Photo by Bill Ferguson Cameron’s Adam Angel, right, picks up a fumble on the first offensive play against Tyler Consolidated and returns it for a touchdown.

CAMERON — For the second straight week there will be a playoff-type atmosphere at Dragon Stadium as unbeaten Cameron looks to improve on a 16-game regular season winning streak, and 12 game home regular season run, when 3-1 Madonna pays a visit into the hills of Marshall County.

Both teams are coming off impressive victories, highlighted by five turnover performances from their respective defenses. Coach Tim Brown’s 5-0 Dragons dominated on defense and did enough on offense to snag a 21-7 victory over Tyler Consolidated last Friday night while coach Mauro Monz’s Blue Dons tallied a pair of late touchdowns to post a 29-14 triumph over Steubenville Central a night later.

Cameron will enter the contest tied for eighth in the latest West Virginia Class A playoff rankings while Madonna is just outside of the top 16 at the current time sitting in a deadlock at 17.

“I am really proud of how our kids played last week,” Brown admitted. “They are understanding what we are putting in front of them and going out and executing it on the field. Our schedule is tough, and we still have some big games left, but the key to our success, as with any small school, is staying healthy.

“We did enough on offense to win last week, but we still have to get better. Our defense does a great job being where they need to be and I have to take my hat off to the execution that Coach (Derek) Martin and the kids have. We don’t have a lot of kids, but we are able to get them into places where we can take advantage of their skills.”

One player who has been in the right place at the right time each of the last two weeks is senior standout Adam Angel, who had collected a scoop and score in consecutive games. Angel’s most recent recovery gave the Dragons the lead on the first play of last week’s game, just 14 seconds into the contest.

While Brown’s offense wasn’t totally clicking all night last week junior quarterback Colton Wichterman and senior wide receiver Cole Burkett had big first halves as Cameron used a 21-0 lead to take control. Wichterman scored on a first half run and also hit Burkett for a nice 45-yard scoring strike late in the half. For the night Wichterman was six of 13 for 95 yards through the air, all to Burkett, while gaining 26 yards on the ground.

The Dragons were actually outgained in the contest by a 232-162 margin.

“The have a great football team and they beat a real good Tyler Consolidated team last week,” Monz said. “Their quarterback does a really good job and you have to know where Burkett is on both sides of the football at all times. They have a lot of different running backs carry the ball and a big, physical offensive line blocking in front of them.

“This is going to be another big challenge for us. But four of our five games will have been on the road after this week, so we are ready for anything.”

Madonna quarterback Lucas McAllister is coming off a big game, having through for 279 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for a pair of scores as well. With the score knotted at 14-14 last week McAllister hit wide receiver Shawn McFarland for a 54-yard touchdown with 3:35 to go for the lead. After an interception McAllister then raced 21 yards for some insurance on a fourth-and-15 call to ice things.

McFarland finished last week with five catches for 137 yards and the score while Jenah McKay had three grabs for 102 and a long scoring strike.

The Blue Dons’ 20-man roster includes just four seniors and eight freshmen.

“Our kids are focused, and they have bought into our system,” Monz added. “We are still a very young group, but we are playing well. We lost a heart-breaker in the final 30 seconds two weeks ago and rallied for a victory in a big rivalry game last week.

“The great thing is that there is no pressure on us at all. These kids go out and play their butts off and just have fun. We will show up Friday night and see what happens but I can guarantee you there will be plenty of effort and enthusiasm and these kids will play as hard as they possibly can.”

The Dragons captured last year’s meeting by a 38-20 margin while Madonna posted a 13-6 victory in 2019.