The St. Mary’s Knights (0-5) host the Cactus Cobras (4-0) Friday night in the team’s annual homecoming game.

“I just think having the alumni there, being back at home will bring out the best in our team,” Knights head coach Tom Brittain said.

St. Mary’s has had a difficult schedule thus far, as the teams they’ve played have a combined record of 17-4 and include two of the top 10 teams in the state of Arizona, according to Max Preps.

The St. Mary’s coaches emphasized the big picture amidst the adversity.

“You have to focus on the positive, focus on the ways in which we’re improving,” Brittain said. “It’s about what you do through the course of the season, not one game or two games, or even the first half of the season.”

“It’s just focusing on how well we play, how well we do our individual jobs,” offensive and defensive line coach Jonathan Deremiah said.

The closest game the Knights played this season was at home, a narrow 27-24 defeat to Yuma Catholic.

This week’s matchup will have plenty of hype from the St. Mary’s side, with the team playing at home for the first time in three weeks in addition to homecoming weekend. However, this week’s opponent will not be any easier than the teams the Knights have lost to already.

The Cobras have won all four of their games this season.

Cactus is a team heavy in seniors, led by running back Damaria Norris and quarterback Mahal Lee on offense. Jake Russett and Scott Jones lead the defense.

Lee has been consistent under center this season, throwing for a 113.6 QB rating and four touchdowns to one interception. Norris is the squad’s workhorse, leading the team with 656 rushing yards, 277 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns.

Russett and Jones have been the top performers on a defense that hasn’t given up more than 25 points in a game all season. Jones leads the Cobras with nine tackles for loss and two sacks, and Russett has a team-leading five interceptions. The two players share the team lead in tackles, with 34, and Russett also has three blocked punts.

St. Mary’s middle linebacker and fullback Trey Hixon still believes his team can put up a fight despite the odds against them.

“We know what we’re supposed to do, it’s just the little mistakes, broken tackles on our defense, letting people past us,” Hixon said, “if we can fix that stuff I think we got a good chance.”

 Coach Deremiah detailed the focus of his offensive and defensive line units for Friday night’s game.

“They just need to get in the habit of finishing to the whistle,” Deremiah said, “I think we make great initial hits and we’re in the right position but it’s that extra aspect of finishing the block.

“The biggest thing on defense that we've  really got to work on is just not getting pushed, we've got to hold our ground and we've got to force the plays outside so our linebackers can make the plays.”

Friday night’s game will kick off at 7 p.m. and be played at Phoenix College, where the Knights play all their home games.