Tough matchup in finale: Dukes facing tough task in last game

Dixon’s football team has issues – not the least of which is its Week 9 opponent.

The Dukes wrap up the season Friday night with a visit to Morris. The Redskins (4-4, 4-1 NCIC Reagan) figure to be highly motivated, as their playoff lives are on the line. A win also would earn a piece of the conference title in their first and only year in the league.

If that wasn’t enough, Dixon (2-6, 1-4) is having major personnel issues. Injury and illness have knocked out a host of starters from an already-thin lineup the past few weeks. This week, starting offensive guard Lee Jones was diagnosed with mononucleosis on Tuesday, and only five linemen attended Wednesday’s practice.

When asked if his team is playing out the string or fired up about the opportunity to defeat a tough opponent, coach Tony Agrimonti described it as a “mixture.”

“Some guys are kind of upset to see the end of the season,” Agrimonti said, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a sense of relief because of the difficult season we have had.

“We’ve got a number of our best athletes on the sideline, and we’ve got guys stepping in and playing positions they haven’t played for some time.

“We’re just going to give it our best shot – that’s the only thing we can do. We’re not going to mope around.”

Dixon junior Tyler Newman will make his first start at quarterback since the first four games of his freshman year. He’s replacing P.J. Ginn, out with a concussion suffered last week against Sterling.

“The snaps were the roughest thing I had to work on,” Newman said. “Everything else is going good. I’ve known most of the plays since my freshman year. I remember them pretty well.”

On the defensive side, junior Montana Myers is still settling into the middle linebacker position once manned by Preston Lumzy. The junior has been out with a back injury he suffered in a car accident before the Geneseo game in Week 6.

The 5-foot-8, 180-pound Myers is playing football for the first time since seventh grade, but now finds himself a two-way starter (also at offensive guard) for the Dukes.