MOUNDSVILLE — It’s put up or shut up for the John Marshall Monarchs (5-3), who sit at 16th in the WVSSAC Class AAA football playoff ratings going into their Friday home game against Point Pleasant (0-8).

With the top 16 teams in the Class making the playoffs, Monarchs head coach Mark Cisar knows that his team needs to stay focused on what they can control- starting with their date vs. the Black Knights.

“We’re sitting at five and three, we’re still pleased where we’re at,” Cisar said. “I think we let a couple games get away from us. Could have put ourselves in a better situation with playoffs, but it is what it is. We’re five and three. Got a chance to get out and get the W this week.”

“We just have to take care of our business and do what we need to do to try to get wins. And they understand that. I think they understand that completely.”

The injuries are stacking up for John Marshall, though. Cisar said that, while some players of his are getting healthier as the year comes down to the wire, the losses are still stacking up.

“Several injuries,” Cisar said. “I just looked through the injury sheet today. I mean, we have six guys out for the whole year. That won’t even come back or have a chance to come back.

“So that’s a killer. And at one time or another, we’ve had 13 guys on the injury list at one time. So we’ve done a very good job of dealing with injuries, plugging the next guy in. And we’ve done as well as we can so far.”

One player who’ll have a chance to play Friday after sitting out last week’s loss to Fairfield Union is sophomore Dalton Cooper. Even still, Cisar said Cooper– who had a hellacious start to the season as a runner and remains John Marshall’s leading rusher– will probably be limited to only defense this week.

“Last week, did not play,” Cisar said. “He’ll be limited this week. Probably playing mainly defense, may play a little bit of offense, but if he can play a little bit of offense, that would help us out. But he’s limited. He’s got a strain right now, so as much as he can help us, he can help us if he can play. But he will dress this week, did not dress last week.”

The Monarchs’s senior quarterback, Kayden Knapp, has been one bright spot for John Marshall, as he is among the passing leaders in the local area with over 1,400 passing yards. A starter since his sophomore year, Knapp has steadily progressed, now heading down the home stretch in his final season with John Marshall.

“It’s been a progression,” Cisar said. “To have two years under your belt, it definitely, definitely helps you. And he’s also had some guys along for the ride with him. I mean, he said, you know, Xavier Wells was also a sophomore starter. So was Kain Ankrom. Some of those guys have been right with him the whole way, but he’s definitely got better.

“And, you know, we’ve improved. We’ve improved on the line. We’ve improved the receiving role. That also helps out when you’re throwing. Did we plan on throwing the ball as much as we have this year? No, we probably didn’t. But that’s due to injuries in the backfield. You have to do what you can to try to win games. And that’s mainly what we’ve been enabled to do this year.”

Adding to injury concerns, Cisar said Knapp is nursing an ailing ankle.

Though their opponent Friday is winless on the season, Cisar has his team prepared for a tough matchup.

“Here’s the thing, Point Pleasant, I mean, they’re 0-8, but the schedule, I mean, they’ve played good teams. They’ve played Ripley, Herbert Hoover, Nitro, Marietta, Fort Frye. They have a tough schedule. They have some athletes. They’ve got some guys that can take off and pull away in a hurry.

“They’ve got a new coaching staff. The head coach retired after last year, so they’re going through some growing pains, I mean, they have some players, they do some good things on the offensive side of the ball, and they got some playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. So, 0-8 really doesn’t symbolize who they are. […] This is gonna be a challenge. This isn’t just show up and go through the motions. We’re gonna have to play our butt off. They’re gonna give us everything we can handle.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. inside Monarch Stadium.

“At times we’ve played good on the offensive side of the ball. At times we’ve played good on the defensive side of the ball,” Cisar said. “But most importantly, our kids are working our butts off, obviously the goal has not changed, to make the playoffs, and we’re gonna keep that for the next two weeks and hopefully good things happen in the next two weeks for us.”