explosive averaging more than 42 points a game.

The Blue Dons have rolled over Gilbert, the No. 16 seed, and Tucker County, No. 9 seed, in the Class A tournament by scores of 48-6 and 48-0, respectively.

Wheeling Central has rolled in the playoffs, too, beating No. 12 Moorefield 47-6 and No. 4 Williamstown 28-14. Williamstown, the defending state champion, went into that game with nine wins in 11 games. The Yellowjackets beat Madonna last year for the state championship.

The trio of schools, Williamstown, Moorefield and Wheeling Central are the three largest Class A schools in the state in terms of enrollment. Between them, they have won the state title for the past 13 years.

The Maroon Knights have won six state titles in the past nine years and won four straight from 2004 to 2007.

While the 2009 version of the Maroon Knights lost three games during the regular season, they have played a difficult schedule that included some teams that would be classified as either Class AA or AAA in West Virginia. They lost 50-17 to Akron Buchtel and 21-14 to Warren JFK, another Ohio school. Brashear, a power in the Pittsburgh City League, beat the Maroon Knights 28-17.

"Wheeling Central is big, fast, athletic and well coached," Kramer said.

"They really don't have one player to key on. Zack Hood is a good veteran quarterback, who can pass well and also run the football. They also have a couple of good backs in Marcus Clifford and Jordan Sorge.

"They are a good team. They wouldn't be this far in the playoffs if they weren't. They play a tough schedule because they have enough players to play that kind of schedule."

The Maroon Knights list 57 players on their roster while Madonna dresses 29.

Madonna senior quarterback, Max Nogay, has led the Blue Don offense thus far in the playoffs. He rushed for 208 yards against Gilbert in the first round and added 147 last week in the win over Tucker County. He scored three times in each game.

"We didn't use him as a rusher as much during the regular season because we didn't need to," Kramer explained.

The two big nights have boosted Nogay ahead of Jimmy Deter in the rushing department. Nogay has 950 yards with 102 carries and 20 touchdowns while Deter has accumulated 858 yards and six touchdowns with 76 carries .

If the Maroon Knight defense can corral those two, it also will have to contend with senior fullback, Lou Comis, who has rushed for 742 yards with 119 carries and he has scored 18 touchdowns.

There is a chance that senior running back, A. J. Klein, who had 595 yards with just 49 rushes before receiving a broken collar bone in the seventh game of the season, could get clearance to get back into the Blue Don backfield.

He got back into uniform last week against Tucker County as the Madonna punter.

The Blue Dons also have another potent offensive weapon, Connor Arlia, a junior.

Arlia has caught 32 passes for 502 yards and five touchdowns, but he also moves into the backfield in goal line situations to join Comis giving the Blue Dons more size in the backfield.

He has carried the ball just 14 times for 62 yards, but he has found the end zone on five of those carries.

Arlia also has scored two touchdowns on punt returns and one on an interception return.

The Blue Dons defense has continued to sparkle pitching its seventh shutout of the season last week in the quarterfinal game against Tucker County.

The Blue Don defense has yielded just four touchdowns in 12 games.

The Blue Dons have reason to have swagger, too. They won the school's 300th football victory when they defeated Toronto 47-0 in their eighth game of the regular season.

This season marked the second straight unbeaten regular season and fourth in school history.

Since a 28-0 win over Bishop Donahue ended the 2006 season at 5-5, when these seniors were freshmen, the Blue Dons have gone 36-3 and are 29-1 during the last three regular seasons.

Madonna lost in the 2007 state semifinals to Wheeling Central and the 2008 state final to Williamstown.