Dons to host Kennett on Friday night

The Doniphan Dons fell 35-6 to Kelly’s in Friday’s season opener but head coach Jameson Allen is proud of the way his team continued to fight no matter what was thrown at them as they have a tall task awaiting them Friday with Kennett.

“It’s motivating,” he said. “I think they see what the possibilities could be. We have to stay healthy, execute and finish plays. That’s kind of where we’re at right now. We’ve got skills players that can be really good. Our numbers are just the only thing that is a question mark for us as far as how this is going to go this year.

“I hope people see how good we could be and the fun stuff we’re doing because the future could be extremely bright.”

Health will be a factor all season for the Dons as Allen said they played around 15 players against the Hawks with the majority of those playing on both sides of the football.

“Those guys played hard,” he said. “They gave it everything they had ... It was a tough night for the numbers that we had and we still had an opportunity to do great things and be in the game. I’m very proud of what they showed on Friday night.”

With temperatures a little more manageable this week before they go back up next week, the Dons now hit the field to prepare to welcome the Kennett Indians into Doniphan on Friday night.

Allen said it’s all about the basics.

“Fundamentals,” he said was key this week. “With the guys that we have injured, we’ve got to scale some things back a little bit and hone in on some of those good things that we know we can do well and then isolate those things so that we can use them and be effective on Friday night.”

Allen said there were a couple of players that he’s excited to see more of this week when they take the field.

Brody Wellington had the lone touchdown for the Dons and would have had more than 200 yards rushing if not for a penalty that brought the ball back.

“He’s a kid that when he gets the ball in his hands, he wants to get to the endzone as quickly as possible,” he said.

But Brody wasn’t the only Wellington on the menu for Doniphan as Jack Wellington came on late in the game at cornerback.