Jace Grenke is a student journalist at Arizona State University assigned to cover Coronado High School for AZPreps365.com

The Madison Highland Heat is hosting the Coronado Dons on Friday at 7 p.m.

Madison Highland (4-3) is coming off a three-touchdown victory last weekend over Valley Lutheran and are looking to keep its momentum going. 

In contrast, the younger and winless Coronado (0-7) is still looking for a breakthrough game to get them into the win column.

During practice, the Dons stressed the need for more work ethic during practice.

“We need to learn to play against ourselves before we can play against other teams,” head coach Rick Benjamin said. “We have 14 freshmen on the team, so we’re a super young team and only two of them have played organized football before this season.”

They got into their two-minute offense to run through late game situations, and the coaches were not pleased with the results.

The coaches stopped the drill and gave some words of encouragement while giving a speech on having more ambition when going through practice. 

“You notice how the way we practice looks a lot like the way we play in our games,” said one of the assistant coaches.

They've put winning to the side in place of teaching and maintaining motivation as the key factors to keep moving forward as a team. 

On the other side of the ball, Madison Highland is looking to jump all over Coronado early and avoid any injuries going into the final two weeks of the season. Playoff implications are on the line and going 3-0 to finish the season strong would catapult the Heat into a strong 4-2 record in the 2A Verde region. 

With losses already to the respective second- and third-ranked teams in the region Veritas Prep and Shadow Mountain earlier this season, the Heat would need a little help from those teams if they want to move up in the standings. 

After Madison Highland's bye next weekend, its toughest regional opponent in undefeated Scottsdale Christian Eagles (4-2 overall, 2-0 region) boasts a stacked roster with playmakers all over the field. The Heat undoubtedly have their work cut out for them, but with a win over the first-place Verde region team would definitely open some eyes.

At the conclusion of this week, both the Dons will have their bye to rest and recuperate as well.